Professionally speaking; Take the opportunity to deliver presentations.(new you)

After attending a recent Toast-master's meeting for the first time, I felt confident enough to enter a competition to speak on an impromptu subject chosen by a panel of professional speakers. Subsequent to delivering hundreds of presentations during my career in commercial property management, I felt at ease competing against "seasoned" speakers.

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Delivering high-quality industry presentations is a daunting challenge and requires habitual practice. The great news is that subject matter pertaining to real estate management is relatively effortless, once you recognize some fundamental principles.

Begin any presentation with a description of IREM and its importance to the real estate industry. Be certain to detail IREM's ability to accumulate raw data via annual Income and Expense reports, rigorous educational requirements and proactive governmental representation. IREM is the "gold standard" when selecting qualified property management talent. As an IREM Member or candidate, you possess the knowledge and thus the credibility to speak as a professional to the community on a variety of management issues.

GETTING STARTED

Sources of presentation venues are limited only by your imagination. I have spoken at churches, professional meetings, investor groups, seminars and at homeowners associations, to name a few. For practice, ask your local IREM chapter president if you can make a presentation at a chapter meeting. In addition, participate in seminars offered by professional organizations and be on the lookout for audiences favorable to your degree of expertise. Community activism not only provides a great opportunity to speak but also sheds superior light on our industry.

PREPARATION AND PRACTICE

Preparing for a presentation can be nerve racking; however, that fear can be alleviated by knowing certain characteristics of your audience. For example, understand your audience's reasons for attending your presentation, so you can accommodate and gratify their specific interests and requirements.

Once you have a workable outline with solid and informative data, rehearse your delivery out loud. Consider your family or friends as potential listeners or critics. Focus on theatrics, voice control and hand gestures. It is important to be aware of the cultural aspects of your audience in our society that has expamded to global dimensions. Awareness of what is pleasing in one culture may not be so in another. Friends and family of different international origins could help broaden your horizons paying particular attention to your voice tones and body gestures.

You may wish to consider using PowerPoint or printed graphs as a means of communicating detailed information to listeners and also have methods at hand for remaining in control of the presentation. Be sure to prepare for questions from the audience after your speech. Lastly keep in mind your professional appearance and dress accordingly.

Professional property management is paramount during unstable real estate marker conditions. Extraordinary attention to the details can effectively assist in retaining tenants and provide assurance attractive to investors and owners. As a member of IREM you are in demand by the public, as a professional source of information concerning a broad spectrum of topics.

Roy Eppard, CPM(royeppard@aol.com), works for Vanguard Realty Group in Alexandria, Va.

by Roy Eppard, CPM[R]

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