Non-verbal communication tips for professors, human resource, and other professionals

Do you work closely with others, and need to understand the "whole picture" of their communication? Ninety-three percent of communication is non-verbal; you can't afford to miss all of this!

Non-verbal communication is affected by culture and to some extent, by generation. However, this article on "Student Nonverbal Communication in the Classroom" by Brock E Perry, PhD at http://www.usma.edu/cfe/literature/barry_11.pdf    gives you the general tips you need to

"read" general American communication. Although it is about students, it is a great overview of non-verbal communication for everyone else!

              

ADHD in the Workplace and Communication Challenges

Do you struggle with ADHD at work and notice you have some communication challenges, or do you have employees with ADHD?

Here are some common challenges relating to communication experienced by adults (including professionals) who have ADHD.

The first is impaired executive functioning: the ability to plan and implement actions. This ability, found in the frontal lobe, allows people to prioritize and

handle complex actions, such as scheduling and much more. More information can be found at http://www.help4adhd.org/living/workplace/wwk16.

Corporate speech pathologists and others now work with people who have difficulty with executive functioning. For example, if getting out of the house on time is the issue, clients can be taught how to develop a more effective schedule and consider the most common reasons they can side-tracked or delayed.

Distractibility, due to noises or visual stimuli, is another issue, and can affect planning and implementing. What distractions can you eliminate or cover up, with a white noise machine or headphones, for example?

Speech rates can be rapid in some people, to the point where others have difficulty understanding them. Some medications also increase speech rate as a side effect, so if your speech rate changes significantly during the day, check the side effects of any medication you are on. If you think the medication is causing the rapid rate of speech, talk to your physician.

Other speech and language issues may co-exist, but not be directly caused by ADHD. For example, central auditory processing impairments may  make understanding messages more difficult even though there is no hearing loss.

Pragmatics, or social language skills, such as knowing how to engage in small talk, start a conversation or end one, may also be difficult for some people.

Business Speech Improvement provides intensive, customized coaching  on communication improvement in the workplace. E-books are available as well. Great speech makes business sense!

Workplace Motivation: What Gets People Enthusiastic?

Lack of employee engagement is a serious problem in today's workplace, as many employees "go through the motions". This leads to expensive employee turnover, with associated costs that we all pay for in terms of employee recruitment and training. These are added to the costs of the products and services we purchase. In addition, lack of employee engagement could lead to increased costs for legal and safety issues.

Here is a fascinating article describing 7 studies on employee engagement. The conclusions show simple techniques that most managers should be able to use - if they know about them. Read the article at  http://blog.ted.com/2013/04/10/what-motivates-us-at-work-7-fascinating-studies-that-give-insights/

Business Speech Improvement provides intensive coaching in verbal skills, including communication strategies for leadership development. We also offer an e-book on this topic, packed with tips on 18 critical leadership communication skills,  for inclusion in leadership development curriculi.

Wondering about your hearing? Two questions to ask

As baby boomers age, and as those  who have been exposed to loud music through ear-buds and other sources get older, hearing loss is becoming more common. For the first time in history, an increased number of those in their late teens and twenties are showing signs of hearing loss; most hearing loss is not reversible. It takes, on average, 7 years for many people to decide to get their hearing tested.

If your doctor prescribes a hearing test, some insurance plans may cover the cost. Check with them first.

When you decide to get your hearing tested, do so with 2 questions. First, skip the portable booths and machines, and go to someone with a permanent booth. When the machines are moved, their delicate calibration can be changed, making the results inaccurate. Even with a permanent booth, ask "When was this device last calibrated?" Expect an answer within the last year.

Also ask the qualifications of the examiner. Look for a name-tag that says "CCC-A" or a Certificate of Clinical Competence in Audiology.

A person who has finished at least his master's in audiology (now usually a doctorate) but is in his first year of work may have a name-tag that says "CFY-A", or Clinical Fellowship Year - Audiology, indicating he is being closely supervised. In other words, you want someone who has extensive training to test your hearing, beyond the screening stage.

If you have a hearing loss, your audiologist will prescribe a hearing aid if it is appropriate. (Not everyone can benefit from one.) It takes training, called aural rehabilitation, to get the maximal benefit from a hearing aid.

There are some things you can do at work to make communication easier. First, try to talk to people in a quieter setting. Close the door, go to a quieter restaurant or go at off-hours, turn down the noisy radio, or just be in front of and near  the person who is talking.

Second, consider getting some special equipment to make it easier to hear on the telephone or in a meeting. This equipment is called assistive listening devices (ALDs). The equipment can be used with or without a hearing aid. Your audiologist can suggest any that might be appropriate. If the equipment is needed to help you do your job effectively and safely, talk to your human resources department about purchasing it for you.

If you have a documented hearing loss, let your employer know. The Americans with Disabilities Act protects qualified people with known disabilities  in the areas of hiring, training and firing. However, if your employer does not know about your disability, you are not covered.

For more information, Business Speech Improvement offers a helpful e-book, "What Did You Say? Coping with Hearing Loss". (Scroll to the bottom of the page for this.)

  

9 Easy Ways to Improve Employee Retention of Your New Hires

What are you doing as an organization to actively encourage retention of your new hires for their first year? Communication here, in various forms, is crucial!

New hires are the people who have the least loyalty to your organization. They have not built up a retirement account or pension with you; they usually have no great long-term friendships among the other employees or appreciation for how the organization helped them when things were tough for them a few years ago.

New hires know how to find jobs, and have fresh contacts among recruiters and other influential people. They will have no difficulty leaving for a better job elsewhere, if they are unhappy with your company.

New hires need a lot of training, from technical skills to corporate culture. It is very expensive to train them and difficult to watch them leave if they are unhappy. New hires'  first impression of your company should be an impressive one, where  a supervisor, colleagues and trainers communicate enthusiasm about their new hire and have a coordinated plan to work with the person. If a group of people (including people currently in that job less than 2 years themselves) thinks ahead of time about what a newcomer needs to know, there will be fewer episodes of "you should know by now to _____" or "someone should have told you when you started to __________" when in fact orientation did not include that information (or maybe a formal orientation did not even happen).

Provide new hires with a dictionary of acronyms and jargon used at your company and in your industry. One new hire walked into a staff meeting her first day, and was handed an agenda filled with acronyms. In addition, the person leading the meeting used many more acronyms. The meeting leader was aware of all her new staff members sitting there confused, but did not explain what the terms meant. She was in effect providing a negative first impression of her organization and wasting the time of the new hires. If a dictionary of acronyms had been provided, or the acronyms had been explained, at least they would have understood the subjects being discussed, and felt that somebody had prepared for their arrival.

Avoid hitting new employees with a tsunami of new information the first days. Teach them the essentials then, and then bring them back for more on a frequent basis. How much can new employees be expected to understand in a day?  Clearly, all the information they are given is not equally important for their job. In many organizations, each department representative is asked to present the most important information new hires need to know about that department. This includes many forms and procedures.

Later, some of the many department heads and others who presented information to dazed and overwhelmed new employees  made comments  to the new employees similar to these:
When I talked to your group at your orientation, I told you you must never do X; don't you remember? (Clearly the department representatives had no idea of how many facts, procedures and forms the new employees heard that day from many representatives, or how many such facts a person can recall.)

When you teach new employees how to use software, be prepared to give them their user names and passwords immediately.  This is especially true when the company uses several types of software and the employee may get confused between them. As one frustrated trainer scolded a new employee, "You were taught on your first day how to use that software; even though you didn't get your password for 4 months, you should have remembered what you were taught!"Adult learning doesn't work that way; how much would you recall from a detailed-filled course that was given that long ago and not referred to since then?

Focus on your new hires! Meet with them at least quarterly, and preferably monthly, to review their progress.  Ask them simply, "How are you doing? How can I help you?" Then...simply listen to them. If they don't answer, maintain a 30 second pause until they hopefully say something.  At first they may be reticent, as you are their supervisor. Keep asking, that day and on future days, until they trust you enough to ask for your help. Frequently praise specific details of their performance, and let them know how they can climb the career ladder or otherwise achieve their career goals. If you can give them a small raise sometime during the year, it will make a big impact.

Find out as soon as employees are hired what matters most to them: career growth, continuing learning opportunities, job security, team work, travel if related to work, or something else. Use that knowledge as you work with them.

On the first day the employees are at your company, ask one of their colleagues to take them to lunch (on the company nickel) and get to know them as people. Have those colleagues mentor them for the first month or so, checking in with the person frequently to see how he is doing and if he has questions.  Help the new employees make more connections, possibly through being involved in cross-departmental  teams or working on projects with various employees. Friendships help an employee decide to stay at a company.

Make a photo gallery of all the employees in a given department or in a small organization. Underneath their photos, write their names and job titles. Post this where the new employees can see it; it will help them learn their colleagues names' faster, especially if the organization is large,  operates on 2 or 3 shifts, or has employees (such as sales or training staff) who are frequently in other locales. It will also help the other employees' learn the new ones' names.

The Gallup 12 questions, as they are known, are powerful ones. Use them when an employee is hired, and then regularly to assess progress and increase engagement.
 
It takes a lot of work for a new employee to fit into a corporate culture and learn all that is expected.
Work to retain the new employees, or you will be training their replacements soon! Show them that you value their prior experience and ideas they bring to your organization. Take time to ask them to tell you some things that other organizations do differently, and which may help your company. Their fresh observations may help you understand what potential employees (and maybe customers) may see when they look at your company. If you ask for this information on an anonymous basis (maybe through a checklist) soon after they are hired,  it is possible that they will be more willing to tell you helpful negatives as well as positives.

For many more tips on powerful communication and leadership, get the e-book Executive Communication Strategies, by Katie Schwartz of Business Speech Improvement.    

Business Speech Improvement offers seminars on communication strategies for leadership development. Check out the details (including the agenda) now!

Six Things to Consider In a Speech Training Program.

You've decided to make some changes in your speech. You want to speak slower, modify your accent, get rid of your lisp, make better presentations, communicate more clearly with your staff, or some other difference.

What should you look for in a speech coach or trainer?

First, ask about the person's training. For example, does the person have a master's degree or doctorate in speech-language pathology? Does he have a Certificate of Clinical Competence (CCC-SLP) after his name?  Is he state-licensed as a speech-language pathologist in your state?  Some speech-language pathologists specialize in corporate work, working with professionals in the workforce; they are called corporate speech pathologists or corporate speech trainers. Being certified as a "coach" is nice, but exactly how does this certification pertain to your communication issues?

Second, ask about his experience in working with your type of communication issues. You want someone who has experience, if possible.

Third, find out how services are provided: in-person, individually, in a small or large group, or online.
Some states have laws that limit if speech coaching can be provided to residents online, unless the corporate speech trainer is licensed in your state. If the speech coach is not licensed in your state as a speech-language pathologist, and won't take the time to find out what the laws are in your state, you should be asking him or her about this. Some reasons are legitimate, but other people are unaware of the laws.

Fourth, ask how often the services are provided. Intensive speech training often gets results faster, because less time is needed for review. It is done in full-day sessions, sometimes 3 or 4 days long, and should include a follow-up plan for skill maintenance.  Having 1 - 2  one-hour lessons a week often requires a long time to get results, and some clients may not remain motivated.

Fifth, after finding out the cost, ask your supervisor if the company will sponsor you for this training. Some companies will sponsor you if you seek out the speech program and ask for sponsorship.This usually is part of career development. The fact that you have taken the time to find the speech training program will show the company you are motivated.

Lastly, ask how many people are in the program at once. Are the lessons customized to your needs as a learner, or does everyone study all the material in the course? If everyone studies all the material, whether they need it or not, the course takes longer and motivation may decrease.
Customized lessons save your valuable time.

Great speech makes business sense! Get the speech training you need, and feel confident about it!

Business Speech Improvement, in Durham, NC, offers intensive speech training through small groups and individually. Details of upcoming seminars and types of training are at www.BusinessSpeechImprovement.com.

Is your regional accent hurting you at work?

Some British professors are modifying their speech patterns to sound more "posh", according to a study by PhD students Victoria Mountford and Michelle Addison. The professors feel that having a higher-class speech pattern will help them when staff cut-backs are being considered. The research, entitled "Talking the Talk and Fitting In: Troubling the Practices of Speaking "what you are worth" in Igher Ed in the UK" will be presented this week at the British Sociological Association's annual conference being held this week. The effect of strong regional accents in the workplace has been studied here in the USA as well. In a study done by Patricia Cukor-Avila and Dianne Markley of the University of Northern Texas published in 2000, 56 people in a position to hire were asked to rate the 45-second recordings made by 10 white males from different parts of the country, each with a regional accent. Each read the same passage. Those with the least identifiable accent were rated most highly, and were given hypothetical jobs involving the most public contact. An exception was made by people in Texas, who preferred their own regional accent. This correlates with a study done at Texas A & M University. In business today, the impact of a strong regional accent may be even stronger. People giving speeches, participating in teleconferences or even calling clients in different parts of the country report listeners judge them first on how different they sound, and in some cases may not even consider the message they are sharing. In at least one business in the USA, where employees are on the telephone constantly with many clients for brief periods of time, employees are required to use a standard American speech pattern at work. Those who need it receive training on how to change their speech patterns. Business Speech Improvement provides both intensive speech coaching in regional accent modification. Those who prefer to try to change by themselves may be interested in our e-book on "Diction Makes a Difference!" and the mp3 file on "Pronounce American English More Clearly"

Is it Match Day for you?

Across the globe, thousands of would-be medical residents in American hospitals are eagerly awaiting the results of Match Day. This is the day when they find out if they have been accepted for a residency program and the hospital to which they have been matched. Match Day, as it is called, can occur at various times in February and March, depending on the specialty area. However, for many people, Match Day is March 15th. It is an honor to be accepted for a residency program. Once accepted, however, many new residents, and their families, want to know more about American culture. What are aspects of American life that are different from their native lands? Coming to the USA: American Cultural Differences is an e-book that answers actual questions asked by many new residents in the USA. How do Americans tell time? What is insurance and why is it important here? What are appropriate telephone manners in the USA? How do Americans use a mailbox? What are our holidays, and how is a holiday different from a vacation? Before you come to the USA, learn about our culture from Coming to the USA: American Cultural Differences. (It's at the bottom of the page.) Be prepared for this great opportunity!

Supervising international employees? Assumptions and your bottom line

Your employees' cultural assumptions may affect your bottom line - if you forget to discuss some of them. In an seminar on American English Pronunciation for Non-native Professionals, an attendee walked in one day shaking his head. "I know the answer to the problem my boss is struggling with - but of course I can't tell him," the new employee said. The entire class chorused, "Why not?" The employee replied, "I'll get fired for insubordination." Thankfully, the group included a manager of another department in the same organization, who assured the man that in this American company, he wouldn't get fired for saving his company a lot of time and money solving the problem. In another case, a new employee had an extraordinary background in her field, but was the newest hired in her department. When a supervisory position opened up, she told the group she wished she could apply. When asked why she wasn't doing so, she said, "I'm the last hired. It must go to the person there the longest," which was the case in her native country. Convinced to apply, she was quickly promoted. Here are three steps to take, with all your employees, to overcome such cultural assumptions. Remember that an employee can be American-born but be bi-cultural. 1. Let all employees know, verbally and in writing, how promotions are determined. If experience, education, motivation, certifications or other factors are involved, make that clear. Factors may be different in other countries. 2. Have supervisors explain repeatedly to new employees that questions are welcomed about procedures. This is not true everywhere. 3. If a person is exhibiting a communication behavior that is unusual to you, such as hesitating before shaking hands or being reluctant to show emotions or use the telephone, ask sincerely if things are done differently in his or her culture. Business Speech Improvement provides intensive training in verbal skills, including American English Pronunciation Improvement for Non-native Professionals. It offers e-books such as Coming to the USA:American Cultural Differences as well as others on diction, and more!

When a friend at work has bad news Recently someone asked me when he should do upon hearing a friend from work had some bad personal news. He and his friend were both in the USA. (Customs may be different in other cultures.) His dilemma was that he didn't want to disturb his friend, but did want his friend to know he was thinking of him and was available to help if needed. His friend had taken some time off to deal with the situation. I suggested he text, e-mail or call him friend and let him know he was concerned. He should ask what he could do to be of help, such as doing some driving for the friend, bringing over some food, running some errands or whatever else was needed. When the friend returns to work, he could take him out to lunch or just bring him up to date on events at work. What is usually done in this situation where you work? What is appropriate in other countries, too? Share your ideas!

Extraordinary service - with a smile

Have you ever had extraordinary service in a store that actually made you smile? What's the best way to reward the giver of that service?

Recently a store staff member advised me on a product that was not only safer and more effective, but also much less expensive that the two I had intended to purchase. She took the time and initiative to make this suggestion. The impact of this is that not only will I save money, but the store's credibility has been greatly increased, in my opinion. In other words, I will be a much more loyal customer.

I plan to research and write her company HR director about her efforts, and ask that she be rewarded in some way. I also plan to tell her store manager.

How do you commend people for extraordinary service? Please share your favorite techniques! If you are a human resources director, how do you prefer it to be handled at your company?

Business Speech Improvement provides intensive training in many types of speaking skills, through coaching and e-books.
Visit us online!

Are you worried about your speech skills for business?

Excellent communication skills are essential for business. Many companies put such skills in their list of required qualifications, and offer training (or send employees to classes elsewhere where they can get the needed skills).

Insufficient communication skills can cause lost career development or promotion opportunities, can result in lost clients, or at least can cause embarrassment or frustration. Is that how you are feeling?

Currently, Business Speech Improvement is evaluating what additional seminars, e-books, or individual coaching should be offered. Currently, training in foreign and regional accent modification, presentation skills, techniques to speak slower, general diction, improving communication with someone who has a hearing loss, and communication skills for leadership are available. Many are offered in seminars, individual coaching and/or e-books.

If you would like training in a different topic, or a different format, please comment below or send us an e-mail with the topic and referred format. The first 25 responses will receive a complimentary e-book! Please do let us know how you would like to get help for yourself or an employee!

If you would like to schedule training in one of the above topics, or enroll in an open enrollment seminar, please click here.

Traveling or Waiting with Children This Summer?

As a special gift to readers who will be traveling or waiting with children this summer and dread their summertime boredom, Business Speech Improvement has compiled a complimentary online list of Great Games to Play with Children. These games are no-tech, usually no prep and fun! (Children often learn something from playing them, too, but they usually don't want to hear that.)

This link will be available only for a limited time. To access it, visit Business Speech Improvement and scroll down to the bottom of the home page.

Business Speech Improvement provides intensive training in verbal skills for adults. Specialties include American English Pronunciation Improvement for Non-native Professionals, techniques for talking slower, presentation skill coaching and much more! Small group open enrollment seminars, individual speech coaching and even e-books are all available.

First impressions for a new job vs terrible grammar of boss

An excited new team leader greeted his equally new team online in a brand new organization - with really bad grammar. What impact did it have on team members?

Most likely the impact is one of loss of respect for his professionalism, as well as for the organization that chose him to be a team leader. If he continues to use bad grammar online, respect of the team members will likely erode further, which may cause additional issues in retention.

Excellent grammar is one of many aspects of professionalism. Others include knowledge of the product or service as well as customer service and industry-specific knowledge and skills, ability to work as part of a team, getting work done in a timely and positive manner, timeliness, doing what you say you will do, and more.

Executive communication skills include excellent listening and questioning skills, ability to delegate and coach employees, to think ahead about organizational needs, to lead brainstorming sessions, to understand financial, operational and marketing issues and to be able to make educated decisions about industry and economic trends as they affect a particular business.

Business Speech Improvement provides intensive training in many aspects of verbal communication, including executive communication skills.

How to assess your American English pronunciation

You want to improve your American English pronunciation. Maybe you want a chance at a professional job. Possibly you are frustrated by people giving you puzzled looks and asking, "What did you say". Try this self-test. Count the "no" answers.

1. You can say the two American "th" sounds clearly - in conversation.

2. You know which 3 words are spelled with "th" - but the "th" is silent.

3. In British English, "pro" is always pronounced as "pro", with a long o sound. In American English, you know which words have a "pro" that is pronounced as "prah" instead.

4. You can say all of the following sound combinations clearly:
str (as in "street"), asks (as in "tasks"), sp (as in "special") and st (as in "first").

5. You can say the following single consonants the American way: l,r,v, w.

6. The vowel- r sounds ar (as in "hard"), er (as in "person") and or (as in "born") are clear.

7. When you speak, your rate is reasonably slow so others can understand you.

8. You can emphasize the correct syllable of at least most all of the words you use.

If you score is less than 8, here are three ways to improve it.

Business Speech Improvement offers intensive small group open enrollment courses in Pronunciation Improvement for Non-native Professionals. The program takes only 3 days, which may be consecutive. This makes it ideal for those who want to improve in a hurry!Individual coaching is offered as well, for those with strong foreign or regional accents that impede clear communication. Economical e-books are also available for those living far away.

The bottom line is that your speech matters. Poor communication may be costing you. How will you improve it?

Trained Mentors Can Motivate New Employees

Starting a new job can be confusing and overwhelming. Employees often seek out mentors who are not their direct supervisors, but may be people the employee admires.
New employees, because they need time to learn the company procedures and culture, are inherently less productive. They also have less invested in the job (and long-term benefits such as retirement plans) and may be more willing to "jump ship" and go to another employer because of this.

A well-trained mentor can make a difference in helping guide the employee, listening to his concerns and helping motivate him to stay. The mentor needs to be aware of the importance of being positive, being on time for meetings with the employee, having excellent listening skills and being alert to signs the employee is unhappy.

Business Speech Improvement
provides intensive, customized training in verbal communication skills. A seminar on Executive Communication Coaching: The Power to Lead is now enrolling learners.

Hearing Loss and Your Employees

"Isolated", "frustrated", and "worried" were three words used recently by a group of corporate employees to describe their feelings about their hearing loss. Hearing loss affects 10% of the population, including 33% of those age 65. Now a worrisome 20% of late teens report some of the signs of hearing loss, for the first time in history. Yet few corporations offer training in techniques to cope with hearing loss.

Employees report that they may hesitate to speak during department meetings, because they are not certain of what has already been said or, sometimes, even the topic under discussion. When a group has a meeting in a noisy room, such as a restaurant, that makes the communication worse.

"What Did You Say? Strategies for Helping a Person with a Hearing Loss", is an e-book for helping supervisors, colleagues, friends and spouses learn better ways to communicate with people with hearing loss. It provides information on simple techniques that can
be easily implemented.

The King's Speech

The King's Speech is an amazing movie about a man who becomes king after his brother abdicates the throne. The new king, George the Sixth, happens to be a stutterer. He receives "speech therapy" from a self-taught speech coach. Despite that lack of formal training, the movie very effectively shows the courage of the King whenever he had to speak, as well as the bond of trust that grows between a speech pathologist and client.
Today's well-trained speech/language pathologists use different techniques and equipment than did the speech coach in the movie. However, whether a speech/language pathologist works in educational or medical settings, private practice or the corporate world, the bond of trust remains the same. As a speech/language pathologist, it is a privilege to help clients learn to communicate more effectively.

Business Speech Improvement (www.BusinessSpeechImprovement.com) provides intensive, targeted speech training and speech therapy to clients in business and industry.
Training is provided in-person and via e-books. Check our website for our Open Enrollment classes, individual coaching, and e-books on many topics!

Executive Communication: Inter-departmental Communication Issues

Do you ever say, "I wish that the people in the sales/marketing/operations/customer service/accounts receivable office would give me the information I need to handle this, without my having to ask again for it?"

Insufficient inter-departmental communication can lead to frustration, lost productivity and a reduced bottom line. To resolve it, have all project managers or department chiefs write a list of the information their teams need from internal customers or other departments, on a routine basis. For example, is a project number, invoice or special code needed when sending requests to the accounts payable department? What other information do they need from other departments so they can handle their jobs more efficiently? What data does the IT Dept need to handle help requests? With a list of this data needed by each department, employees can be more efficient in their inter-departmental communications.

Business Speech Improvement (www.BusinessSpeechImprovement.com) provides training in executive communication skills, presentation skills, accent modification and many other aspects of verbal communication. Training is provided via in-person coaching, e-books and more! Open enrollment classes, company-specific classes and individual coaching are all available. Great speech makes business sense!

Need to make a business speech?

As a speech coach, I often critique presentations. Three of the common mistakes I see are
a lack of passion for the subject, poor preparation in putting the speech together
(due to lack of knowledge in the subject or in writing a presentation) and too little practice. These are the 3 P's: passion, preparation and practice.

Show enthusiasm in your voice! If you think the topic is boring, your audience will, too.
Know your subject, and explain to the audience in the first minute what they will get out of listening to you. Memorize only the keywords of the speech, not every single word, and practice the presentation numerous times. You only get one chance to make a great first impression!

Many more practical tips - from coping with stage fright to how to start and conclude a speech powerfully - are in the e-book "Public Speaking: You Can Do It!", found at http://businessspeechimprovement.com/enabler/scripts/category.pl?EBooks. Contact Business Speech Improvement for speech coaching for presentations, which are available in many cases.