Presentation skills are very essential during conversations and communication. Accurate and precise way of conversing with someone or a group of people can be achieved effectively only by learning the correct method of presentation techniques.

The following are the some of the ways with which one can develop his/her presentation technique:

Always be well organized with your communication skills. Some people have stage fright, and often forget their lines due to nervousness. Hence being very well equipped with your lines is one of the most important presentation skills which one needs to excel at before giving a speech or communicating in front of a large number of people

Understand your audience- It is very important to understand the mindset of your audience before you start conversing with them. A better knowledge about the kind of people you are dealing with will definitely help you with the subject matter that you would be talking about, thereby getting a desired response.

Always try to create a positive first impression. With the way one dresses, speaks, uses correct English language while communicating and portrays appropriate body language, one can have a drastic impact on people. Therefore never miss an opportunity to have an impact on people by creating a positive first impression.

While speeches and presentation events, do make sure that you constantly maintain eye contact with the crowd, and give a personal approach to it. Make the audience feel that their input is needed in order to keep them involved in the discussion and try to get a feedback from them from time to time.

Be enthusiastic in your approach, so that the entire atmosphere is more relaxed than formal. This could help you too, in releasing out any nervousness or tension.

Finally, do not make your presentation in the form of a theory; rather present it in a way that is much casual and understandable to most, in simple language. Keep it short, simple and precise.Do not just read out from your notes; instead add some of your personal experiences in the presentation to give it a personalized touch.

Mastering proper presentation skills will actually make people want to listen to you.

If the mere thought of standing up in front of an audience makes your knees quiver, you should know that you’re not alone. Public speaking is one of the top fears listed by Americans and for good reason- most of us don’t do it very often. My personal theory is that the fear stems from the possibility of failure. What if I get up there and can’t talk? What if they think I have no idea what I’m talking about? What if I forget my speech?

After spending several years as a technical instructor and in sales, speaking to audiences of 4 to 400+, I’ve built an arsenal of strategies for presentations. The truth is, even the most seasoned public speakers get at least a little nervous before they step on stage. But the seasoned pros also know the tricks to delivering seamless and engaging presentations.

Keys to Writing a Winning Presentation

oCreate an Outline. You may not think you need to outline your topic, but be assured it will save you time in the long run. Outlining your entire presentation before you set out to write it lets you organize the flow of information and ensure that you have included all of the relevant topics. One great trick for outlining is to write each key topic on a Post-it note and map it out on a large white board. The sticky notes can be moved and reordered until you find a logical progression.

oDetermine the Proper Number of Slides. If you are using PowerPoint, the rule of thumb is that each slide should require 2-3 minutes of discussion. If you are speaking for an hour, 60+ slides will be too many. You know your topic best, but 25-30 slides would probably be appropriate for a one-hour presentation.

oLimit the Amount of Text. Slides that are too wordy will cause your audience to lose interest faster than the freeway fills up at rush hour. Try to keep to no more than five bullet points and whenever possible, show instead of tell. This means that you should illustrate your topic with charts, graphs, graphics or other visual representation instead of words to keep your content engaging.

oMinimize the Bells and Whistles. A lot of activity or noise on your slides is bound to distract your audience. Resist the temptation to pepper your slides with flashy activity or music unless it truly enhances your message.

oProofread and Spell Check- Twice! Nothing kills a presentation faster than grammatical mistakes. You could be the most engaging speaker in the world, but spelling errors and misplaced punctuation can cause your audience to lose focus and question your credibility. I once watched an executive give a presentation with an emphasis on aspirin. He spelled aspirin incorrectly on a series of slides and half the room was talking about it by the time it was over, completely missing a very creative and interesting discussion. If you don’t trust your own proofreading ability, have a colleague review your presentation for you.

Keys to Presentation Delivery

oPractice, Practice, Practice. Even if you don’t have an audience to test your materials on, lock yourself in an empty conference room and start talking to the chairs. It may seem awkward at first, but it’s the best way to calm your nerves and to be as prepared as you can. When show time arrives and stage fright kicks in, if you’ve practiced to the point of practically memorizing the whole speech, you will go into auto-pilot and deliver a flawless performance- even if your brain checks out.

oPace Yourself. Nervous presenters often talk too fast and rush through the materials. When you practice your speech, time it and give yourself some room for questions or interruptions. To help with pacing, consciously pause between sentences and slides. Two seconds may feel like an eternity to you, but it allows your audience time to absorb what you’ve just said. Even taking a deep breath between sentences and slides can slow you down with the added advantage of calming your nerves.

oFilm Your Performance. Professional speaking programs use video cameras to show students how to improve their presence on stage. As painful as it may be to watch yourself on film, this is the best way to discover your flaws and nervous ticks. You may find that you sway, play with your pen, jingle the change in your pockets or look like you’re dancing because you’re moving around so much. Using a video camera to capture your performance lets you identify your nervous habits and break them before you leave the audience talking about how many times you said, “Um.”

oUse Note Cards or Cheat Sheets. Even the President gets a teleprompter to give his speeches and you have the right to use notes or 3×5 cards to keep you on track. Just be careful not to read them or rely on them too heavily. Fill them with only short bullets to jog your memory and keep your flow, but avoid writing your entire speech verbatim on the cards.

oWarm Up the Audience. The best way to get the crowd on your side is to open with humor. Start with a joke or quip that is related to your topic. For help with locating material, check out http://www.the-jokes.com or http://www.jokes.com for free access to all kinds of one-liners.

oKeep an Eye on the Clock. Audiences and event organizers appreciate speakers who stick to the timeline. Keep an eye on the time so you can speed it up or slow it down. You can also plant someone in the audience to give you hand signals if necessary.

oTalk to Foreheads. You should be making an effort to speak to the whole audience, which means looking around the room and making each attendee feel as though you are speaking to them directly. If eye contact makes you even more nervous, then talk to foreheads. Nobody will really notice your lack of true connection yet you will still convey your ability to engage the entire room.

oDon’t Forget to Smile. Use inflection in your voice and keep a smile on your face. Your audience can mirror your behavior and if you get on stage with a stone face and monotone expression, the whole audience will be depressed (or asleep) by the time you’re done. Weave in some humor or anecdotes and let your personality shine through.

Whether you’re speaking to a room of six or six hundred, these tips should help you become a more polished presenter. Remember that the number one key to success is to be as prepared as possible. Another great way to learn new techniques is to critique how other presenters perform. Watch presentations on television or at venues in your area. Notice how the speakers engage the audience and watch for tricks that you can incorporate into your own regimen.

For additional speaking experience, consider joining Toastmasters: http://www.toastmasters.org/ where you can network with other presenters and develop your skills. You may never develop affection for speaking in front of a crowd, but that doesn’t mean you can’t master the challenge. With the right amount of effort, your performance can rank with the pros.

Almost every presenter or speaker feels that his presentation should be applauded by all, but in rare instances it does happen and very few presentations have an excellent recall value and make an impression on one and all.

While preparing or gearing up for a presentation, we all try to pep it up and make it as interesting as possible. Yet we are apprehensive and at times uneasy that people might find it bland or simply term it as boring. It happens to all; we can avoid it by following and implementing few rules. Simple yet important steps let us discuss it: Grabbing attention is significant! You can include light hearted jokes or wise-cracks to weave a pleasant atmosphere. But be careful, no to over indulge or the focus from the main attention will be diverted and we do not want that to happen.

It’s not necessary that all can crack jokes so if you are not comfortable then avoid it. At the end of the day it’s the main presentation that matters. If the content is interesting and apt, the rest all will surely fall in place. But cluttered slides or jazzy text will not attract attention but serves as mere distraction. Rather your presentation needs to have a flow so that the audience is able to connect with it.

Before elaborating or adding details to your presentation, prepare an outline or layout and then fill it up. This gives you a direction and ensures that significant points are not excluded. The slides are added to display information and data, so if the audience is unable to read it or find it tough to read the presentation then the entire exercise is futile. You need to ensure that font size is easy on and text can be read out from a distance. Avoid using cursive and cryptic fonts and use simple and easy to read fonts.

A long presentation can be boring and needs to be segmented into different sections. Do not cram in more than 2 or 3 sentences per slide. You can have the main points included and presenter can elaborate on it further. Or rather than having sentences you can present it in statistical form like pie charts if possible.

As mentioned earlier, try replacing words/lines with charts, graphs and images or graphics. Pictures have more impact than text and better recall value. They also make the presentation interesting and are a refreshing change in case of a wordy or tedious presentation. A concept when visualized becomes easier to understand.

In this fast paced world, all lose focus and attention very fast, so a good presentation has the requisite factors that will keep all focused. The best way is to cut down text and move on to the next slide within 10-15 seconds. Be quick but consistent; while maintaining speed do ensure that your audience is in sync with what’s going on. Sticking to a particular format is difficult as your presentation, the topic and the occasions vary. But following these simple tenets will ensure that it is meticulous and effective. You can also go through various websites that offer help on this.

First a disclaimer. No matter how great your PowerPoint slides are, your presentation will fail if you do not have good preparation. In all my articles, I keep stressing the fact that PREPARATION is the key to all great presentations. The trouble with all professionals (me included) is that they are so pressed for time that they leave preparing for their presentations to the last minute. This is detrimental and will often jeopardize your effectiveness. Always leave enough time to prepare for your presentation. Consider it as an investment of your time, rather than a waste. So make sure you have put in some hours to prepare for that presentation. OK back to PowerPoint Slides. Great PowerPoint presentations incorporate three immutable pillars.

1. A “Bull’s Eye” Message.

The first pillar is that of a “Bull’s Eye” message. A “Bull’s Eyes” message is a compelling message that is targeted and straight to the point. Many a times what happen is that a presenter would open up a PowerPoint template and start typing furiously, churning out random information and knowledge. This is called information dump and rarely grabs your audience or produces a successful result. To avoid the disastrous presentation results from an information dump you must know the audience at the back of your hand. Do a thorough research on them. What is their demographic make-up, what information do they need, why are they listening to my presentation, what do they want to get out of it and what do I want them to do after hearing my presentation. Thinking through these questions will allow you to sharpen you message and hit the “Bull’s Eye”!

2. Picture Speaks A Thousand Words

Having dynamic graphics is the second pillar of a great PowerPoint presentation. Unless you are a polished graphic artist, the next best alternative is to hire one. It could be your wisest investment, when you consider the financial stakes of success or failure. But if your budget is tight, there are numerous template companies that offer attractive backgrounds for your slide design. Just do a Goggle search and you will find lots of good ones around. But remember, stay away from the designs with rich graphics that might overpower your message. Look for simple backgrounds that communicate professionalism. Another suggestion is to use professional images or photographs that you can purchase inexpensively via the Web (Getty Images and IstockPhoto are good resources to look at) that will compliment your slides.

3. Three Little Pigs

Three Little Pigs is in my view the most remembered fairy tale of all. Why is that so? That is because of The Rule of Three. The Rule of Three is our third immutable pillar of great PowerPoint presentations. The Rule of Three is one of the oldest in the book – Aristotle wrote about it in his book Rhetoric. Put simply it is that people tend to easily remember three things. Remember as a kid when your mum sent you down to the shop to buy a number of things. But when you got to the shop all you could remember were three things. This is the rule of three. Translating all these to our PowerPoint presentations it means the audience is likely to remember only three things from your presentation. Hence you need the structure of your PowerPoint slides should centered only around three themes. There should only be three bullet points in your slides. Use only three sections in your slides etc. In summary, use a list of three wherever possible.

In these challenging times what business can afford to pass up any opportunity to connect with potential customers? The advent of tablet computer technology has undoubtedly opened the door to new presentation opportunities.

The demand for presentations to be designed specifically for tablet devices has dramatically increased over recent months. Companies are looking for alternative ways to communicate their messages and the results have been positive across a number of industry sectors. Of course presenting with a use of a tablet means you don’t need to worry about taking a projector and ensuring there is a screen.

Tablet presentations tend to be much less formal more conversational affairs. Often the audience will end up holding the device in their own hand and browsing through the slides. Closing business is far easier, the sales process feels more advisory and much less hard sell

But it is important that when you are creating a presentation for a tablet that you think about a number of different aspects before you jump in. Really, there are two main areas to consider when planning a tablet based presentation, these are creation and delivery.

How and what you plan to deliver your presentation, governs how you will create it. Design has never been more important, tiny text and detailed diagrams just won’t be visible on a smaller screen on a tablet device. Ensure your presentation has the correct company branding so it matches the style, look and feel of the rest of your company documentation. It is important that you keep your messages simple and clear so it is easily communicated to the audience.

Memory hungry applications will quickly consume battery life and system resources, therefore it is best to avoid them to prevent your presentation coming to an abrupt halt.

It’s a little known fact, not all presentation software is compatible with all devices. Will your presentation play on your weapon of choice? If, for example, you own a shiny new iPad but your presentation was created in Flash or PowerPoint then the answer is, probably not. Therefore it is important that you test your presentation beforehand so you have time to make the necessary changes and you are not left making last minute updates, which could impact upon the design.

I have seen that having experience of both the current technology and the most successful design strategies have resulted in presentations which will really help to captivate your audience and increase your sales success.

Be honest: have you ever wanted a raise at work, but were too afraid to ask for one – or uncertain as to how to get it? When it comes to the workplace, one of the least favorite tasks facing workers is asking for a raise, especially these days. I know there are some onerous bosses out there, and I realize, of course, that we’re all dealing with tighter budgets. But the truth of the matter is: if you’re cash-strapped, the simple act of walking into your boss’s office and getting a raise could be just the thing you need to boost your finances in this shaky economy.

And believe it or not, you can get a raise now, even amid the economic downturn. I know some of you doubters are going to say, “But there are layoffs taking place right now,” or “My boss is a total tightwad,” or “Our company isn’t doing so hot financially and they’ve told us no raises.”

To all of those excuses I say: they don’t matter. First of all, realize that many companies are indeed offering raises, even if they’re not publicizing it. An October 2009 survey from CareerBuilder and USA Today found that while most companies expected salaries to remain flat into early 2010, 40% of employers expect to raise salaries between 1 and 11% or more over the next three months. Beyond the statistics, however, there are techniques savvy workers can use to get raises, even when others aren’t landing them.

Get a Raise By Proving You Deserve It

There are several sure-fire strategies you can implement to make sure you get a raise-even in the harshest economic environment. First, you must constantly document your work accomplishments to demonstrate your performance and what you offer to the organization. In other words, do not just walk into to your boss and say, “I want a raise,” or “I think deserve a raise.” Your boss won’t care that you’ve been doing good work, or that you’ve come to work every day on time. That’s not good enough. That’s a basic minimum level of expected performance.

You have to show-in numerical terms-how you benefit the organization. If you saved the company ‘X’ amount of dollars, if you created a new program that has generated a certain amount of income for the business, if you have been instrumental in training, if you have done hiring, if you have been a sales superstar, whatever it is that you have done, document that.

When you get performance appraisals, feedback, and e-mails from customers, peers, and your higher-ups, and they notice what you have done, keep a running log of all of those things. Those communications and feedback become part of your success story. That is what you are going to bring to the table, because ultimately the person with the most information is going to win when it comes to negotiating for a salary increase. Think of the dossier you create of all your accomplishments and various pats on the back for a job well done as your “Praise” folder-it’s praise about the great work that you’ve done over the course of the year.

Negotiate a Raise From a Position of Strength

Secondly, always negotiate from a position of strength-not need or greed. Do not go complaining to your boss, “You know I just had a baby,” or “My spouse and I just bought a new house and we’ve got tons of student loans and other bills to pay…blah, blah, blah.” Most bosses don’t care about your personal problems; they do not want to hear about your financial troubles or how many bills you have. So you need to negotiate in their language, with terms and information that is relevant to them. By telling you to negotiate from a position of strength, I’m suggesting that you show and quantify the value you bring to your organization. Demonstrate your accomplishments and make your case persuasively. Say: “This is where I have been extremely successful. This is where I have contributed. This is where I have been able to save money.” And then proceed to enumerate those accomplishments in financial terms or using cold, hard statistics that can’t be refuted.

Get a Raise By Putting the Ball In Your Boss’s Corner

Lastly, be specific in what you want.  Let’s say the boss does turn you down. Assume that he or she won’t give you a raise right now no matter how much you demonstrate your case, quantify your value, and negotiate from a position of strength. Here’s what to do next to make sure you ultimately get that raise.  Put the ball in your boss’s corner. Not only you are going to be specific in saying “I want a raise,” you are also going to make them justify why you don’t merit one. You have to be artful here. But the idea is that you want to turn things around and say, “Well, I think I have made a very strong case as to why I deserve a raise.’”

Do not let them tell you about the cost of living adjustments, how nobody else got one, or how tough times are. Instead, put a blunt question to your boss. Ask “What do I need to do in order to get a ‘X’ percent raise (fill in the number you want) in one year’s time?” Maybe you want that raise six months from now, or perhaps your boss will agree to revisit in the following quarter. But don’t just ask for a raise. Ask for a specific raise, in percentage terms, and give it a time frame. Have your boss spell out what standards he or she would like to see you meet.

If there are performance issues to address, handle them. But your boss may say something like, “Well, I’d really like to see you meet such and such sales targets, complete this or that project, and brush up on your technical skills.” Whatever the boss says, make sure you get an agreement in writing-even if it’s just e-mail-so that you’ll have the basis of an understanding surrounding the issue.

Get Everything In Writing

One easy way to do this is to merely go back to your desk, write your boss an e-mail saying thanks for meeting with me and here’s my understanding, based on our conversation, of what you’d be looking for in order for me to earn a merit-based increase. Also note the agreed-upon time frame at which the two of you will revisit this topic. When you do go back, three months, six months or even a year later, if you’ve done all that your boss has asked-along with documentation of your accomplishments in your growing “Praise” folder-your boss will be hard-pressed to turn you down for that raise. When you meet his or her own criteria for performance goals, work measurements, and other targets, the boss will have little choice but to honor your justified request for that 10 percent raise, or else he risks looking like a liar, or at least someone who doesn’t keep his word. This is one way you really negotiate from a position of strength on the job.

Recommended Resource on Negotiating a Pay Raise

One great online resource to consult is www.CareerJournal.com, from the Wall Street Journal. It’s packed with lots of free tips and great information on negotiating a winning compensation package.

By the way, if you can’t score a raise and are thinking about jumping ship to a new employer, take heart in knowing that the best time to secure the most dollars from your employer is when you first get hired. That’s the point at which you have lots of room to negotiate for a host of perks, including extra vacation time, annual bonuses, stock options, and more. When an employer really wants to bring you on board, you’ll also have more leverage in getting a higher starting salary. Ask about benefits such as tuition reimbursement plans, and inquire about whether your boss would even pay off your student loans as part of an employment incentive contract to keep you as a loyal employee of the company. Amid your negotiations, you obviously want to bargain for the best overall compensation package. But don’t forget to lobby hard to make sure that the meat of your compensation – your basic cash salary – adequately compensates you for the value that you bring to an organization.

If All Else Fails – Get the Raise Your Boss Can’t Say “No” To

As a last-ditch strategy, those of you who are cash-strapped and unable to secure a raise should consider another alternative. Have you gotten a tax refund check in the past or do you anticipate getting one in the future? Well anytime you get a big refund check from Uncle Sam all that really means is that you have given the government an interest-free loan. So adjust your withholdings at work. Do not get a refund check.

What you have to do is fill out a form called a W-4. You should also get IRS publication 919 (available at www.irs.gov), which walks you through the whole process of properly filling out a W-4. It’s not overly complicated but this publication spells out in detail the ways in which you can adjust your W-4 at work. What you are going to do, in a nutshell, is increase the number of allowances that you claim on line five of your W-4 form. The goal is to decrease the withholding amount and ultimately receive a bigger paycheck. For those of you who usually get tax refunds, adjusting your W-4 at work will instantly put money in your pocket.

That extra money will immediately get funneled into your paycheck. So let’s say you usually get a $2,400 refund, which is close to the average of what many people receive. Well, $2,400 dollars translates into $200 a month that you could be getting right now in your paycheck. If you get paid once every two weeks, expect to see an extra hundred bucks in each paycheck.

This is one way to get a raise that your boss has no say-so over!

Regardless of which aspects or activities we are involved in, whether it involves our personal, business, or self – confidence impacting scenarios, we often end up in some sort of negotiations or negotiating activity/ aspect. Effective negotiations involve conceptualizing needs and focusing on solutions. In most cases, negotiating is dependent on these five components: 1. Do one’s homework carefully and thoroughly; 2. Effectively listen; 3. Absolute integrity and transparency; 4. An ability and willingness to prioritize and inform one’s adversary what our needs are; and 5. The inevitable achievement of a significant meeting of the minds. When one approaches negotiating as a cooperative rather than adversarial activity, the ability to negotiate a meaningful agreement is potentiated exponentially.

1. We often hear someone discuss the need to do one’s homework, but what does that actually mean? In negotiating, it means coming to the table completely prepared and “armed” with the necessary details and reasons for one’s position. However, it also requires studying the needs of the opposite side, and understanding their strengths and weaknesses, financial implications, and needs and potential areas of flexibility.

2. There is a big difference between simply hearing, and effective listening. It is a physical condition to have the ability to hear, but it is a needed (but acquired) skill to become an effective listener. To do so means avoiding the tendency to interrupt and dominate a forum with one’s own rhetoric, and focus on listening and posing questions that gather information while positively developing relationships. It also creates an opportunity to further one’s understanding of the other side’s needs and priorities.

3. A great negotiator must approach this process with absolute integrity, understanding that it is better to develop a relationship based on trust and honor, rather than on mistrust or opposition. Many have attempted to mislead an adversary during a negotiation, and while this at times may seem to have temporary positive results, in the end, it almost always destroys the essential fiber of producing a productive result.

4. Focus on the priorities and needs, and clearly inform the other side of what you are looking for. In many cases, when both sides are willing to look at alternatives, they can come out with a mutually beneficial result.

5. However, the goal of any negotiation, must be to come up with a meeting of the minds, where both sides feel they can walk away from the table, believing they have come up with a fair and equitable solution. This means using a win – win emphasis, and never approaching a negotiation with the objective of defeating an opponent.

Do you want to be an effective negotiator? If so, focus on these five components, work on the necessary skills, and maintain your objectivity and integrity.

Negotiations have become more common and people have understood the importance of negotiation these days and also realize that standing on the same foot will no longer be useful, even if it a business, or work, or trade etc.

Without negotiation, legal cases sometime might take on forever to complete where both the parties would not even be alive by then. Violent approach might also result in materialistic and physical casualties while trying to solve an issue

Learn the Situation: If you are a negotiator, or especially an inter mediator, you must firstly understand why there was an issue and what has caused the disagreements on both the sides. One must have a proper knowledge on who are the parties, what their concerns are and why was there an issue in the first place. Collecting further information about the object or scenario will also help to build a wider view point before starting the negotiation. When the parties learn that the negotiator have a lot of information, it will only increase the regards towards him or her.

Be Neutral and Not Influenced: One should not be biased by any external factors or personally influenced to anyone involved in the negotiation. Drawing attention on one side will totally spoil or bring down the trust towards the negotiator or mediator even if when he or she has the information to talk about.

One should be very neutral in the ideas and should be able to explain why a particular idea or deal is put forth so that the other people would understand that there is proper reasoning behind the attitude. Questioning people at the right time improves authenticity and wins the trust of the people involved

Be Patient and Sensible: Negotiation involves a lot of psychological drama and one must be able to read the characteristics of the people sitting around him or her. One should patiently listen to both the parties on what they present and hear them out with care.

Sometimes people might be a little over aggressive when talking about sensible, personal issues, assets or legal actions that can even offend a lot of other people. In that scenario, a person with good negotiation skills must be able to hold the nerve and patiently handle the situation. Reacting violently in such situations is of no use and not reacting properly will also end up in a disaster. Hence training on negotiation skills will also teach oneself to be more humane and emotionally controlled.

Improving you sales negotiation skills by using these four negotiation steps can directly affect your commissions, bonuses and sales targets. Salespeople negotiate with their clients all the time on price, delivery date, scope of agreement or to iron out the details on a large complex contract. It does not need to be painful.

What are four essential powerful negotiation steps you can take to help you successfully negotiate with your client?

Preparation – Planning for your negotiation can make the difference between a failed, painful or mediocre negotiation to a successful negotiation. Do you know who will be involved in the negotiation? It might not be your client contact.

Have you prepared for any and all questions your client might ask? What are your goals for this negotiation? What are you willing to give and not give? Have you brainstormed on what their objective is? What do you think they are willing to give and not give? Do you have alternative plans to offer?

Preparation is a key negotiation step. Have a goal/outcome in mind. Know what your plan of attack is. Know your client. Have an agenda and stay focused on it.

Do not mix up the deal with the relationship. – Avoid the trap. Keep the deal (such as price and service levels) and the relationship (such as mutual understanding and respect) separate. Identify and agree upon the main focus of the deal and get agreement on that first. Respect the other party and their interest. Do not accept anything else for yourself.

Control the controllable – What can you control in a negotiation?

You can control your:
- Preparation – Take the time to thoroughly prepare for your negotiation.
- Attitude – Maintain a positive, can-do, confident attitude. Be professional and respectful.
- Focus – To successfully negotiate the best deal possible a top sales person stays focused on the goals and outcomes. They are focused on the agenda. They are focused on listening to their client and hearing & understanding the nonverbal communication as well as the verbal communication. This ‘hearing’ also gives them flexibility. Top sales people keep the focus of the negotiation on the deal.

Lessons Learned – At the end of every negotiation, no matter what the outcome, analyze what worked, what did not work and what could have gone better. Pat yourself on the back for the things that went well. Do not beat yourself up for any mistakes. Use this as an opportunity to learn. Figure out where you could have prepared more and where you could use additional negotiation training.

Liars leave tells when negotiating. During negotiations, people rarely disclose the full truth. Some like to perceive themselves as not telling the whole truth, while others state, one is not expected to divulge one’s complete position during negotiations. Strangely enough, most negotiators don’t consider themselves as lying, or being deceitful when they either alter the truth, or fail to disclose all of it.

If you’d like to become more attuned to how you can detect when someone lies and acquire more knowledge about deciphering unspoken words and gestures, you should become more astute at interpreting body language (nonverbal signals). You can increase your perceptiveness at the negotiation table by observing the body language of the other negotiator during negotiations. To gain insight into body language gestures and gain insight into how to detect lies, read below.

1. Facial Expressions:

a. Eyes: When people lie, some have a difficult time maintaining eye contact. Prior to sitting at the negotiation table, take note of how the other negotiator communicates with his eyes. In particular, observe how long he maintains eye contact when you sense he’s telling the truth and contrast that to when he might be exaggerating.

b. Mouth: When negotiators alter the truth, some will keep their hands either over their mouth or close to it. Through that gesture, they’re indicating that they’re trying to hold their words back. They do so, because the body never lies, words do.

c. Ears: If you note a negotiator fondling his ears while making an offer or counter-offer, he’s indicating that either he’s not sure if he believes what he’s saying to be truthful, or he’s afraid you’ll have suspensions about believing it.

2. Stave off possible defeat by watching the feet.

a. During face-to-face negotiations, observe the direction in which the other negotiator’s feet are pointing. His feet will give you insight into the thoughts on his mind. If his feet are pointed towards you, through his body language he’s indicating that he’s engaged and more than not, being forthright. As his feet start to turn away from you, so will be his desire to disengage from the conversation; sense if it’s due to his alteration of the truth.

3. Pay attention to what people don’t want to discuss.

a. If you’re met with hesitancy when asking a question, there may be more to the answer you receive than the words convey. By listening to how the other negotiator responds to a question, you can gain insight into what might make him uncomfortable. By gaining such insight, you gain a perspective as to whether he’s trying not to disclose information, or if he’s lying. In so doing, you may have cause to delve deeper into that subject.

4. Always be astute to what holds value with the other negotiator.

a. If you know what has value in the eyes of the other negotiator (and haven’t haphazardly prioritized or guessed at what holds the most value), you can assess when he might lie to protect his position. In so doing, you could position yourself to forgo committing to a more valuable counter-offer. Regardless to the trade off, remember to make the other negotiator work for your concessions. Also keep in mind, you give an item value partly by the reverence you display towards it. So, when you make an offer, do so with the degree of pomp that such should warrant.

Instead of having your negotiations illuminated by hope, increase your perceptiveness throughout life and at the negotiation table, by becoming more adept at reading body language. Once you increase your knowledge of how to interpret body language, you’ll amaze yourself at how perceptive you’ll be during negotiations… and everything will be right with the world. Remember, you’re always negotiating.

The Negotiation Tips Are…

· In reading body language, one can’t accurately brand a single gesture as a lie. First, establish a baseline. To establish a baseline, observe the other negotiator’s gestures in a nonthreatening environment.

· When making an offer or counter-offer, gauge by the body language of the other negotiator the value he may place on your offer.

· By being attentive when negotiating via the phone, you can detect when lies are being told. It will usually occur in the form of a different rhythm in the other negotiator’s speech patterns.