Different Methods of Presenting Information
When it comes to effectively delivering business messages, there’s truth in the saying, “It’s not what you say, but how you say it.” Using the right methods for presenting specific messages can improve recipients’ understanding and help you persuade and motivate. Review your options before delivering information to any audience to ensure you maximize the effectiveness of your message.
Because of its convenience and the fact that it seems to be everywhere, with people having 24/7 access, email has become a default delivery system for information. The problem with email is that because it’s so prevalent, you’re competing with countless other messages. Once your message gets read, it’s often quickly lost among dozens of others. Other ways to send messages electronically include social media, website banners and pay-per-click ads. Consider the importance of your message when using electronic media to determine if long messages should be delivered as downloadable documents. Think about how your message will look on a mobile device versus a computer.
If you’d like people to hold your message in their hands and have easy access to refer to it later, consider brochures, fliers, ads, catalogs, reports, memos or letters. With the increase in electronic communications, print pieces stand out more and don’t compete with as many paper documents on a work desk. Print media have an advantage over electronic communication in that you won’t have to worry about how the message looks on devices and computers with different display settings.
If the majority of your sales efforts are done via email or over the phone, review potential customers you haven’t been able to crack and evaluate whether the cost of an in-person meeting might be worth the potential sales. Face-to-face meetings let you get more personal, evaluate the body language of your peers, demonstrate products and use visual aids. Similarly, as you’re getting ready to circulate yet another employee memo or blast email, consider whether you’d make a bigger impact if you called everyone together in a meeting to make the announcement. The questions and feedback you receive instantly go the to whole group.
If you can’t afford to get everyone in the same room, consider teleconferencing. Telemeetings give you many of the same benefits of face-to-face communications without the travel costs and scheduling headaches. You can schedule these meetings on short notice, and even technophobes can learn how to use basic video technology that often comes free with a smartphone or personal computer.
Standing in front of a group and speaking for long periods while holding notes in your hand can become monotonous. Using visual aids will better engage attendees and make your points. Charts and graphs give a visual pop to numbers you’re presenting, having an instant impact on your audience. Learn to use programs such as PowerPoint to create informational graphics that organize your thoughts, help you emphasize them and highlight key concepts. Even a humble chalkboard or dry erase board can help you make points more clearly.