A lot of us are the life of the party when we’re just chatting to friends, regaling our latest theories on life and business. But for some reason when we get up in front of real business people, we lose our voice and break into a cold sweat. Game over.

And that’s your first impression – blown. Then you go out with your mates and tell them your hysterical story about how you blew it. Well done.

But really, presentation skills are a vital part of successful business. How you put your ideas across is basically the make-or-break factor for your business. Yes, confidence is one of the biggest factors, but delivering a clear, memorable message takes some skill.

Your best bet – even if you think you are the master of all presentations – is to invest a little time and capital in yourself. Because really, you are your most important asset, right?

Innovate – Corporate Presentation Skills Training – is a division of ACT that focuses on exactly this problem. They offer courses which you can take as a part-time course over a few weeks or as an all-at-once once-off day course. The course will cover areas like:

• Overcoming fear and managing nerves
• Presence and impact
• Charisma
• Freeing the natural voice and using the voice effectively
• Body language
• Principles of effective communication
• Preparing and structuring content
• Understanding and engaging an audience
• Quick thinking and impromptu responses
• Keeping calm, collected and professional

Really, these skills are indispensable if you are interested in doing anything more than sitting behind a screen, fulfilling someone else’s life-long ambitions.

Details for the next session are as follows:

1 Day Express – Saturday 18 September 2014: R1950

3 Week Part-Time Aug 23 – Sep 06: R2750 (Time and day will be confirmed upon booking)