Mark Dilks of Mother Tongue adds “The most costly elements of printing - down time and set-up - often up to 40% of print costs, can be completely avoided using WordFlow. We estimate savings of up to 30% in first year alone”. The WordFlow concept has been rigorously tried and tested in a tough multinational market. The system's efficacy and substantial benefits are well proven.

With its just-in-time production and delivery capability, WordFlow can dramatically reduce print inventory costs, too. It also has facility to store digitally a vast amount of collateral artwork, to be called off and speedily amended as and when required.

Prior to establishing Mother Tongue Communications, its principal was a senior European Marketing Manager for a top 3 company in Fortune 500 league, responsible for a wide range of above-, below- and through-the-line marketing collateral deployed in numerous countries across continent.

He rapidly identified a number of damaging inconsistencies in company's activities. The combined spend on below-the-line activities was in excess of $5 million per annum.

The company then developed and implemented a process, similar to that of Mother Tongue Communications' WordFlow, with following results.

• Total consistency of branding, message, corporate image and identity • Strict centralised control • Multilingual flexibility • Total accountability and traceability • Elimination of duplicated resources • Faster production times • More efficient use of manpower, particularly at national level • Substantial economies of scale in printing • Increased speed to market - enabling in-territory staff to focus on implementation in field

Within three years new streamlined system had saved company $6.6 million with further savings accruing as system was rolled-out globally.

Mother Tongue Communications LTD can be contacted at following: Email:info@mothertonguecommunications.com Website:www.mothertonguecommunications.com Telephone/Fax:- Tel +44 (0) 1908 269872

Perhaps there should be a 12-step program for getting over overhead projectors. While they're unlikely be an addiction, they can be a crutch, one that allows us to make presentations without adequate thought or preparation.

Personally, I like idea of giving up overheads and projectors altogether. A colleague recently asked if we should use overheads when we do some upcoming presentations together. I expressed my opinion firmly. Need I say what that was?

If you're not ready to give them up, use your overheads in a supporting role. Don't ask them to carry a substantial part of message; you should deliver message, and overheads should reinforce what you say.

For example, if your presentation involves numerical information, a simple bar or line graph might help audience get point. Or, if you're talking about a sequence of events and their order is critical, a numbered list might help.

But best bet may be to go without. Before presentation, think hard about message or messages you want to convey. Boil them down into no more than three points, and then look for stories, analogies, metaphors, and anything else that will illustrate and reinforce each point. Try to create mental images with words, like good radio ads.

In summary, overhead projectors put serious communication barriers between speakers and audiences. Get rid of them. You'll be glad you did - and your audience will, too.