What’s the Deal with Copy Paper?

An Article That is Worth the Paper It’s Printed on…

Even in today’s digital world, most businesses go through a lot of paper. As you might expect, paper is the number one most price sensitive category in office supplies.

The so-called paperless office has yet to arrive, and it’s hard to believe that it ever will. So, no surprise then; a lot of businesses focus on how much they spend on paper. As a result almost all office supplies companies shout about their big splashy deals on copier and printer paper reams.

Why does this matter?

Chances are that your business spends quite a bit of money on paper. If your team is ‘on it’ it’s likely that they will be able to sniff out some (seemingly) good deals on paper for you.

But there may be a catch:

Paper pulp is a commodity which means there is a ‘bottom dollar’ price below which your suppliers cannot sell paper without losing money. Ergo, if your supplier wants to keep advertising big ‘discount’ deals on paper reams they might be promoting something of a lower quality in order to hit a price point.

In most cases there is nothing underhand going on – they will be honest about what they are trying to sell to you… but it’s important that you know what you are buying.

You might be happy with lower quality paper for some internal documents. But not for everything. And what happens if the paper doesn’t go through your printers properly?

But hang on. How confusing can it be? It’s only paper, right?

Well, yes. Fair comment. It’s not exactly brain surgery. However, let’s not be too dismissive. Paper comes in a lot of different forms. And having a little knowledge is not always enough. It’s not just a case of thinking “I know I want 80gsm A4 printer paper because that is what I have always used”.

Depending on other characteristics of the paper, you might find a 75gsm paper that goes through your printer and looks better in your presentation folder than the 80gsm you have been buying.

Here’s the bottom line:

To make life simple we thought we would produce this FREE guide to the basics of paper.

So, let’s have a quick rundown of different characteristics and types of paper, their qualities and benefits, and break through a bit of the needlessly confusing jargon so it’s easy for you choose the right type of paper for your business needs and your printer.

Five points to paper perfection - Coating, Opacity, Weight, Smoothness and Brightness:

A lot of people know that ‘weight’ is a thing to consider, just like the example above where we talked about ‘80gsm’ vs ‘75gsm’ paper. However, weight is just one of five key characteristics that can make a sheet of paper ideal for one job and completely unsuitable for the next. So, let’s look at what Coating, Opacity, Weight, Smoothness and Brightness might mean for your printer and your print jobs.

Coating:

Printer papers have different surface coatings. Most commonly there are matte, dull, or smooth. Smooth surfaces are most commonly used to create a glossy effect – ideal for printing images or photography.

Opacity:

What is opacity? Very simply, if something is opaque, you cannot see through it.

So, the greater the opacity of the paper, the less see-through it is. The opacity of a sheet of printer paper indicates how much the print will show through on the opposite side. Heavier weight papers often have greater opacity than lighter weight papers. So weight is an important factor, however it’s not always the only factor, so opacity is measured separately on a scale of 0 to 100, with 0 representing transparent sheets and 100 representing completely opaque sheets.

Weight:

Although it might be hard to discern manually unless you are a real paper geek, printer paper comes in a range of weights. The weight results from the thickness of each individual sheet. Paper weights are quoted as grams per square metre (gsm).

As a rough guide to help you relate to what different paper weights mean, a book cover board would be something like 200gsm or over, whilst paper with simple text printed on it might range from 50gsm (a lightweight paper from a cheap paperback novel) to 170gsm (heavy paper that you might see in a top quality magazine or brochure).

For the paper you typically might buy for your printer or copier the weight will be indicated on the printer paper’s packaging. The weight of the paper is often the key factor in determining whether it is suitable for the job it is intended for. For example

·       75gsm bond paper – ideal for everyday print and copy tasks.

·       90gsm mid-weight paper – provides crisper images, would be ideal for important documents and also for double-sided printing.

·       150gsm poster paper – deal for signs, flyers and promotional prints.

The thicker the paper weight, the more durable it is. However, thicker paper goes through printers at a slower rate.

Smoothness:

Different printer types can benefit from different levels of printer paper smoothness. Laser printers have a thing called a ‘fuser’ in them. This is basically like an ‘oven’ inside the printer that ‘bakes’ the toner powder onto the page (that’s why pages are always hot when they come out of your laser printer). Laser printers often require smoother paper to produce the best results. Meanwhile inkjet printers mostly use water based inks, and they can benefit from textured papers, which are better suited to absorbing the ink.

Brightness:

You might be thinking, “I just want white printer paper. Surely that’s not difficult?”

Well, you’re right of course. But, although the vast majority of printer paper sheets come in a white tone, they are spread across a scale of brightness levels. This is usually labelled on the printer paper packaging, with the ‘brightness’ given a numerical value. In simple terms, higher numbers provide sharper images. The brighter the paper, the better a print will look. Most printer papers range between 80 and 100 on the brightness scale.

Worth thinking about for your documents – make sure you are showing them off to the best effect!

How can you actually use this?

In practical terms, it’s helpful to know what to look for on the packaging of different printer and copier paper reams, and also on the website of your chosen office supplies and stationery supplier.

Most often you will see paper listed by ‘type’ or its intended purpose. It’s not always quite as straightforward as finding something that has ‘Printing Paper – A4’ written on it but if you understand the qualities and features of paper, like the characteristics listed in the quick guide above, you will hopefully find it easy to select the perfect sheet for your current print job.

For example:

·       Inkjet paper – as you would expect, this is designed to work with inkjet printers… but there are lots of types of jobs you might use an inkjet printer for, so inkjet paper refers to photo paper, glossy paper, business card paper and greeting card paper, all of which have the qualities to go through inkjet printers… but not all of which are the same.

·       Laser paper - laser printers can benefit from specially designed laser paper (remember what we said about ‘smoothness’ above?)

·       Matte paper – this is most commonly used for everyday printing tasks like document printing. A matte paper has a white coating which allows the ink to dry quickly, so it’s good for document printing on an inkjet printer. The quick drying times reduce the risk of smudged or blurred images and text, but beware… images are often not as sharp as when printed on other, glossier, types of paper. If your document has a lot of images in it you may want to avoid a matte paper.

·         Glossy paper - this is traditionally used when printing documents with lots of images, or photographs, due to its ability to produce sharp, vibrant images. The glossy surface accurately absorbs the ink, creating images of high clarity and accuracy. However, a point to be aware of is that ink can be smudged or blurred with fingerprints. Glossy paper sheets can stick together and may even stick to other surfaces.

·       Photo paper – a heavy-weight glossy paper, photo paper is designed primarily for printing photography. Available in a range of different sizes and weights, photo paper has a glossy finish and a specially-designed texture which allows ink to dry quickly, producing high clarity prints. This is usually quite pricey, but it’s designed to produce good results for a very specific purpose.

·       Bright White Paper – with a smooth, non-textured, surface bright white paper is often ideal for double sided printing. The brightness of the paper ensures that both sides of the paper are printed on without the print affecting the other side. Obviously, this does require your printer to have a ‘duplex’ function (a function allowing double-sided printing).

·       Card stock – typically used to print business cards and post cards, card stock paper is significantly thicker than other types of printer paper. It is strong and sturdy but goes through printers slowly (and some printers cannot take it at all).

Finally, Size Matters:

Size is the final, and in many respects most important, factor when selecting the correct reams for your printer and the jobs you are looking to complete.

Here is a short guide to paper sizes and the jobs for which they are most commonly used.

·       A4 - 210mm x 297mm – everyday letters, files and documents.

·       A3 - 297mm x 420mm – twice the size of A4. Often used for small posters, print outs of spreadsheets or larger, more complex, documents.

·       SRA3 - 320mm x 450mm – slightly over the size of A3 allowing room for ‘bleed’ and trimming.

Looking at the internationally recognised ‘A’ paper sizes, a simple way of understanding them is to think of a sheet of A4 as the most standard document size. If the ‘A’ number is higher than 4, the paper will be smaller than A4. If the A number is lower than 4, the paper will be bigger than A4.

So, A5 is half the size of A4, and A3 is double the size of A4.

International A paper sizes
	Millimeters	Inches
A0	841 × 1189	33.1 × 46.8
A1	594 × 841	23.4 × 33.1
A2	420 × 594	16.5 × 23.4
A3	297 × 420	11.7 × 16.5
A4	210 × 297	8.3 × 11.7
A5	148 × 210	5.8 × 8.3
A6	105 × 148	4.1 × 5.8
A7	74 × 105	2.9 × 4.1
A8	52 × 74	2.0 × 2.9
A9	37 × 52	1.5 × 2.0
A10	26 × 37	1.0 × 1.5

Thanks for reading, and if you think that this information will be of use to someone else you know, please don’t hesitate to share it.

All the Essentials for Heading Off to High School

Son or daughter heading off to High School?

Not sure what they need? Here's our handy guide!

Some schools will give you a list but, in case yours is one of the many that do not, here is a quick guide to the sorts of things that most young people need as they enter secondary education. 

Definitely needed from day one:

Ballpoint pens (three different colours), pencils, coloured pencils, glue stick.

You might want to buy a pencil case to put these things in.

  

Very likely to be needed (but not necessarily from day one): 

Geometry set (compass, protractor, ruler etc).

Long ruler (top tip – either buy a 30cm pencil case so that the long ruler fits inside, or buy a folding ruler).

Scientific calculator (most commonly Casio FX83 or FX85 is recommended).

Scissors.

Sticky-backed plastic for exercise book covering.

Brown paper for text book covering.

Some schools but not others:

Exercise books, lined paper/ pads, folders.

Dictionary.

Memory sticks (not necessary for some schools as they have an online portal for transferring work).

Top tip:

Use a blob of nail varnish as an identifier tag – quicker and easier than trying to put a name tag on everything!

Click to check out our Back to School Shophttps://www.officeprimesupplies.co.uk/StoreFront/Back-to-School-2017-L-6

Managing Your Print Costs Effectively

Could Managed Print Services Save Your Business 30% on Printing Costs, and Give You a Greener Footprint?

You may have heard of Managed Print Services (MPS). They are a sophisticated way of making sure your business does not pay more than it should for what it prints.

MPS solutions are based around a ‘pence per page’ subscription model and software monitoring the energy consumption of the printers you have on your network.

MPS solutions come in all shapes and sizes, and it is very likely that there will be a Managed Print Services solution that is fit for your business – no matter how big or small you might be.

89% of SMEs in the UK have fewer than nine employees, and they have an average of 1.4 printers on their network. There are MPS solutions that can work to save money and environmental impact even for these small businesses.

Most of the larger printer providers (such as Xerox, Kyocera, Brother, Epson, HP and so on) offer some sort of MPS solution, with some of them (notably Brother and Epson) specifically tailoring solutions for even the smallest SME.

The aim is simple – to give you control and visibility of what your business is printing, to improve your environmental sustainability, and to enhance your document security.

Whilst MPS is not just for big business, bigger companies can certainly get huge benefits from it. When you look at your total print costs (the total cost of managing your printers, their output and the people and processes that support your entire print ‘fleet’) it can make up a very significant chunk of your total office supplies spend – often around 15% of your total expenditure.

If you think that’s an over-estimate, start to work it through as a rough approximation in your mind, and factor in:

·       The physical pages printed by office workers, mobile workers or production print operations;

·       The cost of running the desktop printers, multifunction printers, copiers, scanners, fax machines (yes, some people still have them) and high-volume printers;

·       The materials you are outsourcing for quick print jobs, mailing, distribution etc.;

·       The cost in IT resource (tech support, installations, move and change requests); and, the biggest factor of the lot,

·       Ink and toner consumables.

You can see how the cost soon mounts up.

How does it work?

For any credible MPS solution, a piece of software will be loaded on to your network to assess and audit your current print ‘fleet’ (your print ‘fleet’ is comprised of the printers you have on your network). The software will produce a report showing the current levels of usage and energy consumption from the printers you already have, regardless of what brand they are.

Most solutions will provide you with a suggested roadmap to reduce the number and types of printing devices you have, and optimise your supply of consumables, whilst meeting the needs of your business. This will help you to make informed decisions about whether the printers you currently have are working efficiently for your business.

The subscription model is set up based on a forecast of your likely toner or ink consumption and, instead of buying toner and ink cartridges on an ad hoc basis, fresh cartridges will be ordered automatically for you by the software on your system.

The bottom line:

You never run out of ink or toner, and you never have more than you need.

You reduce your environmental footprint – less paper, less energy consumption, and less waste.

Rather than just paying (often a lot of money) for cartridges whenever you run out, you simply pay for what you have used on a ‘pence per page’ basis which is calculated over the life of a contract – typically three or five years – which can save you as much as 30% on your printing costs.

Thanks for reading, and if you think that this information will be of use to someone else you know, please don’t hesitate to share it.

To find out more, click here

Shredders and Shredding - a Brief Guide

This video is a quick and easy to follow animation taking you through:

1. Different types of shredders;
2. Some additional things to consider when buying a shredder;
3. Auto Feed;
4. Maintenance;
5. How to Clear a Paper Jam

Managing Your Office Supplies Spend - a Simple Check List

There Are a Lot of Office Necessities, But Are You Wasting Money on Your Office Supplies?

Whether it’s stationery, furniture, office machines, paper, accessories or just the tea and coffee in your office kitchen, it can be hard to keep track of all the supplies you need to keep your office going.

This stuff is as basic to your office as lighting, heating and having air to breathe, so it can be hard to keep an eye what your business is spending.

Why does this matter? It’s only a few pens and pencils, right?

Not necessarily – like a lot of businesses, you could be spending far more than you need to. Precisely because many businesses don’t see office supplies a significant overhead, they don’t regulate their spending particularly closely. Office supplies can easily become a big hidden cost in your business.

If employees want to order in a few extra toner cartridges, so be it. An extra tin of coffee or two for the kitchen? Where’s the harm in that? If the warehouse manager wants to keep a stock of health & safety notices ‘just in case’ they are needed, what’s the problem?

Well, the problem is, it soon mounts up.

What’s the real story?

Tracking and managing office supplies might seem to be a challenge, but only because it’s one of those things that tends to get forgotten about in a lot of businesses. The good news is, it is reasonably easy to get a grip of the expenditure. Like a lot of things in life, it’s a matter of applying common sense.

Just run through the checklist of ten simple questions below:

1.       What items do I need to keep in stock at all times? (What are the basic requirements that I need to have to ‘keep the trains running on time’?)

2.       How much of each item should we keep in stock?

3.       Which department or person is requesting this item, and how much do they need?

4.       What is the purpose for the request? (Think about the example above of the warehouse manager ordering H&S signs ‘just in case’).

5.       What is the urgency?

6.       How reliable is the supplier?

7.       Have we benchmarked the costs?

8.       Can I get this on a next day delivery if it becomes urgent?

9.       Have I received it and, if so, when?

10.   Was it out of stock, do I need to reorder it, is there a reasonable substitute that will do the job, or can I go without?

The bottom line:

Getting started on the questions above might seem difficult. How do you even answer question one?

After all, as we said earlier, ‘Office Supplies’ is a broad church covering almost everything you use on a daily basis in your business. From wastebaskets and filing cabinets, through kitchen and janitorial supplies, to paper, pens and pencils; almost all of the stuff you need to keep your business running comes under the heading of ‘Office Supplies’.

But if you compile a simple office supply checklist (and keep reading, because we have got something FREE that can help get you started), you can track what your business is buying, and start to see trends of how often items are being ordered.

When you have done that, you can start to drill into the information and use it to manage your capital spend and your stockholding more effectively.

·       Are you seeing waste?

·       Could you even have a theft problem?

·       Are you stocking the right amounts? You may have too much of some items and not enough of others.

You can track whether you are receiving all the items you order. You can identify if you are having a problem with your supplier, including seeing how long it takes for an order to arrive. Then you can start to buy smarter – for example, if your supplier can get stock to you quickly and efficiently, do you need to keep as much in stock? You may want to reduce your stock holding on some items, unless there is a cost advantage to ordering in bulk.

Here’s the deal:

To get you started Office Prime Supplies have produced a FREE officesupply checklist in a simple adaptable template. The link takes you to the document which you can download in Excel; a nice, clear, easily adjustable, and printable format. It’s ready populated with 440 commonly-ordered products.

Okay, it’s not rocket science, but it helps to get you going. The Excel document is only an example. It’s intended to be a useful base that you can build upon so adapt it or come up with your own. Just download it and edit it for your business’ specific needs.

Other things to consider:

You may want a manager’s signature for approval and date line at the top or the bottom of the final form if management approval is part of your process (and if it isn’t, maybe it should be?)

Of course, if you open an account with Office Prime Supplies we can help you with this.

Our simple, secure online account ordering structure allows you to set user access privileges for your employees. You can give some people in your organisation the ability to create an order, but not the authority to place that order. Very simply, the order will go to you or to a user you appoint (like a buyer or someone in your finance team) to be authorised before it is submitted to us as your supplier.

Thanks for reading, and if you think that this information will be of use to someone else you know, please don’t hesitate to share it.

My New Boss Has No Concept of Work-Life Balance

First posted on LinkedIn

Like the headline says, I have a new boss. Frankly he’s a nightmare to work for.  

He has absolutely no concept of work-life balance. I’m expected to work at strange times of the day and night. The hours are not only irregular they are long, and he won’t tolerate anything but my best work.

I would go so far as to say that my new boss is the most challenging person I have ever worked for and trust me, after a long time spent working at senior exec level in some demanding corporate environments that is really saying something.

That’s right, you guessed it.

Ever since the 1st of June this year, I have been working for myself.

I’ve always enjoyed my career. I have always enjoyed work. Some call me a workaholic, which I take as a compliment. I have been privileged to be constantly engaged and challenged in some exceptional roles.

Highlights included Bargain Booze, which I joined in a marketing role in late ’99. I co-led the private-equity-backed MBO of that company in 2005/6, and eventually left in 2012 before the business floated. Later, after doing my Masters and an interim project for Costcutter, in early 2014 I joined the 120+ year old stationery and office supplies chain Ryman.

During the last couple of decades I have worked with some great people and I have covered a wide range of functional disciplines. Marketer, retail operations, sales, call centre director, MD, COO … But the roles I have had can basically be boiled down to being a retailer (running large estates of small stores) and to being a business-to-business supplier (from my days managing hundreds of franchisee relationships within the Bargain Booze business right through to my time directing the development of a direct Office Supplies business for Ryman).

And whether I was dealing with consumers on the high street or business customers, experience has repeatedly reinforced one lesson - customer experience means everything.

"The customer is king/ queen" is a cliché, but it’s true. And there are a bunch of other truisms that -for me personally- come under the umbrella of putting the customer first.  

Here’s my top ten:

1.      The customers’ experiences should reflect you, your business, and your brand.

2.      Build a product or service that you would like to buy. If you believe in it, are passionate about it, and you are proud of it then the chances are you will succeed.

3.      Keep it simple – you know what your customers want and what they need. Give it to them, and charge a fair price. Everyone is happy.

4.      User experience drives advocacy … Deliver a good customer experience and people sing your praises. Advocates are the best marketing tool a business can have.

5.      The ‘hard sell’ approach might get you a sale, but it doesn’t win you a customer.

6.      Treat people (customers and colleagues) the way you would like to be treated.

7.      Always be fair. Respect, courtesy, and keeping your promises all go a long way.

8.      Business is about people. If you don’t like people, you shouldn’t be in business.

9.      Nice guys do not finish last. People buy from people and if you are fundamentally a decent person, that will help you to build long-lasting and mutually-rewarding relationships.

10.  You could be unfair to a customer for short-term gain, once. Maybe twice. But if you do, they will never shop with you again. On the other hand, a partnership based on mutual benefits can last a lifetime.

These aren’t just words, they are the way I like to conduct myself in life and in business. These are my personal values. So, after 18 years of working for other people, I figured it was time to put my money where my mouth is, take the plunge, and try my hand at running my own business.

And yes, as I said in the opening paragraphs above I am perhaps a bit demanding to work for right now. But, here’s the secret…

…I am having an absolute ball, and I am proud to say that the business that I am building is one that can absolutely deliver on the kind of customer-focused ethos that I’ve described above.

Having left my previous role on the 31st of May, I was able to ‘soft launch’ my new website on the 30th of June, just four weeks' later. The first part of July has been spent on a bit of tidying up, some bug fixing, and adjusting content, and now the site is ready to start taking orders.

If you would like to know a little more about the business it is called Office Prime Supplies, and you can visit us now at www.officeprimesupplies.co.uk

We cater mainly for small-to medium-sized businesses, home workers, and the public sector, but anyone can take advantage of our fantastic product range – there are over 20,000 products available on the site and if you cannot find what you want, let me know personally, because I can probably find a source of supply and get it for you.

If you would like me to take a look at your office products expenditure to see if, with my low overheads, I can match or beat your current pricing then feel free to contact me at matthew@officeprimesupplies.co.uk

Pitch Perfect – Presentation Skills and Solutions

Click on the image to view it at full size!

If you are in business the chances are that you will have to do a presentation at some stage. They’re hard to avoid. From relatively low-key pitches in front of small groups, through to all-singing and all-dancing keynote speeches in front of hundreds of people, giving presentations is a fact of business life.

You might think that giving a good presentation relies on the aids you use – whether it’s software solutions like PowerPoint or Keynote, or it’s a presentation binder, or it’s physical props and samples.

And yes, those things used wisely can enhance a presentation… but they don’t make it.

The heart of any good presentation is the presenter. That means it’s about what you say and how you say it. The very thought of this may get your heart racing with adrenaline, but don’t panic. It’s a lot easier than you think.

There’s a quick and easy step-by-step guide to presenting outlined below.

But first a story

In my first ‘proper’ job I found myself having to give over 40 presentations a year. I did that every year for 12 years and it’s fair to say that I got pretty used to talking to big groups of people (the audience sizes typically varied between 50 and around 300, but I also had to do a bunch of intense and complex pitches to smaller groups of financiers and executive boards). By the end of those 12 years I had chalked up around 500 presentations. Since then I have had another five years of practice, presenting to groups of all shapes and sizes made up of colleagues, customers, suppliers… the variety is endless!

That’s a lot of practice and I like to think that somewhere along the way I got quite good at it. I certainly got a lot more confident.

But it wasn’t always the case.

I can still remember the first time I had to speak in front of people. I had written out what I wanted to say in a script, and I had it on a lectern in front of me. It was all of, I don’t know, maybe 500 words? Barely enough to keep me on stage for five minutes.

I remember it felt like the longest five minutes of my life was stretching out in front of me.

So, I had my head down, not daring to make eye contact with anyone in the audience. My knuckles were gripping that lectern like it was the grab-bar on a roller coaster ride. I read that script out, completely verbatim, at something approaching Warp Factor Nine and then screeched to an ungainly halt at the end, panting and out of breath. The allotted five minutes was probably four minutes more than I needed, I spoke so damn quickly.

In other words, it was a total train wreck. I can honestly say that the worst presentation I have ever attended was one that I gave; that first one.

So, take heart. If I can do it anyone can!

Use Common Sense

There are a few things that I have picked up over the last 17 years of standing up and giving presentations to people. None of it is rocket science. In fact, all of it is common sense.

The very best piece of advice I was ever given is simple - stick to what you know. Don’t make stuff up or extemporise too much. If you don’t know something, admit it. Nothing undermines you more than getting caught out.

The other thing that people always say to you when you’re starting out with your first presentations is ‘be yourself’.

This is kind of a glib thing to say and so, if you’re anything like me, you will find it a bit irritating. But if you take it to mean that you should be the best version of yourself, and try to project a positive and outgoing version of your day-to-day personality then it isn’t a bad piece of advice.

One of the more important elements of ‘being yourself’ is never, ever, try to show off how smart you are by using lots of long words that you don’t really understand. Only try to be as smart as you actually are and never try to be something you’re not.

Here’s a little example of how not to do it

I remember inwardly cringing once upon a time as I witnessed a relatively senior executive, someone in my team, presenting to the board. He used the word ‘incumbent’ three times in his presentation, but each time he used it to refer to an incoming (new) employee, not an existing employee. I can only imagine that he thought that because ‘incumbent’ sounds a little bit like ‘incoming’, that perhaps that is what it means.

Needless to say, it doesn’t. He made himself look like a bit of an idiot.

So, here’s a Quick Step-by-Step Guide to Presenting

·       Prepare – honestly, it seems obvious but this one cannot be stressed enough. Preparation time is essential; even if you are a seasoned veteran and wholly at home getting up and talking in front of other people, having a clear idea of what you want to say and how you want to say it is essential.

·       Rehearse – this may be a luxury that you don’t get to indulge in with every single presentation but it can be helpful, in particular if you are going to be presenting somewhere unfamiliar and to a larger audience. It is a great idea to get into the space in which you are going to be presenting. Have a quick run through what you are going to say. Even if you don’t have the opportunity to do a full rehearsal, getting yourself comfortable with the environment can pay dividends later in your confidence levels.

·       Excitement – for most of us, getting up in front of other people gets the blood pumping… it’s nervous energy and stage fright can be a real problem. An old trick from Neuro Linguistic Programming is to tell yourself that it’s excitement, not fear, that has caused all that adrenaline to be coursing through your veins!

·       Socialise – it’s a good idea to mingle with a few members of the audience beforehand. Having a chat with people before you get up and talk to them makes you seem more likeable and relatable when you are up on stage, and if you make sure that you ask them a few questions and listen to the answers you are given you might even get a couple of golden nuggets that you can weave into the presentation, making your talk seem more personal and more spontaneous.

·       Entertain and engage – there is nothing worse than a dull presentation. If you want your audience to be engaged with what you are saying, try to be a entertaining. You don’t have to be a stand-up comedian, but a couple of jokes or slightly humorous asides really won’t hurt. Keep your content concise and well-structured so the presentation flows well and doesn’t get tedious. Make sure you invite feedback to keep your audience actively involved – don’t just talk at them – your content will land a lot more effectively if your audience feels like it is participating. This doesn’t have to be anything complicated - just asking for a show of hands on something or inviting a couple of questions from the floor is all it takes.

·       Natural speaking - not too quick! The biggest mistake most rooky presenters make is gabbling; talking so quickly that they become unintelligible. The worst thing about this mistake is it is so easy to spiral out of control – just like my first time on stage I have seen other presenters so overcome with nerves that their mouths start going like a runaway train, building up increasing speed as the nerves ramp up higher and higher until the dry mouth kicks in, and the inevitable train crash happens. The best thing about this mistake, though, is it is so easy to deal with. Just stop talking. Shut up. A two second pause on stage may feel like a lifetime to you but to the audience it feels like… well, a two second pause. And those two seconds allow the audience a chance to consider what you have just said, whilst you sip some water and remind them (and yourself) that you are in total control of the situation and of what you are talking about.

·       Take questions – when you get to the end of what you wanted to talk about give your audience the chance to ask a few questions. George Bernard Shaw once famously said that the single biggest problem with communication is the illusion that it has taken place. If you don’t invite feedback at the end of the presentation you are missing your best, perhaps only, opportunity to nail down any misunderstandings or confusion.

And Now You Are Ready…

…to start thinking about the peripheral stuff. That means you can now think about PowerPoint slides, the props and any other paraphernalia that you might want to use to augment what you are saying.

Remember, make the presentation about what you are saying and how you are saying it; don’t use the peripheral stuff as a crutch to lean on.

Good luck!

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