When people hear your voice in a multi media presentation like Brainshark they are emotionally impacted by the tone you use when speaking.  You can use your tone of voice to set the tone for the presentation.  Your tone will either convince people that you are enthused, interested and confident and they will stay to listen to more or it won't and they won't.  

Here are 10 things to consider when recording your presentation

1.                  Be familiar with the script.  The best way to not sound like you are reading when you are reading is to have read the material at least twice before recording.  When you are familiar with the text you can focus on delivery and you will do a better job.

2.                  Practice out loud.  The presentation will be listened to and so it is important for you to practice it and hear it out loud.  This is usually the time that you discover words and phrases that should not be put together because they are difficult to articulate.

3.                  Be upbeat.  Enthusiasm is contagious, so spread it liberally.  An enthusiastic tone communicates interest and confidence.  People like to listen to interesting, confident people.  The converse is also true.

4.                  Smile.  It may feel silly at first, but it is hard to not to be upbeat with a smile on your face.  Your audience will no­tice the difference.   If it helps, put a mirror on your desk to see if you are smiling.

5.                  Sit up straight.  Or even stand up if it helps.  The point is to make sure that you are breathing deeply by having good posture.   Breathing from the diaphragm helps you speak with a stronger more confident tone.

6.                  Speak conversationally.  You are giving a presentation so speak as you would if you were standing in front of an audience.  Speaking too quickly or slowly will make the audience uncomfortable and they will choose not to listen.

7.                  Speak clearly.  You want to make sure you pronounce your words correctly however; over articulation is also a big mistake.  Your audience will appreciate clarity but they will take over articulation as the communication of a condescending tone.  If you follow hint #6 you will be fine.

8.                  Drink water.  Lubricate your vocal chords and they will perform better.

9.                  Listen.  Record the presentation, listen to the recording and then answer this question: "Does it sound like I care?"  If the answer is "Yes" then you are done.  If the answer is "Maybe", or "No", then you have to record it again until the answer is a definite "Yes".

10.             Have fun.  If you are enjoying yourself then your audience will feel it by hearing it in your voice and they will listen to more of what you have to say and believe it when you are saying it.

Have a Sharktastic Day!

There are many screen recording tools available on the market today. They tend to vary greatly in terms of cost and functionality. For those looking to enhance their presentations by adding screen recordings, Brainshark has an easy to use, affordable solution!

We are pleased to make available the TipCam for Brainshark. We partnered with uTIPu to offer our customers this incredibly user friendly screen recording tool. Also, we've done some integration so that you can upload your captures directly to Brainshark!

If you are interested in purchasing a license of this tool, please click here. For more information on how it works, including a sample screen recording, please view the following Brainshark presentation:

Happy recording!

Kristin

In the 10 years that we have been helping clients communicate, we have found that there are clearly a set of keys to the best and most successful presentations.  When I boiled it down we had the Six Steps to Success.  Each step indicates a critical piece of the communication process and comes with a set of questions that need to be asked and answered.  I have written about this in earlier blog entries, but now there is a Brainshark that quickly presents the 6 steps and the key questions that need to be answered in order to build great content.  The presentation below is not about how to use Brainshark as much as it is about how to communicate successfully.  It is a strategy for approaching and executing a quality communication.  Whether you are training a channel, providing rapid elearning to the sales force, selling a new product, generating leads or orienting new hires, you will find the Six Steps to Success will guide you to create the right content for the right audience at the right time.

If you prefer and audio podcast of this content then click on the Brainsahrk logo!

Have a Sharktastic Day!

For the third time this year, we went on the road to visit customers. The first week of  June brought us to Rochester and Toronto for 10 meetings. In Rochester, CEO Joe Gustafson joined us in briefing executives of a key Brainshark customer. 

Then a 2.5 hour drive to Toronto--Imagine Chicago meets San Francisco with a touch of London. Meetings included an on-site User Group meeting with 15 authors at one of our banking customers. We also visited the local office of a partner, Intercall (see photo from their office of the Old City Hall). The tour is a great opportunity to strategize on projects, talk about new features, review customer presentations..... In 2009, we have been to San Francisco/Silicon Valley and Texas and email me if you would like to nominate your city for a Customer Connection Tour.

Last week we launched the latest release of Brainshark to our customers.  This new release includes many terrific features, including support for Single Sign-On (SSO), a new and improved Brainshark Content Network, the ability to upload directly from your content portal, and more!

If you haven't done so already, I invite you to check out our latest release.  You'll find all the details on our product page, along with a history of our last several releases in case you missed anything.  And, we've added a "What's New" link from the product navigation so you can always visit the product page to learn the latest news and updates.

We have gotten some very positive feedback about the latest version of Brainshark and would love to hear from you as well.  Please email us any comments or feedback that you'd like to share.  We hope to hear from you!

Kristin