In attendance were the likes of DHL, TNT, Royal Mail, Groupe La Poste, Australia Post and United States Postal Service to name but a few.

The conference mainly focused on eBusiness and eCommerce because of the huge letter volume decline facing the entire postal industry around the world and the parcels home shopping market is potentially the saviour to their business. What really stood out was the quality of guest speakers. Their presentations and stories were relevant to the conference and the audience certainly got a lot out of listening to the former CEO and President of eBay, John Donahoe. John's presentation slides were testament to the fact that less is more. They were simple, clear and to the point.

PS Programmes involved in diverse presentations

Recent weeks have seen us involved in some very diverse presentations, in terms of subject matter, environment and context.

A conference for 'international development' has seen a huge variety of interests and concerns from advisors and practitioners in both the private sector and public sector, talking about challenges and projects across the globe. You can imagine how carefully the various presentations and workshops have to be constructed, to capture the needs and outcomes of so many perspectives and cultures. The key to this event's success was in the frequent interaction through presentations, small focussed workshops, and networking opportunities.

In the recent past, CR or CSR might have been a conversation mainly for environment managers or CR managers, but now these discussions have reached the boardroom. We have been facilitating two conferences for those in aviation, and here the topics of conversation have been contentious and emotive. The more passionately people feel, then the more they want to express themselves. However, much of these conferences have also been about learning, and the eagerness for employees to find out more about this subject from both a social and environmental perspective as well as from a business perspective. The fact that sustainability issues are directly affecting the way we work at a grass roots level, is stirring interest in businesses as never before.

We have revisited a travel management company last month, to see how they're getting on with their presentations to corporate clients. Changing a simple word has changed their whole outlook on their relationship with their clients. They told us that they no longer talk about making presentations, but about 'talking' to their clients, and it seems many of the nerves have gone and the confidence had shot up.

The world of media

Working with a company in the world of media, reminds us just how dynamic this industry is. We have been helping create a small conference for one of the largest magazine publishers in the UK. Their business is changing and evolving so fast with the use of digital media, that you have to be aware of just how many ways there are to present yourself to the world and to your customers. They use print, websites, video, TV, campaigns and shows to reach their customers. There are quite a lot of presenting skills at play here!

PS Programmes hosts an event for IoD at AP's Central London Studios

TV is arguably the most challenging environment in which to get your point across. Your reputation, market positioning, share price or public perception could all be at stake and as the media proliferate so do the chances you can be called to present your view, be it in a straight interview, a live presentation, or as a result of a crisis. On 4th July, delegates from the Institute of Directors were given advice and guidance in all these areas at Associated Press state of-the-art broadcast facility located in New Zealand House on Haymarket. The delegates discovered what it was like to go in front of the camera and be interviewed in a real studio environment. They also learnt about Crisis Media Management and how to deliver effective presentations to the media, at conferences and at live events, so as to achieve that all important impact and business edge. The evening was run by The PS Programmes Media Team who completely understand the benefits presenting can bring, both professionally in business and personally in life. The feedback has been terrific, it was a really engaging and inspiring event. The Old Laundry - great venue for our presentation skills programmes We have recently discovered a new venue called The Old Laundry, which is now featured on our website. So if you like natural daylight, comfortable chairs, a light and airy room, something a little bit different, then this could be a great venue for your business or organisation to book a presentation skills programme. Let's face it the environment in which we learn in is one of the keys to making sure you get the most out of going on a presentation skills programme or any leadership development course. Media and PR Agencies have particularly taken to this venue. At The Old Laundry you won't find any hard backed chairs, grey Formica tables or migraine inducing florescent strip lights, instead they have two inspiring contemporary meeting spaces - The Emporium downstairs and The Greenhouse upstairs. We would say that each space is designed to hold up to 12 people comfortably and to keep energy levels high throughout the day they provide delicious homemade food. Of course we have plenty of other great venues and we will be featuring some of these in the coming months. If you've got a great venue suggestion, then let us know as well. TV Media Training We also offer TV Media Training Programmes and these are delivered at one of our selected TV studios in Central London with our expert team of business and media coaches, journalists and trainers. Getting your message across successfully on TV is crucial in today's media driven world. Our TV Media Training is mainly aimed at senior staff and specialists who need to appear on TV or would like to in the future. Our programmes equip you with the skills and confidence to handle the media in a positive way, so you will be able to give excellent TV interviews. If you would like more information about this, please email enquiries@psprogrammes.co.uk Supporting young people into business and work We think it's really important to encourage young people into business and work, so we would like to do our bit to make sure that work is a positive and rewarding experience for all, and when we were all first starting out, it was definitely a time in our life's where we benefited from that extra help and support. So we have nominated 3 charities - The Prince's Trust, Get Connected and Action for Children and will provide them with financial donations to help them keep up the excellent work they do. So every time, we get a booking, we will donate £10 for every person booked on one of our courses. We will then ask you to choose which of these 3 organisations you would like us to donate to. Phone: 01494 618585 Email: enquiries@psprogrammes.co.uk PS Programmes January 2012