Article of Interest: Five Presentation Mistakes Everyone Makes

Photo by:  ©Laurel Delaney.  All rights reserved.

Getting ready to give a winning presentation to a client you have been wooing for months?  Well, you better get it right from the start because first impressions matter.  Below we share Nancy Duarte's five presentation mistakes everyone makes.  See if you have made any of these yourself.  After all, you want to land that new million-dollar client, right?

Five Presentation Mistakes Everyone Makes

1. Failing to engage emotionally.
2. Asking too much of your slides. (I am definitely guilty of this one!)
3. Trotting out tired visuals.
4. Speaking in jargon.
5. Going over your allotted time.

Related post: Presentations That Matter (also by Nancy Duarte)  

Photo courtesy: ©2013 Laurel Delaney.  All rights reserved.  "Chicago Skyline, June 22, 2013"

Article of Interest: Customer Service Lessons From a Tokyo Taxi Company

How do you deliver consistent extraordinary customer service?  Use standout Tokyo-based taxi company Nihon Kotsu as an example.  They are on a mission to show that Japan's taxis are the best in the world.  What are you best at?

The devil is in the details.  Why just look:

During a mid-morning session with 40 drivers, he tells a story about a driver whose sloppy appearance and lackadaisical service led to the man’s demotion on the spot. On a whiteboard Kawanabe (President) writes the kanji character for hokori, or pride. “I want you all to promise me that you’ll take pride in this job,” he says. “If you do, customers will want to ride with you and you will perform better. And you will be happier.” Nihon Kotsu assigns two drivers to a car, typically a boxy Toyota Crown or Nissan Cedric sedan because those are the carmakers’ taxicab models.

Read the entire article at Monocle Magazine:

Taxi!

Bottom line:  Better service can boost a business' bottom line.

Blog Post of Interest: Mobile, Wearables and Facebook - Oh My!

Mary Meeker (as shown), partner at the venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield Byers (KPCB), presents the latest version of her influential report at the All Things D conference in California.

One major takeaway from her research:

Mobile Is Moving Fast

There are about 2.4 billion Internet users worldwide, a gain of 8 percent from 2012, driven largely by emerging markets like Iran and Indonesia. And there are 1.5 billion mobile subscribers worldwide, compared with 1.1 billion a year earlier. That’s roughly 30 percent growth. In addition, mobile makes up 15 percent of Internet traffic over all.

Go here to read the entire blog post.

Look for the full 100-slide report embedded at the end of the blog post.

Photo courtesy:  KPCB - Mary Meeker

Video of Interest: Why Meaningful Work Matters

Behavioral economist Dan Ariely talks about what makes us feel good about our work.  He presents two eye-opening experiments that reveal our unexpected and nuanced attitudes toward meaning in our work.  By understanding our motivation, we can help our employees feel good about their work too.

What motivates us to work? Contrary to conventional wisdom, it isn't just money. But it's not exactly joy either. It seems that most of us thrive by making constant progress and feeling a sense of purpose.