People often ask me for tips to make their presentations better, or how to feel more confident when speaking in front of a group. Finally I saw how for those of you who love to give parties have a great advantage in delivering messages to a group. If you enjoy entertaining, you must be a whiz of presentations! The key elements are the same.

You can think about these elements of giving a party, or making a presentation.

1. You're the Event Planner, even if you hire an Event Planning Pro.

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"The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place." George Bernard Shaw. Unlike medical doctors who get hear about people's physical ailments, I get to hear stories of people's communication conundrums, mostly their frustrations. With communication breakdowns come broken relationships, drama and a lot of wasted time. Inaccurate communication can also cost you a lot of money, trust me. Let's look at the 3 basic reasons people don't get what you're saying:

1. They're not listening...to you.

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If you're like me, you may find it grossly unfair to realize this rather large inconvenient truth: doing your job to perfection, helping others get their work done and being the one to stay late, come in early and put in some time on the week-ends is a clear path to complete career failure. Using this strategy may (perhaps) allow you to keep your job, but definitely it puts you off the map for promotions and juicy assignments. Doing what is expected of you takes you nowhere. I sensed the truth of this early in my career, in my first corporate job in the 6th largest bank in Venezuela many years ago. Being somewhat dense, it took me a couple of decades to figure out what it really takes to gain recognition for your talent and contribution. Read more »