Most executives at some point in their careers will have to make a PowerPoint presentation. Fortunately or unfortunately, depending on how you look at it, I’ve had the opportunity to see numerous presentations both good and bad in addition to the many that I’ve done myself. Based on these experiences, I recommend the following for anyone interested in public speaking:

Know your audience prior to giving your talk. People coming to hear presentations want to know what value will this talk provide them. Understanding your group will help accomplish this task. Provide examples or cases relevant to your audience to make the topics easier for your listeners to grasp.

Visit the room before the event. Knowing the environment builds confidence. Visiting the room before the talk also helps prevent problems related to technology malfunctions, etc.

Smile during the talk. See a nice smile and you’ll see people become engaged. It’s inviting, yet many people seem to have trouble smiling when getting in front of groups.

Use eye contact and avoid reading off of your PowerPoint slides. Eye contact makes people feel like you’re speaking directly with them and engages the audience. Start with the left side of the room, make eye contact for a few seconds, then move your eyes to the middle of the room, repeat the process, and then work the right side of the room. Do this throughout the presentation.

Speak slowly and clearly. Prior to speaking, practice in front of a mirror and tape yourself to hear how you’re coming across. Have others critique you in a dress rehearsal presentation to make sure you’re coming across the way you want. Get a good grade in front of your peers and you’re on your way to a successful presentation when it’s time to go live.

Provide an agenda. People like getting an overview before getting into the details and providing an agenda accomplishes this. It is like serving an appetizer before the main course.

Keep to your allotted time. It is rude to go over or under your scheduled time. If you’re supposed to present for 90 minutes, keep it to 90 minutes.

Use graphics to enhance your slides. Pictures, slides, and charts can all be effective tools to get your points across. Make sure you cite your sources properly. Tools including Flickr and Slideshare can be helpful. Both sites allow free access to pictures and power point slides used by others provided you credit the source.

Another effective tool that can be used to enhance presentations is humor. Making people laugh eases anxiety for speakers and listeners. Video and music are also effective tools that can be used to engage your group as is asking questions to promote discussion and dialog among the attendees.

There is nothing like a wedding to bring out strong emotions, and for many the matter of the wedding gift list can be the more frustrating things.

As a Couple

1. Getting duplicates of things – nobody really needs two toasters or several identical sets of brandy glasses, and finding space to keep all your gifts can be a thankless task for a couple who have just returned from their honeymoon.

2. You really just want loads of booze and takeaways, but you can’t really ask for that – the things that people actually want are often not really wedding gift material, so trying to come up with a list of things that you want other people to buy you can be tricky.

3. Feeling grabby and worrying about offending people – there is no other occasion where you would present your friends and family with a list of things that you want them to buy you, and compiling a wedding gift list can leave you feeling as though you are being presumptuous and grasping

4. Not wanting a gift list but guests insisting on one – even if you genuinely don’t want anything, there are always some guests who can’t bear the idea of turning up to a wedding empty-handed and simply insist that you produce a list from which they can choose a gift.

5. Not getting what you really want – finding a gift that you and your intended will genuinely enjoy can be a difficult job, especially if you would rather spend a day rock climbing, canoeing or enjoying a spa day than cooking up the kind of feast that requires the use of traditional gifts such as a soup tureen and matching gravy boat.

6. Spending your time dealing with the gift list – if you have a list with a department store which manages the details of who has bought what then you might find that you have to monitor things a lot more closely than you would like, handling exchanges, substitutions and all other queries.

7. Feeling as though your taste is being judged – you might want a set of shot glasses and a cocktail shaker, but what will your great aunt think of such profligacy when she sees your gift list? You might not want everyone to know how you intend to furnish your house and end up compromising to keep things easy.

8. Writing thank-you cards – with great gifts come great responsibility, so no sooner have you retuned from the romantic whirlwind of your honeymoon, you then have to sit down and compose your thank you cards before you can relax and enjoy married life.

Receiving gifts should be a joy, so if you are finding it all a bit stressful then focus on what’s important. You can always as for experiences instead of tangible gifts or consumables such as wine or chocolates so that you won’t have to move house to fit all your gifts in, and you might end up with some really great surprises.

As a wedding guest

1. Additional wedding expense – once you have got your travel and accommodation sorted, you may feel as though you are shelling out as much as the happy couple themselves on attending the wedding. Adding a gift to the bill can make it all seem like an exercise in overspending.

2. Hard to choose something – finding a gift that you can actually imagine the couple enjoying can seem like an impossible task.

3. Not knowing the couple equally well – Wanting to get something special for both members of the couple, even if you only know one of them, can make wedding gift shopping really frustrating. A present which contains an element of choice is perfect, but they are few and far between.

4. Never actually seeing your gift – sometimes gifts from lists don’t even make it to reception as they are delivered directly to the bride and groom after their return from their honeymoon, so you never even see what you have bought which can make it seem very impersonal.

5. Worrying that you are picking your ideal gift – sometimes you see something which you think would be perfect for someone, before realising that actually it’s something you want yourself. Second guessing the couple’s tastes and trying to find something that they would like isn’t easy, especially if they haven’t provided a gift list.

6. Losing all sense of perspective – after browsing the internet or trudging round the shops, it can seem as though there is no wedding gift out there for the happy couple and that you have no idea what they like at all. Your stress levels rise and you begin to question everything you thought you knew about gift giving and personal taste.

7. Leaving it too late – even with a gift list, if you don’t get in there quickly enough, you might be left with gifts which are either very boring or really expensive, particularly if you are on a limited budget.

8. Panic-buying – choosing a gift because you are worried you will turn up with nothing is no way to select a wedding present for a friend or family member. Going to wrap up your gift and realising that you have chosen something really ugly, inappropriate or just odd is a nightmare.

Buying a wedding gift shouldn’t cause such stress, so if you are finding it hard then it’s time to focus on what is important.

Decide on your budget, think about the couple and choose something that you think they will like, or even something which will give them a choice to relieve the pressure on you.

In body language and negotiations, if you see someone displaying a fist, that’s the time to see opportunities. That’s true in any aspect of your life and even more so in a negotiation.

In a negotiation, when a negotiator displays a fist they’re displaying several hidden thoughts. They’re exhibiting signs of angst and/or possibly fear, along with a narrower mindset. It’s also a sign that the other negotiator wants to alter the current environment in ways that might not be overly pleasant for you.

In such situations don’t cower. Instead, display a sense of calmness, self-assuredness, and commitment. You might even consider matching the tonality of the other person or lowering your tone; one action versus the other would depend on the person displaying the gesture, your relationship with that person, and where you would like to take the negotiation next.

The point is, when you see a negotiator display a fist, understand the thought process that’s going through his mind. If you display weakness at such times, you could be inviting more of the fist displaying behavior.

When such a display is brandished, ask yourself the following questions:

1. Is this a ploy to see how I’ll react?
2. Is this an attempt to intimidate me?
3. If this is an attempt to intimidate me, how might I respond to display his lack of effectiveness?
4. What precipitated his behavior and is it founded?
5. Should I apologize for a perceived infraction and if I do what effect will that have on the negotiation?
6. What is he attempting to do with his fist gesture versus another gesture that might reveal his unhappiness?
7. Have I missed a gesture(s) that I should have been more aware of and if I did, what might it/they be?
8. Should I openly acknowledge his demeanor and what will that do to the negotiation?
9. How might I assuage his behavior while displaying empathy and not letting him take advantage of me?
10. What opportunities are now before me as the result of his current mindset?

When someone displays their fist, it’s usually a sign of aggression. Thus, you have to heighten your awareness to the factors mentioned above to assess why the display was made at this time and the effect that such a display has on the mental state of mind of that negotiator and the negotiation.

If you’re astutely attuned to such a gesture, you’ll realize that a mental shift has occurred. That shift can also give you an opportunity to control the negotiation. That’s true because at the point of the fist display, what you do after you see it will determine what occurs in the negotiation from that point.

So, in the future, when you see someone displaying a fist, don’t become afraid. Instead, consider what manner of control you’ll exercise to move the negotiation in the direction that serves your purpose. If done so masterfully, the other negotiator will apologize for his behavior. That will give you a greater sense of control because you’ll be in a position to be amicable by allowing him to amend his behavior via a concession or whatever serves you. For the time it last, he’ll be malleable. Use it to your advantage… and everything will be right with the world.

Remember, you’re always negotiating!