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Public speaking is fun, and can be very rewarding with the proper preparation. The following steps will help you breeze through your next presentation.

1. Prepare well. Do your research, and develop a checklist of your needs. You’ll include the usual items (laptop and projector, for example), but don’t forget a marker and/or pointer, your reading glasses, and other details. Don’t rely on memory. It’s too easy to forget those things.

2. Anticipate questions from the audience. You can’t plan for all, but answers to a half dozen or so of the most likely questions should be committed to memory.

3. Develop notes or a script, especially if you’re not using PowerPoint. Don’t try to wing it. Notes keep you on message and help keep you on time. An outline format works best.

4. Rehearse, rehearse, rehearse. I can’t emphasize this enough. Try to get your material down cold. This will maximize your eye contact and create a more natural, conversational tone. Practice responding to the questions you listed in Step 2, especially if you’ll be nervous during the presentation. By practicing, your answers will sound more natural and confident.

Record yourself, if possible. Listen for any glitches (um’s, ah’s, you know’s), as well as any other speech patterns that should be corrected.

5. Arrive early. This gives you a chance to get accustomed to the room and test your equipment a final time. You can set up the presentation area to your liking, and acclimate yourself to any distractions, such as outside noise, poor lighting and odd acoustics. Mingle with the audience for a bit. That will help settle any jitters.

6. Don’t let a mistake bother you. Everyone slips up on occasion. Plow on. If you forget something, try to come back to the point, or skip it. Your audience will never know what they didn’t hear. If it’s a more obvious glitch – say, you bump into something – mutter an “oops” and move on. Don’t dwell on it, as that will just draw attention to the error and make you feel more uncomfortable.

7. Speak frequently. To maintain your edge, get out and speak whenever possible. Rotary, Kiwanis, and Lions clubs, among other groups, need speakers on a regular basis. They enjoy a variety of subject matter, so don’t feel you’re confined to business-related topics. I’ve spoken about amateur radio; what hobbies can you talk about for 20 minutes or so?

Seminars and other presentations help you refine your communication skills and enhance your professional development. Take advantage of any opportunity to speak before an audience. You’ll enjoy the experience.

As presenters, we all want to be memorable. Memorable for being outstanding, not for doing a far-from-excellent job. In this article, highlight notes and observations I have made about the qualities of the memorable presenters I have heard over the years.

Memorable presenters have their own, unique style. They never try to be someone they aren’t. They are comfortable with themselves and within themselves.

Memorable presenters have sincere passion and enthusiasm for their topic(s). It is obvious when a speaker, even a competent one with all of the skills, is presenting a topic that he or she doesn’t care that much about.

Memorable presenters open and close with panache. Their openings grab your attention and ears immediately and their closings make you want to change your life or habits or take a risk the minute you leave the room.

Memorable presenters tell stories that embrace, enthrall, enchant and stay with you for days and weeks after the presentation. They have studied this art form and have well rehearsed stories that they have told hundreds of times to friends and family.

Memorable presenters share “knock your socks off” content. It is cutting edge, innovative, new, different and moving. Yes, it moves us to action!

Memorable presenters have a superb sense of time and timing. They are always on time. They don’t use up more time than they have been given. They also know how to pace and to pause at just the right moment.

Memorable presenters are in control. They control what is going on during the presentation. If there is a heckler or someone who is asking so many questions the presentation could get off track, they know how to handle the situation in a kind, yet firm, way.

Memorable presenters can also cope with the unexpected. I have witnessed the best when all the lights go out, when someone in the audience becomes ill, or when there is an overabundance of noise and activity. Many have humorous lines for these interruptions.

Memorable presenters do not give book reports. They know their subjects inside and out. Most of them have already lived through the risks, failures and successes, so are speaking first hand from true experience.

Memorable presenters don’t depend upon PowerPoint for their presentations. I am not suggesting that we never use this fine tool. I am just against becoming so enamored by all the bells and whistles that we let it take over our presentation.

Memorable presenters “walk their talk.” They are the same sincere person when you meet them off-stage as when they were on the platform.

Memorable presenters handle the Question & Answer portion of the presentation with knowledge, fairness, honesty and clarity. They will admit when they don’t know the answer to a question. They promise to find it and get back to you — and they do!

Memorable presenters have confidence and self-esteem, but are not arrogant, egotistical, or focused on themselves. They are there for us.

Memorable presenters bond with the listeners. They look us in the eye, they involve us, they answer our questions and they establish rapport with all of us.

They are our friends! If you can present so that your audience feels you are their friend, then I guarantee that you will be a memorable presenter!

Millions of inventors and entrepreneurs set out every year with good ideas and great products, but what separates the many from the few is executing the fundamentals. One of these basic tenants that many businesses struggle with is setting the right price on your product and achieving the delicate balance between making a profit and keeping merchandise competitive.

There are many factors that go into pricing your product. Many companies will over-estimate or under-estimate how much a retailer is willing to pay for a quality product, as well as what the end-consumer will pay.

Here are a few key tips to competitively pricing your product to retailers:

1. Know your target consumer – Who are you selling to and why would they want your product? Take your time to do thorough market research before deciding the value of your product. Many companies will hire outside companies to help in this crucial step.

2. Know all your costs – This includes expenses like your sales and marketing team, cost of labor and materials, salary expenses, as well as your company’s future growth plans, your expected profit margin, and a realistic revenue goal.

3. Know your competition -Making a head-to-head comparison between your competition’s prices and costs can be very helpful when determining how to price your product. You can bet that any retailer you are selling to will check out your competition to gauge your prices.

4. Know your market – Are there new laws being considered that may affect your business? Or maybe the price of your materials has been on the rise? Consider the future stability of your market when making price decisions.

Everyone wants to sell to big-box retailers like Wal-Mart and Best Buy, but don’t forget that bigger retailers might mean a higher sales volume, but don’t expect to make a high profit off of them. Smaller retailers, on the other hand, will accept higher prices, but offer small sales revenue. Knowing who you are selling to is key to setting the right price for your products.

Lastly, after you set the right price, don’t forget to continuously monitor your prices after you get into stores. Keep an eye on the market, your competitors and the profit of your products. Be ready to shift the price of your product when it is necessary.

Striking the right balance between earning a profit and remaining competitive can be difficult, but with the right tools and know-how the task can become a little less daunting and help set your business up for success.