"Any job started with an effective presentation is half completed already."

This becomes true for any type of job may it be in business, in service or in personal life. A presentation is a fast and potentially effective method of getting things done through other people. In managing any project or proposals or venture, presentations are used as a formal method for bringing people together to know, plan, monitor and review. But let us look at this another way: what can a presentation do for us?

Firstly, it puts us on display. Staffs need to see evidence of decisive planning and leadership so that they are confident in their position as their bosses are they need to be motivated and inspired to undertaking the tasks, which someone is presenting. Our skill and ability should impress our clients or senior management. Then will they provide the resources so that our team and we can get the job and perform it.

Secondly, it allows us to hold a discussion during the presentation itself. It does allows us to raise the issues, present the problems and at least to establish who amongst the audience could provide valuable input to our decision making.

Finally, presentations can be used to uplift our image, and thus our performance level could be highlighted, which can bring in new businesses for us.

In Nepal, where every one talks about lack of professionalism and skills we have no other option than making a presentation to the other party to create an impression that such rumours are not always true. A good presentation can lift us above our level and can create a new leveled platform for us. At the same time, a presentation which is not at all influential can bring us down from our existing level. So to find out that how we can make a good presentation is very important.

Let us take an easy approach to understand presentation as an effective one. We will try to define each letter of the word "presentation":

Starting with first letter "P", which could be PLAN. It is difficult to over-estimate the importance of careful preparation. Five minutes on the floor in front of ten people could decide the acceptance of a proposal prepared with several months’ of efforts. So it is very important that we plan every bit of our presentation to make it flawless. Any small mistake could be devastating.

Next Letter "R" is nothing but REHEARSAL. Rehearsing could be the only approach to make those butterflies in our stomach fly smoothly. Yes, everyone gets butterflies no matter whether it is well-known actor or a politician or a public speaker. It’s just that they know how to make those butterflies dance inside them to impress their listeners. There is no substitute for rehearsal. We can do it in front of a mirror, or to an empty theatre. In both cases, we should accentuate our gestures and vocal projection so that we get used to the sound and sight of ourselves. Do not be put off by the mirror - remember: we see a lot less of ourselves than our friends do.

However, the structure must not get in the way of the main message. If it is too complex or simply too noticeable the audience will be distracted.

The Beginning: It is imperative to plan our beginning carefully; there are five main elements: Get their attention, establish a theme, and present a structure, create rapport and administration.

The Ending: The final impression we make on the audience is the one they will remember. Thus it is worth planning our last few sentences with extreme care.

As with the beginning, it is necessary first to get their attention, which would have wandered. This requires a change of pace, a new visual aid or perhaps the introduction of one final culminating idea. In some formats the ending will be a summary of the main points of the talk. One of the greatest mistakes is to tell the audience that this is going to be a summary because at that moment they simply switch off. Indeed it is best that the ending comes unexpectedly with that final vital phrase left hanging in the air and ringing round their memories.

Moving on to letter "N" means NARRATION. Everyone loves a story and stories can both instruct and convey a message: Our italicise creates morals through their stories like Ramayana, Mahabharata, and Christianity was originally taught in parables. If we can weave our message into a story or a personal anecdote, then we can have them wanting to hear our every word - even if we have to make it up.

"T" the next letter reminds us of "TONE". It is important to realize from the onset that few people can take their ordinary conversational voice and put it on stage. If we can, then perhaps we should move to Hollywood. The main difference comes in the degree of feedback, which we can expect, from the person to whom we are talking. In ordinary conversation we can see from the expression, perhaps a subtle movement of the eye, when a word or phrase has been missed or misunderstood. In front of an audience we have to make sure that this never happens. The simple solution is to slow down and to take our time. A safe style is to be slightly louder and slightly slower than a fireside chat. As we get used to the sound, we can adjust it by watching the audience. A monotone speech is both boring and soporific, so it is important to try to vary the pitch and speed of our presentation.

The other important letter "A" is for APPEARANCE. There are many guides to management and presentation styles which lay heavy emphasis upon the way we dress and in the last analysis this is a matter of personal choice. That choice should however be deliberately made. When we are giving a presentation we must dress for the audience, not for ourselves; if they think we look out of place, then we are.

Coming to letter "T", which depicts TECHNIQUES OF SPEECH". Every speaker has a set of "tricks of the trade" which he or she holds dear. The following are a short selection of such advice taken from various sources.

Repeat, Repeat: The average audience is very busy: they have husbands or wives etc, etc - but repetition makes them hear. The average audience is easily distracted, and their attention will slip during the most important message of our speech - so we must repeat it.

Draw a Sign: If the audience knows when to listen, they will. So tell them: the important point is so and so.

Draw a Picture: The human brain is used to dealing with images, and this ability can be used to make the message more memorable. Thus a phrase like "we need to increase the market penetration before there will be sufficient profits for a pay related bonus" becomes "we need a bigger slice of the cake before the feast".

Jokes: The set piece joke can work very well, but it can also lead to disaster. We must choose a joke, which is apt, and one that will not offend any member of the audience.

The letter "I" leaves an IMRESSION. Our job is to do something, anything, which captures the audience’s attention and makes a lasting impression upon them. Once we have planned our speech and honed it down to its few salient points, isolate the most important and devise some method to make it stick.

Last, but not the least, we should remember to KISS the audience. Yes if we "Keep It Short & Sweet", it is always ensured that they will like it, love it and will let us kiss them for positive results.

In the conclusion we must remember that once the speech is over and we have calmed down, we should try to honestly evaluate our performance. Either alone, or with the help of a friend in the audience, decide what was the least successful aspect of our presentation and resolve to concentrate on that point in the next talk that we give. If it is a problem associated with the preparation, then deal with it there; if it is a problem with our delivery, write ourselves a reminder note and put it in front of us at the next talk.

Practice is only productive when we make a positive effort to improve – lets try it.

(Acharya is the CEO of Prisma Advertising, Management & Marketing)

Forgotten Customer Service

By Ravin S. Lama

One stormy night many, many years ago, an elderly man and his wife entered the lobby of a small hotel in Philadelphia in the U.S. Trying to get out of the rain, the couple approached the front desk hoping to get some shelter for the night.

"Could you possibly give us a room here?" the husband asked. The

clerk, a friendly man with a winning smile, looked at the couple and explained that there were three conventions in town.

"All of our rooms are taken," the clerk said. "But I can't send a nice

couple like you out into the rain at one o'clock in the morning. Would

you perhaps be willing to sleep in my room? It's not exactly a suite, but it

will be good enough to make you folks comfortable for the night."

When the couple declined, the young man pressed on. "Don't worry about

me; I'll make out just fine," the clerk told them. So the couple agreed.

As he paid his bill the next morning, the elderly man said to the

clerk, "You are the kind of manager who should be the boss of the best hotel in the United States. Maybe someday I'll build one for you."

The clerk looked at them and smiled. The three of them had a good

laugh. As they drove away, the elderly couple agreed that the helpful clerk was indeed exceptional, as finding people who are both friendly and helpful

isn't easy.

Two years passed. The clerk had almost forgotten the incident when he

received a letter from the old man. It recalled that stormy night and

enclosed a round-trip ticket to New York, asking the young man to pay

them a visit.

The old man met him in New York, and led him to the corner of Fifth

Avenue and 34th Street. He then pointed to a great new building there, a palace of reddish stone, with turrets and watchtowers thrusting up to the sky. "That," said the older man, "is the hotel I have just built for you to

manage." "You must be joking," the young man said. "I can assure you I am not," said the older man, a sly smile playing around his mouth.

The older man's name was William Waldorf Astor, and the magnificent

structure was the original Waldorf-Astoria Hotel. The young clerk who

became its first manager was George C. Boldt.

This young clerk never foresaw the turn of events that would lead him to become the manager of one of the world's most glamorous hotels.

All this happened because of the SERVICE he offered by going out of his way and going beyond the call of duty.

"Service" in Nepal is a word which has been forgotten (there are exceptions of course) and no attempts are being made to revive it. Look back into your Life and try and recall how many times you have felt really good or have been made to feel very special as a customer. Not too often I’m afraid.

Three weeks ago I had the opportunity of visiting the Kantipath branch of Nepal Grindlays Bank to open a new account. The Manager on duty took my application forms, very politely asked me to wait after offering me a seat, and then disappeared. When she returned after precisely five minutes, she smiled and said everything had been done and that my cheque book would be ready the next day. Very courteously she requested me if I could come by tomorrow to pick it up.

The next morning at around 10 a.m. I received a call from the same Manager informing me that my cheque book was ready and that I could visit the Bank anytime to pick it up.

In my twenty years of banking experience as a customer, the service offered by this Manager was unmatched anywhere. She made me feel IMPORTANT. Opening a bank account is something very trivial and happens all the time, everyday, at the various Banks all over the country. But the difference here was for the Manager to make me feel SPECIAL for something so mundane.

Several months ago, I was seated in a friend’s office when she received a call from the Opel showroom. They had apparently called to check if she was satisfied with her car and if there was anything which needed to be done. Tsering told the person on the line that she was having some problem with her car door. The man promised to send someone over to pick up the car in half an hour. Intrigued, I deliberately stayed back to check. True to his word, within 30 minutes, a driver came to take the car to the workshop. On enquiry, Tsering informed that Opel does this quite often.

Two years ago, there was excitement in the office regarding an eclipse which was to start at 5:30 p.m. As was belief that one should not eat during and after an eclipse, we quickly decided that we should try out the pizzas from the Radisson’s Olive Garden.

After all the initial excitement and hype that the hotel served the best pizzas, it was a total let down when we actually got around to eating it. The pizza was hard and tasteless. I promptly shot off a note to the F&B (Food and Beverage) Manager voicing my displeasure at the quality of the pizzas. I was certain nothing would be done.

I was wrong. A day later, I received a letter of apology from Inder Dhawan, the F&B Manager over our unfortunate incident. To ‘make up’, the hotel invited the whole office over to the restaurant for a Saturday lunch of pizzas. It was a terrific and unique experience feeling important as a customer. It made us all feel so good.

Last year after having dined with the family at the Chinese restaurant in Kathmandu Plaza, we discovered a cockroach in the fish dish we had just finished eating. When I pointed this out to the manager, he just shrugged his shoulders and said, "It happens. So what?" His attitude was that of ‘no big deal’, what’s all the fuss about.

Would I go back to the restaurant? You know my answer.

Why do we like dealing with certain companies and not others. I firmly believe that people do not deal with companies but with people who bring about a level of satisfaction or dis-satisfaction based on their personal experiences. People represent companies and not the other way around. That is why it is people who can make or break an organization.

The majority of Nepali sales people are just not interested. The next time you are around at Bishal Bazaar on New Road, notice the differene in attitude. The Indian shopkeepers will go out of their way to make a sale or woo you. The service they offer you makes you come back to them. That’s what service is all about. That’s where you can make your money in the long run. Most Nepali customers rarely complain. Customers who complain are looked upon as irritants. Look at it a different way – they are the people who want you to improve.

Fred Manske, in "Secrets of Effective Leadership" relates a story which shows the importance of customer service.

It was the late 1940s. Eastern Airline's chairman, Captain Eddie

Rickenbacker, had a problem. Customers were complaining because the

airline was mishandling luggage far too often. When nothing else seemed

to work, he decided to take drastic action.

Rickenbacker called a special meeting of the management personnel in Miami. Eastern's management flew to Miami and were told their baggage would be delivered to their hotel rooms. Instead, Rickenbacker had the luggage stored overnight.

It was summer, the weather was hot and humid and the hotel had no air-conditioning. The various managers showed up to the meeting the next morning unshaven, teeth unbrushed and wearing dirty clothes. There was no sign of the baggage all that day. But that night Rickenbacker had it delivered, at 3:00 a.m., with a great pounding on all the doors.

He opened the next morning's session by saying, "Now you know how the customer feels when you mishandle his luggage." He knew his team would be ineffective until his people empathized with their customers.

The same is true with us. Until we can feel what another feels, we will never be effective in business or relationships. Only when husbands and wives, parents and children, friends and colleagues and associates will FEEL what others feel, can they truly understand. And only when they understand, can they be truly effective with each other.

Ravin S. Lama is the Managing Director of Stimulus Advertizers and the current President of the Kathmandu Toastmasters Club