Excellent and inspiring Presentation is still the skill that is going to get you noticed whatever job you are in or trying to get into.

Employers name it as the top of their list when recruiting. It amazes me, then, that more people don’t invest the small amount of time and cash it would take to get into a position where they can present with confidence and impact.

Everyone I see in my master classes needs to change some aspect of their presentation to improve it.

Of the three people I have seen over the last week, the first, a national sales manager, was so full of plans and action points for his staff that he forgot that you need to empathise with people in order to motivate them. The crazy thing was that he was demoralising himself thinking of new ideas for them all the time instead of just sharing his many years of experience and expertise in a way that really empowered them.

The next person, a highly successful business man and TV personality, was warm, friendly, confident and a delight to listen to. The problem? He needed to channel his amazing energy and focus on his main message for his audience.

But the third person, a leadership consultant, was perhaps the most interesting of all. She said to me, “all I want to be able to do is introduce myself with confidence”.

I rarely meet people who recognise the primary importance of ‘the introduction’ but the fact is that it is lacking in so many presentations. She cracked it in no time and in two hours was transformed from a very good presenter into an inspiring one. How satisfying!

So many great opportunities are being lost by companies who could be quietly selling themselves as Thought Leaders through the media.

Mentor was approached recently by a professional services client whose PR Manager is frequently approached by radio stations, ‘trade’ magazines and online sources for comment on changes in market conditions, government policy or regulation.  Great opportunities to show thought leadership were being missed because Area Managers and other senior people simply didn’t feel confident in dealing with the media.

We organised two sessions of media training for all the key players, covering print/web, radio and TV interviews.  The PR Manager later commented: “Mentor has helped me identify a handful of potential media ‘stars,’ and in truth everyone who attended is now primed and ready to help us optimise media opportunities.  A fantastically good return on our investment.”

Sometimes, the most powerful media messages are unspoken ones.  The strongest of these is along the lines of “Trust us, we’re the experts.”

What we all need in these difficult economic times – us as individuals and businesses come to that – is more resilience! This is what helps us cope with stress and challenges and maintain a reasonable sense of wellbeing.

I was inspired recently by one of the most passionate advocates for resilience – Rhonda Cornum. Rhonda was a US army medic and fought on the frontline in the Gulf War and became an Iraqi prisoner. She says: "There are some people who are just naturally resilient, who look at problems as challenges to be overcome. Some people even see adversity as an opportunity to excel. I recognised that I had those skills and others didn't. What we have learnt since then is that the thinking skills that lead to resilience can be taught."

The significant point there is that we can all learn and build the skills of resilience.  Here’s a quick ten point summary of how we can:

• Work on positive relationships – with family, friends, colleagues and others
• Never think that a crisis, problem or stressful situation is unbearable
• Accept difficulties that cannot be changed
• In an adverse situation be decisive about where you want to be instead and take action
• Set goals for yourself that will take you away from the problem
• Look for new activities or ways of thinking to overcome loss situations
• Find ways to develop your self-confidence – e.g. communications skills or positive thinking courses
• Look at the situation in perspective – ask yourself “What is the worst that can happen in this situation?” or say “well at least it’s not as bad as…”
• Keep positive and hopeful – envisage the way you would like things to be
• Feel as good as possible by taking care of yourself – take relaxing, exercise and healthy eating seriously

Communication at work can sometimes be challenging. You might be tearing your hair out trying to get sign off on something from a client, or others to take on your ideas.

Frustrating as it can be getting defensive, angry or resentful is not going to help the situation. Those emotions can escalate to conflict. Use your Emotional Intelligence, Empathy is the only thing that’s going to help you.

People respond positively when we are positive, clear, assertive and empathetic. So instead of fuming:

1. Be clear about what you want to achieve/outcome
2. Put yourself in their shoes/ empathy
3. Be clear and direct with a message that show understanding of their needs

Managing your organisation's reputation is a different ball game now that any negative incident can quickly go viral. To protect your reputation and avoid costly PR containment exercises it’s worth equipping yourself with the latest thinking on the subject.

Reputation Management: Building and protecting your company's profile in a digital world, is a really useful book in this respect. It’s packed full of useful stuff and Mentor Chairman, Magnus Carter has a chapter in it that looks at how to prevent risks escalating into crisis.

If you want to up your charisma, then be more enthusiastic, positive and up your rapport with others. Rapport is something you build with people through communication that shows you value and respect them.

The more you understand another's interests and concerns the easier it is to communicate with them in a way that works for them. So don’t just treat others as you would like to be treated, more effective is treating others the way they like to be treated- because we're all a little bit different.