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A good friend of ours just had their first baby – an adorable baby girl named Mona Lee. We have been talking about what to buy them for gift. We have had so many ideas, but finally settled on getting a baby gift basket.

Baby gift baskets can be bought pre-assembled. However, we have decided to collect and assemble the basket on our own. We will buy a large basket with a sturdy handle at a local craft shop along with cellophane (preferably in pink or printed with a baby motif). As well, we will pick up some ribbons, tissue paper, possibly a pre-inflated foil balloon with congratulations message, and of course, a nice appropriate card.

Then we started to put the items into our basket. Some items we will look for are good quality baby shoes with a decent support. Then we choose more generic items to fill up the gift basket. These choices will likely include liquid baby powder (real baby powder can affect baby’s breathing), a baby-safe stuffed toy, something to help mommy to relax (bath salts or similar aromatherapy products), an assortment of baby care products and last but not least, a gift certificate for a local restaurant so that both parents can enjoy an evening away from the hectic demands of new parenthood.

Baby gift baskets are an especially good choice for people who live a great distance away (like us). As long as items are non-breakable, these baskets can be safely shipped and it is a great way to send best wishes and practical gifts to new parents and babies.

In the past, when we had our children, we were fortunate to receive many such baskets. It’s a lot of fun to get and give an assortment of gifts items and it’s a good way to ensure that everyone is included in the family. It’s especially good to remember any other little brothers or sisters in the family, who may probably feel somewhat left out by all the fuss over the new baby. Including a couple of special gift for the other children is a wonderful gesture of care and makes things go that much more smoothly while welcoming the new one to the family. Good choices to include in the basket, for the other children will likely include toys and games that they are able to operate by themselves. So it’s very important to be conscious of their ages, since buying a toy or game beyond their age range will require adult assistance and likely result in disappointment for the kids, rather than the original intended distraction.

Indeed, buying or assembling a gift basket is a great way to personalize your present. The extra time it may take to make your gift just right will definitely be appreciated by the new parents and the practicality of the gift will make their job that much easier to start with.

Public speaking is the process of speaking to a group of people in a structured manner intended to tell, persuade, or entertain the listeners. It is closely related to “presenting”. Public speaking and presentations can be very demanding. Whenever we have to get in front of an audience to speak, we usually have to go through a panic moment. Putting forth a good presentation demands a lot of courage, practice and preparation.

Every time you speak before crowd, you learn something new. With my 12 years of experience as a public speaker and trainer on public speaking and presentation skills I have several tips which would help many of you. These points would help no matter whether you are speaking at a large conference or giving an internal presentation to the co-workers. They can be used anywhere.

GETTING PHYSICALLY & MENTALLY PREPARED BEFORE YOUR PRESENTATION- The more you prepare, the more confident you would feel. Slowly and gradually when you become comfortable in public speaking you’ll unsurprisingly feel more confident and the need to prepare may be of lesser importance. Amateur speakers must spend more time in getting ready. But that does not mean that you make yourself go crazy. Just be comfortable with your material and keep practicing. If you are a first time speaker, you may consult a public speaking trainer and would be of great help. They will observe your style and suggest you some advice on addressing the crowd. For example they might advice you to:

* Speak slower.

* Talk to individuals in the audience.

* Take pauses and think before you speak.

Going over them before your presentation would help you to be more composed and confident. Some more ways to prepare yourself can be the following:

* Drinking a lot of water.

* Taking a good night’s sleep.

* Avoid drinking the night before.

* Breathe normally.

* Visualize a positive result.

* Talk to other speakers (if any). Ask them questions and for advice.

PREPARING MATERIALS TO SUPPORT YOUR PRESENTATION- The key to prepare your presentation is to remember that less is more. A few guidelines to a good presentation:

* Keep text to a minimum. Do not put more than 5 bullet points per slide. People tend to lose interest in what you are speaking while reading this stuff.

* Check for contrast and font size. Make sure that it is readable.

* Use pictures where possible to get your idea across. They can be remembered more easily.

* Keep the notes short and simple. Their purpose is only to serve as a reminder.

* Check the resolution of your presentation. To be safe, go for 800×600.

* Complicated charts and graphs should be avoided. Audience may get confused.

WHILE GIVING THE PRESENTATION- A few things to be remembered when giving the presentation:

* Be optimistic.

* Telling stories will make your idea clearer than charts, graphs and numbers. They also help in engaging your audience.

* Don’t read your slides or notes. They should only play the role of supporters to what you are saying.

* Keep your introduction short yet strong.

* Keep your speech or the presentation slow and steady.

* Don’t be anxious over mistakes. Don’t apologize. Stay confident and just move on.

* Take pauses at appropriate times. This would also give your audience time to absorb what you presented.

* Smile, joke and laugh when needed. Don’t try to overdo anything.

* Make your ending crisp, clean and powerful.

* Prepare yourself for interruptions and questions.

As an expert, one of your greatest opportunities to build your market reach and client base is to get on the platform and give a “knock their socks off” presentation.

If you’re an entrepreneur, there are very few strategies that compare to getting on the platform in order to build your credibility, visibility, market reach, client base and revenues.

As an “expert” your job is to give the best presentation you possibly can. The long-term benefits of using speaking to build your business are beyond compare.

Three “must-do’s” for HOT presentations are:

• Know your audience
• Tell stories
• Give it your all

Know your audience

It’s all very fine to be a good, or even great, speaker, but even great speakers need to know who’s in their audience. The more you know who your audience is the more you can customize your presentation to their needs.

Knowing your audience requires time upfront. There are a number of ways to become familiar with your audience including a pre-event questionnaire, one on one conversations with a cross-section of the audience and studying the website of the group you are presenting to.

By taking time upfront to know your audience, it’s a sure bet you will stand head and shoulders above other speakers.

Tell stories

Facts and figures may be a huge part of your message, but stories make your points memorable. People love stories. If you’re not a good storyteller, put effort into learning how. The ability to be a storyteller will take you from an average speaker to a memorable speaker.

Keep your stories short and make a point with your story. Avoid starting your story with, “I’m going to tell you a story.” Simply go into your story.

Give it your all

When people give you their time by sitting in your audience, your job is to give 100% to the experience. To not do so is doing your audience a disservice.

• Make your audience feel as though they are the most important people around.
• Have fun. When you have fun your audience will to.
• Stay excited throughout. This doesn’t mean you have to jump around and bounce off the walls. It simply means be fully present throughout the presentation.

Regardless of what industry you’re in, if you want to be viewed as the go-to expert, presentations are, by far, the best way to do so. They are also the best way to sell books, information products and enroll clients into your high-end services.