Never read off of cue cards; use them as guides to direct your speech, not direct it verbatim. Be as concise and clear as possible and limit length of your speech as much as possible. Remember those long lectures you had to suffer through in college?

Likewise, try to involve your audience at least once during your speech so you keep them proactive in their listening, like by asking rhetorical questions, telling a joke you know is funny, or conducting a question and answer period after you speak.

5- Managing your time

What´s more important to you: Planting a tomato garden or playing with your son? Learn to prioritize.

Extraneous activities should always be lowest on your list of things to do. Also, to manage your time effectively, book time for meetings, project work, but also for play; you don´t want to become a workaholic.

Schedule reasonable lengths of time for activities, and if anything, allow more time than you think you require. Bring your agenda or PDA with you everywhere.

6- Firming your handshake

First, verify that your hand is adequately warm and not sweaty. Going to bathroom before predicted handshakes and washing your hands in warm water is a good way to keep shake clean and comfortable.

To properly shake hands, extend your right hand after exchanging verbal greetings. Say, while looking in other person´s eyes, "Hi, my name is (fill in name), nice to meet you." Firmly grasp their hand, making sure not to not crush or squeeze their digits together or hold hand limp and noodle-like. Remember to keep a faint and professional smile. Do not overdo or overly curb your enthusiasm.

7- Making a toast

All great men know how to start off a party with a lively toast. To make a positive impression when you toast, you should know what you are going to say about whom and why, and practice ahead of time. For example, plan a few jokes and embarrassing anecdotes to toast to your best bud´s tragic loss of bachelorhood.

Before commencing, check that all parties have a filled glass in front of them. Stand and face person whom you are toasting or crowd if you are making a general statement like, "To life, love and pursuit of infinite fortune." Then, raise your glass up to nose level, with your arm gently extended in front of you. Speak your toast enthusiastically and make eye contact with crowd or intended recipient. Wave your glass to all, and tip or clink with people who are close enough. Take a hearty sip and sit back down.

Exiting bad situations with class and maintaining that mystique that everyone loves so much...

8- Getting out of difficult situations

Sticky situations rarely get best of a professional man. An angry employee or a trying ex-wife can put a wrinkle in anyone´s plans. However, having an easy way out of difficult situations is best way to master them in advance.

Keep your wits under pressure. If someone upsets you, do not resort to verbal abuse, and certainly not physical assault. Calmly state your position and views without succumbing to or employing manipulative pressure tactics.

Likewise, refuse to speak with an irate, belligerent, or out of control person. Simply stop talking, excuse yourself and walk out of room, or redirect person´s attention to another issue. For instance, tell a joke to alleviate tension of ..Read complete article at www.MyCustomClothing.com/ under article section.

Your Needs Do you regularly require professional translation services into one language or do you need a one-time translation of one or more documents into several languages? If you regularly need translation services into only one or two languages (20,000 words or more per month), it may be worthwhile to hire your own professional translator to work in your company full-time. If, on other hand, you occasionally need translations into many languages, or if you have very large translation jobs to be completed in a short time, using a translation agency will take care of all necessary logistics. The agency will find appropriate translator for each language, or possible more than one translator if deadline is tight, assign proofreading tasks, and ensure that everything is completed on time and service quality is top-notch.

Cost The cheapest option to get your translation services done is seemingly doing it yourself or having an employee of your company do it. However, there are hidden costs, such as time spent and possibly inferior quality, that you should consider. A poor translation can cost you more in business than you would ever have spent on having work done right. Another option, which is also quite cost-effective, is hiring a freelance translator yourself and skipping middleman, i.e. translation agency. If you decide to go this route, make sure that you have knowledge and experience to pick a qualified translator and to judge quality of translation. The last option is giving job to a professional translation agency, which will take care of everything related to required translation services. This is most recommended option for most companies. It ensures that you get best possible quality, which is most important factor when deciding which way to go. Remember: You may pay a little more for this service upfront, but you will keep paying for a poor translation for as long as you use, publish, or distribute it. The cost in lost business due to poor quality translations dwarfs money spent on a good translation. When using a translation agency, you also won’t need to worry about paying translator internationally, as it is always a good idea to choose a translator in target country.

The decision is yours. You have several viable options, depending on your resources, needs, and cost. Always keep in mind though that most important factor when choosing any professional translation service provider is quality.

© Christian Erwig-Straughan