6 Steps to an A on Your Presentation

March 7, 2019 at 4:07 pm (communication, Presentations)
Tags: , ,

  1. First Impressions Matter

Watch those baby steps! The first thing people notice is your theme. The wrong theme and your PowerPoint already failed. Play to your audience and ask yourself if this is something you would want to sit through. A clever title is a dead giveaway of your work and lets the viewer know what’s in store for them. Don’t drag down your points because your title was “Cow Farts” in a presentation about methane.

  1. Organization, Organization, Organization

Keeping pace with the presentation is what makes you a successful speaker, so don’t forget to organize your points. Make sure to introduce your main ideas before speaking them. Give the audience a simple sentence to prepare for the next section. Something as easy as, that was Organization next is Consistency.

  1. Consistency is Key

No one wants to see a bunch of random nonsense cluttering up your PowerPoint. Watch where you place your pictures and keep them even in every slide. Just keep it simple and stick to set transitions that can still grab attention but don’t distract from the importance. So, it still looks like the same presentation but with all the pizzazz you intended.

  1. Word Count Those Slides!!

Watch the words on your slides no one really wants to sit through a presentation anyway so don’t add an essay on top of it. Stick to main ideas, unless you’re quoting something directly the PowerPoint is to aid your audience, not your script.

  1. Summarize and Conclude

Make it a spectacular finish and summarize your points for your audience. This can help them catch up on details they missed or allow them to review your points for questions at the end. If you want your audience to remember your points repetition is a surefire method of success. It lets your viewers relax and enjoy your presentation instead of working to learn it even after you are done.

  1. Spell Check

Never forget to review your presentation for clear errors when its done. It is always best to have someone else check your work but since we all know you did this an hour before it was due at least spell check your work. There is a big difference between “your” work, and “you’re” work.

There are a few tips to give yourself a shot at an A even if you aren’t a strong presenter. A good presentation doesn’t make quality materials, but it sure does disguise crap.

Leave a Comment

The Life of Generation Z

September 20, 2018 at 5:22 pm (Education, Marketing, Uncategorized)
Tags:

When you first think of Generation Z what comes to mind? Lazy, distracted, uncaring individuals that will never own a home and rent their whole lives? Teenagers so absorbed in their phones they forget to look up? A generation that couldn’t care less about their future?  These are all common answers when asking people what they think of when talking about Generation Z. However, these are misconceptions about the generation.

photo for bp               Generation Z is most commonly categorized as people born after the year 1995. They grew up seeing their parents struggle from the job market crumbling and the world of technology has shaped the way they think, comprehend, react, and respond to everyday interactions. They are the most recent generation and coming with that is the unknown about them. People not understanding the generation leads them to fall back on these misconceptions so that they have a sense of knowledge about the generation.

look_a_distraction_design_by_eecomics1               People in Generation Z are not lazy, distracted, or uncaring. If something is not interesting to them they will look somewhere else. On the surface this comes off as having a short attention span and being lazy, but this is just because Generation Z has become extremely efficient in the way they use their time with the advances in technology. If they aren’t going to benefit from something they are looking at then why waste their time? Therefore, social media, blog posts, YouTube, and other internet resources have grown in the market. Also, people in Generation Z care more about their future than most other generations. After watching their parents struggle they put a large priority on paying off student debts, putting their degrees to work, and saving for the future. They also have a high participation in volunteer opportunities and organizations that will better the future. This YouTube Video express the way that Generation Z thinks and acts today.

With the new, unexplored way that Generation Z thinks and behaves, the world will be a very different place as they reach adulthood. Things will start to be expressed in shorter periods of time and most things will be internet based. People will also most likely be in a better financial situation because of their hope and work for a better future. Hopefully this has changed your view or at least cleared up some of the unknown and warped the misconceptions that torment Generation Zed.

Leave a Comment

Google’s Image

September 28, 2017 at 5:26 pm (Add Value to Business, communication, Forbes, Internet Consensus, Social Media/Technology)
Tags: , , ,

Google’s Brand Image

 

Google’s brand image, they used in creating Google, was to figure out a way to display information that is easily accessible. Google put this brand image of simplicity and effectiveness into action when they built the Google search engine. The Google search engine finds important individual pages on the World Wide Web, and then links these important individual pages to the users.

Google represents its brand image through new design, as well as innovation of new methods of user interface. Google loves to use color to attract its user. From the bright blue carpet in the middle of its first headquarters, to the traditional red, yellow, and green logo, color and design are important to Google.

Communication through technology is Google’s way of penetrating the marketplace, and this has worked out very well for it. Google now employs more than 60,000 employees worldwide and is known for other products besides the Google search engine, such as Youtube and Android.

A business lesson that we can learn from Google, is that we should remain innovative and keep finding new ways to appeal to consumers through accessibility and effectiveness.

Sources:

https://www.google.com/intl/en/about/our-story/

https://design.google/library/evolving-google-identity/

By: Hugh Hamill, Business Administration Major- IUPUC

Leave a Comment

The Baby Boomers vs. The Millenials

April 2, 2017 at 8:05 pm (communication, Communication Problems, Conflict, Effective Communication, Social Media/Technology, Uncategorized)
Tags: , , ,

If you are a young person sitting at a family event and happen to be texting your best friend about the next time you want to hang out, you may have been told by your grandmother to get off your phone and that you are becoming antisocial. It may not have happened to you, but it sure has happened to me.

What I do not think the generations before us understand is that communication is evolving with society. They see our ways of communicating with each other as unnecessary or inefficient. However, I feel that our generations have similar ways of communicating. Past generations would write letters to friends that lived farther away because they had no way of communicating with them otherwise. Heck, they would even use telephones to call them. The combination of these sound fairly familiar to me. I see the combination as a cell phone. The letters are the equivalent to texts, and the calls are pretty obvious. A major difference between the two generations would be having a landline vs. having a cell phone. I know my grandmother has a landline, but I do not.

Also, each generation has their own lingo. With each generation comes new words. For our generation words like “swag” and “twerk” have formed, but the older generations look down on us for them. I am not saying I myself am proud of these words, but they also formed words like “hickey” and “fuzz”, which means police. These words are also not the most intelligent, and I bet the generation before the baby boomers found this lingo unnecessary. It is like a never ending cycle.

Seth Sharpe

 

Leave a Comment

What can we learn from Apple Inc. ?

September 23, 2015 at 10:38 pm (Business Ethics, consumer electronics, Social Media/Technology)
Tags: , ,

Apple Inc. is one of the most successful businesses in the US to date. To say the least, Apple has made a name for itself in the American culture. According to an article written by John Kell in the Fortune 500 online magazine, Apple was number one on the list of the top 10 most successful companies in the US. Apple earned $35.9 billion dollars last year. With the unveiling of the iPhone 6, 6plus and the Apple Watch, Apple has made it self a leader in the computer gadget industry.

Being an Apple consumer, I have noticed that Apple’s image is to make technology beautiful. With all of its products that become thinner and sleeker, they have accomplished to make their products attractive to nearly anyone. With curves instead of sharp edges they appeal to look softer and more friendly.

Apple holds on to the image of their beautiful products by always coming up with a new and improved product just about every year, sometimes twice a year. It’s always either smaller, thinner, more colors, bigger screen, lighter, or better quality. By coming out with a better product so often, it keeps your customer base involved. The customer wants the next coolest piece of hardware so that they can have the status that comes with being ahead of the game.

Apple has developed a culture around their products that keep their customer base growing. They do not just specialize in hardware they also have created various programs that keep their particular customers involved in the company everyday. Applications such as Apple Music, iTunes, AppleTV, Siri, iMessage, and the list can go on of the different ways that apple has diversified its potential.

A huge lesson to be learned from Apple is to be diverse in what we can offer and make it flawless. The reason why Apple can bring in so much cash flow is because they can dip into many different markets and appeal to all kinds of people. Their products are more user-friendly so that even children under the age of 5 can use them. America has definitely benefited from Apple products and I don’t see Apple doing anything else but continuing to grow.

_________________________________________________________

Apple Reports Fourth Quarter Results. (2014, October 11). In Apple. com.

Kell, J. (2015, June 11). Fortune 500’s Most Profitable Companies. Fortune.

Leave a Comment

Wild Slang

October 30, 2014 at 5:07 pm (Social Media/Technology)
Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,

Have you recently looked up the average number of text messages you send every day? If you have, have you checked to see in how many of them you used abbreviations, incorrect grammar, slang, or no punctuation? As texting and social media have been on the rise over the past decade everyone has adjusted to simplifying their ideas, with grammatical mistakes, as much as possible. After we continuously make grammatical errors or simplify our thoughts in our posts or texts it becomes a habit. This habit of informal communication has begun to take over the world.

Knowing when to use formal writing and correct punctuation is very important. Using incorrect punctuation can reflect a negative image on a person in certain situations. For example, if you are trying to get a job and you wrote a resume using incorrect punctuation, slang and abbreviations then that could foreshadow on whether you receive the job or not. We should all know to use correct punctuation and proper grammar when dealing with professional topics. If you are writing to your co-workers, bosses or teachers it is important to know the difference between their and there or your and you’re. Writing an email, letter or memo with incorrect wording or improper punctuation can create a different meaning then what the sender is trying to portray. Make sure you proofread every piece of writing that’s supposed to be important and sound professional so you can make it correct.

The interesting thing about slang and informal communication is that it has grown so much during the past decade. Most of these improper writings come from the younger generation in the world. The older generation is better at knowing the correct times to use the correct language. Most of our grandparents and even some parents do not understand what this “slang” means half the time. It is easier for them to use the correct language and punctuation because they grew up using it. The access for electronics, social media, and texting starts at a very young age now-days. Repetitively reading and replying to slang at a very young age creates the bad habit of informal communication during this young age. Everyone should know that doing something over and over from such a young age is hard to change when you get older. We all need to constantly remind ourselves that it is okay to talk and write informally, but we also need to practice formal writing at times.

Any time you have the chance to write formally you should take advantage of it. Writing formally makes you look professional and educated. Correcting as many mistakes as possible in your texts and social media posts will help form the skills of correct writing for appropriate times. Next time you see someone make a mistake point it out and make sure they understand the difference in what they wrote and what they meant. Being corrected might be embarrassing at that point in time, but impressing someone with correct grammar, punctuation and word usage in the long run will bring a great feeling of accomplishment. Language can be confusing, but hey so are the electronic devices you use daily. If you can succeed with figuring out all the new technology then formal communication won’t be too big of a challenge for you to understand.

– Trevor Armel IUPUC Business Finance Major

1 Comment

Technology Making the Workplace Smaller

January 27, 2012 at 3:55 pm (Social Media/Technology)
Tags: , ,

Technology has been making the workplace smaller longer than some may realize.  For example machines in factories make car parts, clothes, and wood-work.  All the human has to do is type the design into another form of technology, a computer.  Of course someone has to push a button to start the machine, sometimes move equipment, and fix a machine if something goes wrong.  Basically, machines are faster than most humans and don’t have to be paid, so this knocks out a big chunk of jobs.  An example of this is an ATM.  These machines do the same job as a bank teller.  Of course we still need bank tellers because not everything can be done by these machines, but if you need money at one o’clock in the morning then it’s definitely more convenient.  Think back to the time period prior to this particular technology.  It was a time when everyone knew each other by name and to the point that they would ask, and actually care about, how the person’s family was doing.  This goes to show the disadvantage to this type of technology.  It has turned society to be less sociable in person, therefore, making a workplace smaller.

Here is another look at our lack of sociability.  There are many countries where almost everyone has a desktop or a laptop computer.  This means many jobs can be done from an employee’s home.  This is to their advantage because it allows them to multitask.  One may be busy with taking care of children or even just the home; either way a video or phone conference can be done easily, but possibly not more effectively.  For example, the use to be a door-to-door salesman’s job is now done from a Bluetooth in the ear of a person half way around the world; who by the way, gets hung up on, meaning, the loss of costumers, therefore, the loss of their job.  This change has pushed us into thinking it’s strange to have someone come to our door and that we should be scared of anyone who does.  This means they are getting paid to sit in the comfort of their own home, staring at a computer or talking on the phone.  However, when you actually need to talk to a human, you only get a recording that has taken someone’s job because they are no longer needed.

At this point you might be thinking just the opposite, wondering “isn’t it technology that has made life easier?  Isn’t it easier to be more sociable because it’s easier to contact someone?”  The answer is yes; however, technology isn’t usually used for that.  Less actually gets accomplished when talking to someone online than it does when talking in person.  For example, some employees are careful about what they write in an e-mail because they are afraid of how it will come across to their boss.  So this employee may not write what he or she actually needs to, in order for something to be accomplished.  The more technology we are forced to use in the workplace, the more normal it will be to only need to communicate with technology instead of our coworkers.

By Lindsay Hobdy, Business Major–IUPUC

1 Comment

Pro and Cons of Telecommuting

November 8, 2011 at 12:00 pm (Telecommuting)
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

I believe that telecommuting started to become popular in the twenty first century.  This is when computer and Internet technology really started to advance.  More people than ever before now own a cell phone.  Very powerful computers including laptop computers started to become very affordable and popular for people to own in their own home.  High speed broadband Internet became much more affordable and available to many more people than in the past.  There was also the desire for more people to be able to spend more time with their family at home than to have to travel to and from work each day.

The major advantage for someone to telecommute is the ability to work from home.  I do believe that this can be a major advantage for many people.  Some people have families with children where they would like to stay close to at home.  In this case telecommuting can be a major advantage to them if the job has very flexible hours working in a very relaxing environment at home.  Most people that do telecommute every day from home have a separate area in their home away from the rest of their family so that they can focus on their work.  I do believe that telecommuting is very popular for stay at home parents.

Telecommuting can reduce the amount of money that is spent on gas.  With gas prices over three dollars a gallon now in many parts of the country, it might make sense to work from home more often than to drive to work every day.  This can really benefit the environment.  The life of a person’s car can be extended as well by not driving to work everyday. The telecommuter might be able to focus more doing their work from home then having to deal with the daily office distractions.

Telecommuting might also open up the job market for some individuals.  The economy in the U.S. is not really doing well right now.  Some people might have to look for a telecommuting job online in another state.  In the past if someone wanted to work for a company in another state, they more than likely had to relocate to another state.  Now they can just work from home anywhere if they were to get hired.  Telephones including cell phones, web cams,  and video conferencing might be used if the telecommuter has to talk with coworkers and managers in another state.

The major disadvantage of telecommuting is that there is no daily social interaction with coworkers and managers.  This could make it harder for some telecommuters to get promoted because managers do not see their employees daily.  Telecommuters can also sometimes be lonely.  The telecommuter has to really be self-motivated to be able to work every day from home because some people consider the home to be a place to relax and not work.  Some people might have a hard time separating their work life from their personal life working at home everyday.  Telecommuters working from home might be easily distracted from work if they do not have a separate area in their home for work.

Telecommuting does have some advantages and disadvantages.  Full time telecommuting is not for everyone.  It depends on what the person’s personal situation is at home and what type of job they would prefer to do for a living.  I do believe that full time telecommuting is not for someone who is single because they might desire the social interaction with people by going to work every day.   A telecommuting job might be more appealing for someone that has a family at home.

Personally, I do not believe that I would like or enjoy a full time telecommuting job but I would consider a job with some telecommuting work at home after I am done with college.  I would be someone that would enjoy going to work every day and having interaction with my coworkers and managers than someone that just does their work on the computer at home every day.  There are many benefits to a job that has some part time telecommuting.

I do believe that telecommuting will keep on getting more popular in the future because technology just keeps on advancing.

By Eric Shepherd-IUPUC Business Major, Ivy Tech Alumni

Leave a Comment

The future of email-is there one? And, if not, what will fill the void?

September 27, 2011 at 12:35 pm (Effective Communication, Social Media in the workplace)
Tags: , , , , ,

In my opinion I think that email is surviving because of the business world. The future of email is slowly starting to diminish because of all the other ways that we as humans can communicate. Since facebook, and twitter has come along email is taking a back seat to these new and improved ways to communicate. With the formation of technology that we will see in the near future email will slowly disappear, and I think in as few as ten years will be non existent.
Since we have so many people working in the widely varied business world, some of the older people aren’t up to the new technology as the we the younger generation is. They are used to using email because it is really the only way they have ever communicated. The newer, and younger generation know what email is but are given many other ways to communicate in a fast way. Facts show teens between 18-24 share 76% of there content via facebook. The same age group only 70% share there content by using email.
As I stated before the older the age group the more that generation still uses email. The same chart shows that people that are ages 65 and older use email 97% of the time, and facebook only 24% of the time. The good thing about email is that your content is a lot more private that if you post something on facebook. If you post something on facebook you are more likely to say something wrong, and pay the price for it. In the same aspect when writing an email to someone the only person that knows what you said is you and that person, not the whole world.
I think that email will survive for a few more years than facebook, and twitter will eventually take up the internet. Why I say facebook is going to fill the void is because of how huge it has become in just the few years it has been available. Facebook has become so huge and is involved with everything we do. Technology is going to keep changing, and new ways of communicating are going to keep being available for humans. Email was the start of something good that has now changed the new ways we can communicate. If it wasn’t for email I don’t know where we would be today, but facebook is the new communication tool, and the future of communication for a long time to come.

Written By: Kyle Martin

2 Comments