Two tips to that apply to creating an effective classroom presentation

It seems that there would be an endless list of things one may suggest for creating an effective classroom presentation. Luckily there is an endless list of helps for creating an effective and attention grabbing presentation in a classroom, office, or meeting. One of the most important things a presenter can use is his or her body language. How one presents themselves physically will dictate a lot of how an audience will accept their presentation. First and foremost is how you dress and groom yourself. If you are trying to be professional make sure you dress and look professional. Beyond grooming and professional looking though you can use your hands and body movements to help make points, accentuate the importance of a topic, appear relaxed, excited, nervous, or help draw attention back to you.

After body language I think one of the most critical is vocal characteristics. How a presenter uses their voice can be the death or success of their presentation. How many times have you been in a presentation with a low monotone speaker droning on and on? Adjusting the tone, pitch and speed of your voice appropriately in the right moments during a presentation can do miracles for your audience, their attention, and ultimately what they get out of your presentation.

Peer Evaluation

I am posting this blog after reviewing Brady Forman's blog entry of collaboration technology. Business in the modern world is conducted at the speed of techonology. Those who cannot keep up are quickly replaced by new more modernized and efficent firms. In order to remain competitive a company must keep pace with the technology it uses. One of these is Collaborative Technologies is the software. Brady uses the wikipedia defenition of collaborative software as software designed to help people involved in a common task achieve their goals. He goes on to discuss the wide varieties of collaborative software available all preforming a different function but serving the same purpose...to unify groups of workers over distances and help them accomplish a single goal.
Brady goes on to discuss the importance of Collaborative technology in the classroom and how it is just as vital there as it is in the business world. With this collaborative technology groups of students with conflicting schedules and at times long distances can stay and touch and work towards the goal of a group or class project. These technologies and software permit the transfer and communication of many individuals into a single location allowing all to participate and monitor the same progress.

What is the proper attire for a business interview?

What is the proper way to dress for a business interview? Largely that depends on the company you may be applying for. Companies will often have a relaxed internal dress code once your apart of the company, but other company's like Apple Computer or Google may be more relaxed on their standards from the start. Usually for the most part your not going to want to buck the trend and follow the conservative standard.



This conservative standard can be best summed up in this:


Men and Women

• two-piece business suit with dark blue or grey being the best colors to go with

• conservative long-sleeved shirt/blouse with white being the best option

• minimal cologne or perfume

• no tinkling things in pockets, remove coins and bulging objects

• no gum, candy or cigarettes

• well-groomed hairstyle

• clean, polished conservative shoes. Long and pointy is not conservative

• no visible body art or body piercings

• it's wise to bring a light briefcase or portfolio case to hang onto or manage your paperwork in a professional manner

There are a few suggestions for both sexes. Men should wear a silk tie with conservative patterns, have a fresh shave, no more than one ring per hand, no earrings, socks need to match suit and shoes, and have a fresh haircut. Women should wear a suit with a jacket in a skirt or slacks and wear shoes with a conservative heel on them. Use a clear nail polish or a conservative color and keep makeup simple and natural. Women should also have no more than one ring per hand and wear only one set of earrings.


Luckily if your still confused there is no shortage of input that one can get from the internet for assitance in looking your best for an interview.

Is job-hunting success more about who you know or what you know?

This seems to be a constant point of interest and stress while one is in school and preparing to one day soon move into the professional workforce. What is more important? How much you know or who you know? Sure we go to school for years to learn all that we can in order to make ourselves more marketable to employers of the markets of our choice. The more education, training, and experience you can bring to an interview the better. Clearly degrees, education, and work experience are important and can be a major point of selling yourself in a highly competitive market, but ultimately your major does not even have to correspond to your career.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that 70% of all jobs are actually located through networking (i.e. getting out and meeting people in the industry). By marketing yourself through networking events, career fairs, information sessions, touring a company or any thing else that may put you in contact with professionals of your choosen field. There are a number of ways to put yourself on the market and the more you can use the greater your odds are of  obtaining the job your looking for. An individual could hunt for jobs online, refer to jobboards and joblistings etc and look for ways to build off those leads and create opportunities for face-to-face interaction. One great example of connecting with professionals is a social media program called LinkedIn. This is a fantastic tool to begin networking and putting your name on the market through a network of professionals. And ultimately a great way to establish face-to-face interactions with professionals.

In my own experience 100% of all jobs I have had in 26 years have been through who I have known and had actually very little to do with how much I knew. The most recent example here in logan I was networked through a friend into a new industry on which I had very little knowledge. I created a resume that I thought would cater a little more specifically to the particular employer and scheduled an appointment. When I brought in my resume the interviewer simply glanced over it quickly and asked a few simple questions. An hour later I was contacted and informed that I had been hired. That simple face to face interaction is what really sold the employer on me. And it all came through networking and being first informed of the potential opening.

Toyota and you

Over the last several week's we have seen the safety of the vehicles of one of the largest foreign automaker's as well as the integrity of their corporate managment come into question. Recently Toyota has experienced a rash of recalls in an ever growing safety crisis for the company. Several recalls include problems with new electrical power steering actuators, sticking gas pedals or pedals being jammed in by floor mats, and even unresponsive brakes. These issues have led to a increasing number of injuries and even in some cases death. Although it is not unusual for a few poorly manufactured vehicles with issues to make it to the market from any automaker, the growing number of complaints from consumers of Toyota's vehicles has forced Toyota to make massive recalls of several of its models to ensure consumer safety as well as keeping the image of the company intact.

At this point many critics decry that  Toyota has already tainted its image to its American customers with its slow response to the growing problems with its vehicles. These critics claim that the company has drug its feet in resolving the issues until just recently as more and more safety issues have come to light. Toyota's president Akido Toyoda has endeavored to maintain and repair Toyota's soiled image by apologizing repeatedly for the safety problems and vowing changes within the company. Toyoda has also recently accepted an invitation to meet with U.S. lawmakers as investigations are launched into the problems at hand with Toyota vehicles. As the recall issues are resolved and the investigation moves forward many wait to see what changes will come to Toyota  and the ultimate result of the current crisis.

Discuss the topic: Letter writing is archaic and should not be taught any more.

Letter writing is archaic and should not be taught any more.

As I look at this topic I cannot help but think how entirely inaccurate that statement is. Of course letter writing should still be taught! The writing of letters is very much in use today. We write letters to loved ones, friends, schools, politicians, and businesses. Writing a letter is still a very effective means of communication. When we consider it, a poorly written letter in business today would surely be more devastating to your career than it was 60 years ago. Business is becoming more and more competitive and if you can demonstrate strong writing skills, even in a simple letter, you certainly have that much more advantage over your competing peers.

Even as the global economy becomes more digital and interconnected with emails, instant messaging, blogs, and text messages; learning to write a basic letter is still critical. Fundamentally writing a letter is really no different from writing a modern day email, and the basic principles of writing a letter can be applied in many areas in a digital era of professional business writing. One should also consider how far an email may travel within a company or how high it may go in a corporate hierarchy. If you authored a brief email to your immediate supervisor discussing some of the advantages of using a Linux operating system over a Windows operating system for the company, and he passed it on to his supervisors; there is no telling who and how many will read and critique what you have written. Ultimately you would be judged on how good or bad you presented your point and how well you demonstrated it in your writing. We can safely say that learning the principals of letter writing and applying them certainly is not archaic.