Information News Rotating Header Image

March, 2011:

Powerpoint presentations are not as simple as they seem

Mar 26th, 2011
by Tony.
Comments are off for this post

Powerpoint design is extremely simple. Thousands of people use it for sales presentations every week, and some do a reasonable job of it. powerpoint presentations are the industry standard for communicating information in a sales-type meeting, when you are hoping to convince the audience that you have the answer and product for them. Good Powerpoint design, on the other hand – a presentation that does what you want it to and inspires and motivates rather than sends people to sleep – is a different and altogether trickier art.

Powerpoint is incredibly versatile, and has a huge number of features – many of which will not even be apparent to the casual user. These can add real impact to your presentations; on the other hand, poorly used they can detract badly from the message you are trying to get across, and act as a distraction. The best use of Powerpoint is as a support to what you are saying, not as competition, and certainly not as a replacement. It needs to function in such a way as to engage the audience, rather than alienate them or give them an opportunity to switch off from listening to you. (Incidentally, the same goes of any handouts you send round – they need to complement your presentation rather than replace it. There is nothing worse, from the audience’s point of view, of receiving what is essentially the same presentation three times, in forms that barely differ – once on a handout, once on the screen with Powerpoint, and once spoken by you.)

A little training in Powerpoint design can go a long way. Even if it’s just taking you through the basics and showing you how the main functions work – and how they should be used to maximum effect – then it can be worth a fortune in sales later on. Say, for the sake of argument, that the training you receive from a professional organisation or individual makes the difference in a single instance, securing a deal through your superior sales presentations that you would otherwise have missed out on? That’s probably enough to pay for the training costs, several times over, already. Previously, your lacklustre powerpoint presentations might have held you back; now, they are the missing piece you needed to make all the difference. That’s something that’s definitely worth thinking about next time you’re sitting through a tedious sales meeting with one of the worst examples in front of you.

Please visit http://www.eyefulpresentations.co.uk/ for further information about this topic.

http://www.eyefulpresentations.co.uk/

4d767e6ddab8c

Could Hotel jobs Gulf be the way forward for you?

Mar 18th, 2011
by Anna.
Comments are off for this post

Dubai, Singapore and the Gulf states represent all sorts of things to different people.  For large numbers of those who are employed in the hospitality sphere, hotel jobs Dubai and hotel jobs gulf hold a sort of vague appeal; we often hear that these areas offer remuneration rates and a style of life that can rarely be experiencing in similar jobs in Britain.  For those who might be giving thought to hospitality jobs Singapore or in any of these countries, this article considers how working and living in this part of the world might change your life.

Dubai is one of the seven regions which form the United Arab Emirates, which forms part of the Arab states of the Persian Gulf.  Its capital, Dubai City, is heldby many to be one of the fastest growing and most fascinatingcities in the world.  The average August temperature in Dubai is 40 degrees Celsius, which helps to explain why the state is such a haven for travellers who flock to enjoy its beautiful coastline.  Because of its swiftly-growing economy, Dubai is a major hub for construction.  The subsequent growth of Dubai’s workforce has meant that other industries, particularly hospitality, have taken off in the area.  Since the 1980s, when the government introduced tax-free areas, Dubai became a big draw for Western professionals.  Today, Dubai City is one of the few places in the world where expats outnumber the locals.  As such, as an expatriate worker in Dubai you will find yourself amongst many like minded people in one of the most diverse, cosmopolitan cities in the world.  The working culture is very much ‘work hard, play hard’, with an average working week of around 45 hours, but a phenomenal array of activities on offer from ski slopes to wave pools mean that you will rarely be short of possibilities for after-work entertainment.

For professionals who are not enticed by hotel jobs Dubai or hotel jobs gulf, Singapore may offer a different appeal.  50% of its service sector is made up of non-Singaporian workers, giving it a similarly diverse ethnic mix to Dubai.  Singapore is the world’s fourth leading financial centre, and its port is one of the five busiest ports in the world, which gives a sense of of why hospitality jobs Singapore are so many in number.  According to the Economist Intelligence Unit, the ‘Quality of Life Index’ there rates Singapore as having the best quality of life in Asia.

Please visit http://www.asiacaterer.com/ for further information about this topic.

http://www.asiacaterer.com/

4d76668317e63

Bacs software makes accounts a lot easier

Mar 4th, 2011
by Anna.
Comments are off for this post

Bacs, or Bankers Automated Clearing System, has now been around since the late 1960s. It is the UK’s system of making electronic financial payments. Bacs payments mean that you can provide a department with your bank details – account number and sort code – and have money paid directly into your account. This clearly has numerous advantages. Speed is one of them – bacs takes place almost instantly in a lot of cases (although this depends a lot on the banks in questions – certain transfers between some banks can be extremely speedy, whereas others can take three working days, which is the standard time quoted in the industry). In any case, even the three-day limit is probably as fast, in many cases, as paying in cash or a cheque and waiting for it to clear. Convenience is another benefit – it decreases trips to the bank, and therefore leaves more time for other activities. Security is another obvious one; it stops the need to have large quantities of money on the premises, which might be a particular problem on payday. In the past, this would have meant that the entire company’s payroll was present – a clear risk. bacs software can therefore be a huge advantage for modern firms.

If you operate a small business – or anything larger – you will likely benefit from incorporating such bacs software into your accounts department. Automating invoice payments significantly simplifies the monthly (or more regular) task, since everything can be automated to the required degree. This means that you don’t have to do the job yourself. Even if you still use online banking, thereby avoiding the issues with writing lots of cheques or, worse, handing out physical cash, setting up and paying all the amounts can be a time-consuming process. It’s also likely to mean a lower degree of mistakes, and therefore less problem with duplicate payments, fraud and other issues than can reduce your profit margin through poor accounting procedures.

Bacs is fast and easy (SWIFT, a faster version, guarantees same-day payment, for a fee). Bacs payments have so many advantages that it’s worthwhile for any business to explore bacs software as an option for paying clients and suppliers. In the 21st century, cheques and cash are less and less common payment methods, and the future of the cheque itself is becoming increasingly uncertain. Simplicity, security and reliability are three reasons to look into the idea more closely, if you haven’t already.

Please visit http://www.bottomline.co.uk/ for further information about this topic.

http://www.bottomline.co.uk/

4d76695c00af7