Christmas can be a nightmare when it comes to buying presents. All year round your boyfriend tells you hundreds of things that he likes but when it comes to December you can’t remember what it is to get him. Or when it comes to it you can’t find/afford what it is that he wants. We have compiled a list of the best ideas to get for your man for Christmas 2011.

Now obviously what you buy them depends on how much you are planning to spend, so we have broken the list down to items over £100, £50-£100 and items less than £50, so there is a gift for all budgets.

Presents over £100
Most men love video games and gaming so the number 1 present is the PlayStation 3. The new PlayStation 3 is at the forefront of gaming, with unbelievable graphics as well as a well great game play. Another great thing about the PlayStation is that it can be used a Blue Ray disk player as well so it’s a great way of upgrading your DVD player.

You will be able to get yourself a PlayStation from about £220 upwards and research has found that Amazon seems to be the best place to buy one. PlayStation 3 is bound to be a success with your boyfriend and even if he’s got an Xbox or Wii the advanced level of gaming with the PlayStation still makes it an excellent gift.

Presents from £50 – £100
It’s another electrical item and this is for the music lovers, a pair of Bose over the ear headphones. Now if you are like me you might think that paying £90 for headphones is extortionate but if you are going out with a music lover you can be guaranteed that they will love them. Bose are well known for the quality in build and sound of their products, and these headphones definitely fit the bill. They do have the more expensive sound cancelling headphones which are around £250, but this pair provides almost as good sound quality at less than half the price.

The only problem with buying these is you might find your boyfriend turning up the volume and ignoring you.

Presents less than £50
If you can’t afford a PlayStation or your boyfriend already has one then how about getting a game for the PlayStation. The current most desirable game is Call of Duty Black Opps, which is getting rave reviews. It’s very popular at the moment so you need to make sure that you order it well in advance so you don’t find that there are none left for Christmas.

If you want to try to persuade your man to go on holiday, how about making a little hint and buying him a pair of Havaianas. For those of you that don’t know Havaianas are the most popular brand of flip flops. Havaianas come from Brazil and the most common style has the brazil flag on the strap. They are recognised as the most comfortable flip flops in the world as well as being a great fashion item.

Think about some of the presentations you’ve seen that were, shall we say, less than ideal. I’m going to guess the problems fell into one of three areas:

1. Dull delivery
2. Wordy wanderlust
3. PowerPoint poisoning

At first blush, it’s probably not clear what these areas have in common, other than they all have the potential to sabotage your presentation’s success. What’s the common culprit, or more importantly, the common solution?

There is a single guideline-a golden rule, if you will-that, if followed, can not only prevent those problems but can transform a speaker’s presentation. This golden rule will empower the speaker to do away with the anxiety, captivate the audience, and get his or her message across in a compelling manner.

In a word, it’s: purposeful. Let’s look at how applying that adjective can solve each of those problems and result in more power for the speaker.

1. Purposeful Delivery

When gripped with the anxiety that’s so common with public speaking, a speaker will often just shut down. But if your delivery has purpose, you feel much less of the helplessness that comes with anxiety. Purposeful delivery means: You look at and talk to individual members of the audience as if your purpose was to have a one-on-one conversation with each of them. You use purposeful gestures, painting pictures with your hands and highlighting or underscoring points. You use props for demonstration purposes. You have purposeful movement where you stride across the front of the room, not pace. You step deliberately to the screen to refer to something specific on a slide. You put purposeful inflection in your voice-by varying your rate, volume, and inflection. You minimize the uhs and ums, because they have no purpose.

2. Purposeful Organization

The speaker who rambles on and on may know his subject matter and feel comfortable if he can talk off the cuff. But very few audience members enjoy listening to a speaker go on aimlessly, especially if he goes over his time limit. The antidote is purposeful organization, which means you’ll be more coherent and the audience can follow along more easily. Identify the key points you need to get across. Organize them logically. Then consider how much time you have. You would be able to elaborate and expound more on each point for a 30-minute talk than for a 15-minute one. The mark of a good presenter is honoring time limits. Once you know your main points, then decide how much you can embellish or edit each one depending on your time allotment.

3. Purposeful PowerPoint

If every PowerPoint slide in the world were purposeful, we’d probably cut out 90% of the slides currently in use. Here’s a great test to apply to determine if your visual has purpose-the UR rule: Does it help the audience Understand or Remember anything? If it doesn’t, it has no purpose, and therefore is unnecessary. A simple example would be a slide that says “Guidelines for PowerPoint.” What purpose does that serve? Nothing. It doesn’t help the audience understand or remember anything. If, on the other hand, that title was at the top of a slide, and then there were five points of guidelines below it, that would help the audience understand or remember the guidelines. It would have purpose. On the opposite extreme, a slide that’s loaded with verbiage that has to be reduced to minuscule type in order to all fit on the screen is also not purposeful. If the audience can’t read it, what good is it? Please consider that you don’t have to have a visual up all the time. When it would serve no purpose in helping the audience understand or remember, insert a black slide so the screen goes dark and you can put the focus on you.

If you make everything about your presentation purposeful, you will not only decrease your anxiety, but will be a more engaging, interesting speaker in the bargain. Purpose has power.

Your whole body is trembling with fear – but a stiff drink won’t help. Your voice has almost disappeared – but you don’t need a doctor. Your mind has gone completely blank – but you haven’t developed amnesia. The real reason? – you’re just about to make a presentation.

One of the certainties of corporate life is that you will be asked to make presentations, and the outcome could have far-reaching effects. Perhaps this is why many people show symptoms of blind panic when the dread day dawns. However, being given the opportunity to sell an idea, promote a business, or close a sale is something that you should jump at – so what’s the answer?

Very few of us are natural presenters. As Mark Twain used to say “It takes three weeks to prepare a good ad-lib speech”. Fortunately, learning how to become a competent speaker takes a lot less time than that, so find yourself a good trainer, and follow some simple rules.

The first consideration is your audience. You will be judged a success if they leave feeling that their time spent listening to you was worthwhile. Find out as much as you can about them; how many will be there? what are their interests? what went down well before? Imagine yourself in their shoes – what would you like to hear?

Your subject matter may have been pre-determined, but you’ll often be given a free hand. Give it a persuasive title – not “A survey of Anglo-German business readiness”, but “Companies from Germany that want your business”. Now consider the structure of your talk – it’s as important as the content. It’s a cliché, but the “business sandwich” (Tell them what’s coming, tell them about it, tell them what you told them) really works – so stick to it.

When you’ve put your talk together (often in the dreaded Powerpoint(TM), of which more later), simplify it by taking out half of the content. Then try to take out half of what’s left. There – that’s better – now you have a good chance of getting your core message across (you do have a core message, don’t you?).

Now – rehearse, rehearse, rehearse. The idea is not to learn your script by heart, but to ensure that you don’t look surprised when you turn over the next cue card. If you’re at all nervous, don’t write your notes on A4 sheets of paper – they amplify your trembling fingers both visually and aurally. Use low-tech file cards with a title and no more than four brief points. Punch a hole in the corner and tie them together with string – you might just drop them.

Now, if you must use Powerpoint(TM) (and I know many of you do), then use it to help, not confound, your audience. Never, ever, read your slides out – assume that all of your audience can read perfectly well. Keep your slides very simple. Put a blank slide between each section of your talk, so that you have the audience’s full attention. And be prepared to carry on even if the PC or projector fails.

Visit the venue beforehand, and make friends with the technician. If there’s a change of speakers, you’ll need someone you can trust to ensure a smooth transition.

Finally, check everything, and then check it again. At the launch of a new people carrier a few years ago, the vehicle was driven on stage by the CEO with three board directors as passengers. Unfortunately, none of them knew how to open doors fitted with childproof locks. Cue tears of laughter from the assembled hacks. Couldn’t happen to you though, could it?

In a recent issue of the television reality series called” Hell’s Kitchen,” produced with Green Valley Ranch and Casino and the newest , magnificent, 5 star Station’s property called “Red Rock Resort and Casino,” I learned the best lesson on “presentation.”

One of the aspiring chefs prepared a chicken dish for a couple to consider as an entree for their upcoming wedding reception. Due to time constraints, the chef was not ready to present this dish because it was not complete. As I looked at the piece of chicken sitting there alone on the plate, undecorated, and unaccompanied by any sauces or greens, or vegetables, or starches, I knew that no matter how great the chicken tasted, everyone would be disappointed.

This is a life metaphor because no matter how good the primary entree or message might be, the level at which the message is accepted and approved of is dependent on the total presentation. A great message poorly presented has less impact or even a damaging effect instead of a positive.

The best businesses in the world expect perfection. In many business, anything less than perfection is actually deadly. A pilot doesn’t have an option of being a little off path. A brain or heart surgeon must be perfect.

Before issuing major communication, be sure that your message is clear, and that the presentation will help you get the results you want when you make that presentation. A poor presentation can and will detract or hurt even the most positive messages.

Sales people who approach their potential Customers by telephone or directly constantly seek sales techniques or tips to improve their sales. One of the challenges for all sales people is that people are different, what works with one will not necessarily work with another.

Sales Presentations Must Vary
The sales professional can prepare their approach, the benefits of their case and good sound reasons why their product is good for a potential Customer. They practice how to put this across in their sales presentation, with nice positive selling language for their benefits and plenty of practical evidence.

The problem is that all of this will change for different Customer groups. One size will not fit all. The benefits and evidence for one is not relevant to another. The language style and the words the sales person will use will change from one Customer to another. For example one group may need highly technical information, with lots of facts and figures. All this technical data would turn another type of Customer away.

Profile your Key Customer Groups
One of the most effective and successful sales techniques is to profile your Customers into four defined groups. Identify your existing key Customer groups, those that are buying happily from your Company at the moment. They will usually fall into 3 to 4 natural groups. This will be based on the nature of their business, or the nature of the people to whom you are selling.

Research each group carefully. What is the nature of their business? What do they buy? What type of people are the buyers, and the users? What are their buying values and priorities? Why do they buy from you? What benefits do they find in your products and in your service?

The more common factors you can find within each group, the better. This will give you good groundwork to prepare your sales presentation. It is important also to identify the key differences. In what way is group A different from group B?

Prepare a Different Sales Approach for Each Customer Group
The next step in profiling is to prepare a different sales approach or sales presentation for each Customer group. For each group:

• Identify the key benefits you will focus on, the reasons why this group should buy your products. There will be different benefits that appeal to different Customer groups. Prepare four to five really good benefits that will appeal most to this Customer group. Your sales presentation will centre round these key benefits.

• Identify the language style for each group. All sales language will be positive and totally relevant. Each may vary from formal to informal, from technical to non-technical. Ensure you have the right style for your sales presentation to each Customer group.

• The structure and flow of the sales presentation may also vary from one Customer group to another. For one group, an informal introduction and fact find will be followed by key benefits and a fairly quick closing of the sale. Another may require a more formal tendering approach with, perhaps, stand up presentations. Ensure you get the right style and approach for each of the different groups.

Build your Expertise with each Customer Group
The key to this sales technique is to perfect at least four completely different sales approaches. If you have profiled your potential Customers accurately, these four approaches should work well with your potential Customers.

Following each meeting, add to your expertise by reviewing the meeting and identifying at least one learning point for that Customer group. That way, you are doing what all good sales people do, you are continuously improving your professionalism as a sales person.