Five tips for dealing with presentation nerves

Five tips for dealing with presentation nerves
by Les Posen

"Starting about 60,000 years ago, our brains developed a marvelous system of providing us with remarkable defenses against environmental threats. Sometimes, those defenses are set-and-forget types, such as automatically blinking when a bug hits your windscreen, even though you “know” you’re protected. Other times, an evolutionary newer part of our brain where we make decisions and plans—the part that makes us most human—warns us of an upcoming threat. In the case of presenting, it might be fears of not connecting, or of our ideas not being accepted, or of going blank in front of 500 pairs of eyes. In historical terms, we still possess the fear of what it means to be stared at by so many people: Either we are the monarch, or more likely, we are the next sacrifice! Through evidence-based research and practice, clinical and performance psychologists have developed ways to help suppress these learned and ingrained fears, especially when we know we can perform well if only we give ourselves the chance. There are five interventions I teach and want to share with you:

1. Chunking and exposure.
Identify and break down your presenting challenges into small manageable chunks, and deliberately expose yourself to each of them step by step.
2. Rehearsal.
Beyond just practicing your slide timings, actually visualize and hear yourself say the words with your slides. You see yourself in front of the crowd and rehearse your presentation to a variety of audience reactions, both positive and negative.
3. Self-talk.
Anxiety grabs onto self-critical talk such as “I’ll do a terrible job. What happens if the slide show fails. What happens if they don’t laugh at my jokes.” Your task is not to feed your anxiety with this type of talk, but to change it into “I can do this. I will follow my rehearsed plans. This is manageable.”
4. Arousal control via diaphragmatic breathing.
Calm your brain’s fear center with slow, deliberate breaths with slightly longer exhales. Slower rhythm (rather than deep breathing) is helpful for fear management.
5. Deliberate practice.
Practice your beginning, identify challenging concepts, and practice, practice, practice—out loud. These techniques work, and I use them myself as well as with clients. They are powerful and will prove useful in scenarios other than presenting."

The tips from Les Posen above are not the last word on dealing with presentation anxiety, but these bits of advice can certainly help. One of the biggest tips to remember as well is to be well prepared. A big source of difficulty comes when speakers simply have not prepared. The only thing scarier than presenting in front of a crowd is doing so while being ill-prepared and unsure of yourself and your content.

http://www.presentationzen.com/

Why You Don't Feel Rich

Why You Don't Feel Rich

http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2011/05/27/why-you-dont-feel-rich.aspx

Morgan Housel
May 27, 2011


A Princeton study last fall showed extra income didn't affect most people's happiness above about $75,000 a year. Another study by Gallup found the happiest people in America earn $120,000 a year.

These folks may be happy. Just don't call them rich.

Survey after survey shows many Americans wouldn't consider themselves "rich" until they had a net worth of $5 million-$10 million. British publisher Felix Dennis says you aren't rich until you have at least $150 million. Russian oligarch Sergei Polonsky says anyone without a billion dollars "can go to hell."

The question over what's considered "rich" became important a few years ago after some politicians suggested anyone making more than $250,000 could afford a tax hike. Plenty found this absurd, and perhaps rightly -- what $250,000 buys varies wildly depending on geography. A quarter-million bucks in North Dakota buys a ranch. In New York City it (literally) buys a parking space.

But there's more to it than that. Consider this chart, showing household income distribution by percentiles:


Source: Tax Policy Center.

Those earning $250,000 a year might not feel rich, but in reality they're in the 97th percentile nationwide -- they earn more than 97% of tax filers. Objectively looking at the data without considering what earning $250,000 feels like, it's hard to call that level of income anything other than … dare I say … rich. Most who scored higher than 97% of the nation on a test would consider themselves smart. Those who run faster than 97% of everyone else would consider themselves in good shape. Income is an oddity in that many of those statistically near the top still feel inadequate. Daniel Gross of Slate put it more bluntly: "For those of you making more than $250,000, I regret to inform you: Yes, you are indeed rich -- any way you slice it."

Why so many disagree with that statement could also be explained by this chart. What's important is how flat income distribution is until you get to the upper-90 percentiles, where the slope explodes skywards.

Affluence is an enormously subjective measure. The field of behavioral finance shows that the feeling of wealth isn't based on how much money one earns, but how much money one earns in comparison to peers. Michael Shermer, author of Mind of the Market, points out that most people would rather earn $50,000 when the average is $25,000 than earn $100,000 when the average is $250,000. Similarly, the increase in how wealthy additional income makes us feel has less to do with the amount of income than it does how many of our peers that additional income pushes us ahead of.

The flatness throughout most of the income distribution gives a huge boost to this phenomenon. If someone earning $35,000 a year doubles their income to $70,000, they move from the 43rd percentile to the 67th percentile -- a massive move that pushes them ahead of many peers. They've gained social ground. They feel much better off.

But then the slope explodes. If someone making $250,000 doubles their income to $500,000, they move from the 97th percentile to the 98th percentile -- almost no gain at all. They may not surpass a single peer even after doubling their income. They don't feel better off because, socially, they're not.

The upward climb becomes more onerous from there. Increasing your income from $800,000 to $2.1 million pushes you from the 99.5th percentile to the 99.9th percentile. Financially, you're making millions more. Socially, you've gained almost no ground whatsoever. And remember, it's the latter that guides how rich you feel.

Jason Zweig, in his excellent book Your Money and Your Brain, shows how powerful this can be. In a survey of 800 people with a net worth of at least $500,000, 19% said that having enough money was a constant worry. For those with a net worth of at least $10 million, 33% felt this way. "Somehow," Zweig writes, "as wealth grows, worry grows even faster."

That, more or less, is why those making $250,000 don't feel rich. It's not that they don't earn a lot. It's that passing new social hurdles becomes so difficult that relative wealth -- all that really matters -- declines. To paraphrase Pablo Picasso, they're poor people living with lots of money.

Check back every Tuesday and Friday for Morgan Housel's columns on finance and economics.

3 Must-Have Investments for Your Retirement

3 Must-Have Investments for Your Retirement

http://www.fool.com/retirement/general/2011/05/27/3-must-have-investments-for-your-retirement.aspx

Dan Caplinger
May 27, 2011


Planning for a financially secure retirement may seem like an impossible task, but it's not. With the right investments in your portfolio, you can reach goals you might have thought were out of your reach. The key, though, is making sure you have all your bases covered with a coherent, sensible plan.

The danger of haphazard planning
All too often, people's portfolios end up looking like the financial equivalent of a teenager's bedroom. See if this looks familiar to you: Many people end up with a hodgepodge of different stocks and funds picked up at various times and then forgotten about. And for those fortunate enough to have a 401(k) or similar employer-sponsored retirement plan at work, plenty of folks simply pick a single investment option and let things roll on autopilot for years without any attention.

Obviously, that's not the right way to plan for retirement. Using a simple asset allocation strategy is the best way to build a diversified portfolio that will build your wealth throughout your career. But there are some key components that many people leave out of their asset allocations, and without them, you could be putting your financial health at risk. Let's talk about three of those key elements of a successful plan.

1. Own international investments.
For a long time, financial professionals recommended that investors keep most of their money close to home. With political turmoil around the world and a lack of information, investing in little-known foreign stocks involved quite a bit of risk.

But now, times have changed. The global economy has made it not only possible but essential to keep your finger on the pulse of worldwide news and business conditions. Moreover, with the rise of foreign economies, keeping all your eggs in the U.S. basket is risky -- as the fall of the dollar in recent years has reminded investors.

Fortunately, ETFs have made international investing simple. Vanguard Total International ETF (Nasdaq: VXUS ) provides balanced exposure to both developed and emerging markets around the world. If you prefer to focus only on the faster-growing emerging economies, iShares MSCI Emerging Markets (NYSE: EEM ) owns many big stocks in countries including Brazil, China, and India. Either way, going beyond your borders can enhance your returns.

2. Keep it real.
Many companies thrive by taking raw materials and creating products that add significant value. But as some of the world's biggest countries grow more prosperous, demand for those raw materials may well supplant the value added later in the production process.

We've certainly seen that trend play out in recent years. Despite plenty of bumps along the way, oil and gasoline prices remain at high levels. Shareholders in rare-earth metal play Molycorp (NYSE: MCP ) have profited handsomely as concerns about supplies of strategically important metals have led to international trade restrictions and raised national security issues. From Suncor's (NYSE: SU ) big investments in oil sands to unconventional oil and gas plays throughout the world, the race to secure natural resources has heated up.

Increasingly, you have several options to invest in this trend. Mining and energy stocks are the longtime favorite, but ETFs like Sprott Physical Gold Trust now exist whose sole purpose is to hold raw commodities. Both methods have their advantages and disadvantages, but no matter how you get it, some type of exposure to the vital inputs to economic production is essential.

3. Get some income.
Historically, investors haven't worried about income until they've actually reached retirement and need the money. But now, you need to plan for the contingency of having to draw income from your investments before you reach retirement age.

That's where income investments come in. Bonds and bank CDs are traditional ways to avoid the risk of stocks, but their rates are at rock-bottom levels right now. Meanwhile, several blue-chip stocks have very attractive yields at current prices. Combined with more exotic investments including real-estate investment trusts and master limited partnerships, it's easy to generate the dividend income you need to supplement your cash flow. With REIT Chimera Investment (NYSE: CIM ) yielding well over 10% and MLP Cheniere Energy Partners (AMEX: CQP ) pushing the 10% mark, there's no shortage of reasonable -- though definitely not risk-free -- choices for you to consider.

Don't miss out
A comfortable retirement may seem out of reach given today's economic challenges. But don't give up. By making sure your investment portfolio includes these three types of investments, you'll improve your chances of having the retirement you've always dreamed of.

If you're trying to retire rich, you need to know the basics. Our 13 Steps to Investing Foolishly will get you on track to a great financial plan in no time.