Help with end of year corporate speech

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   Hello,

I am giving my end of year speech in 3 weeks time to our employees. And was wondering if you had any advice, draft outlines, thoughts etc., that you would be willing to share?

I don't want anything too formal, but I don't want it to be too informal either, as my boss, and our regional boss will also be at the meeting, and really i just want to take the opportuniy to thank the people in our office for all their hard work and efforts during 2005.

The PowerPoint Wizard 

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powerpoint wizard Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 03 Nov 2005 Online Status: Offline Posts: 4	Quote Reply Topic: Help with end of year corporate speech Posted: 14 Nov 2005 at 08:52
	Hello, I am giving my end of year speech in 3 weeks time to our employees. And was wondering if you had any advice, draft outlines, thoughts etc., that you would be willing to share? I don't want anything too formal, but I don't want it to be too informal either, as my boss, and our regional boss will also be at the meeting, and really i just want to take the opportuniy to thank the people in our office for all their hard work and efforts during 2005. The PowerPoint Wizard

Jonathan Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 22 Sep 2005 Online Status: Offline Posts: 19	Quote Reply Posted: 14 Nov 2005 at 11:21
	Hi powerpoint wizard! I'm glad that you weren't asking for advice about PowerPoint, I would have been disappointed after seeing your name The end of year address, is often one where a manager praises his or her staff for their efforts over the year, rather than informing them of their poor input if that should be the case. I am certain that you have both given and been present at many end of year addresses powerpoint wizard, and hopefully not experienced as I have previously many years ago, an address where the CEO addressed us all and complained about our poor efforts, poor results, and lack of rdrive and ambition over the year, and the drop in overall profits and bottom line. You can imagine powerpoint wizard, everyone left that speech feeling like a punctured tyre. No one was motivated. No one wanted to try. And certainly no one was interested in givving more "effort". Hardly the teams spirit one would want to inject on one's employees before the holidays, and not quite a motivating factor to want to come back to the office after the break. I think first and foremost powerpoint wizard, no matter the outcome no matter the financial results, you must try to think about motivating your staff. As you mention your supervisor will be present, and his superior will be present, and even if the finanical returns or results of the company are poor for the year, if you focus your speech on motivation and praise, and effort and drive, your bosses, will be impressed by your determination to turn things around and push even harder. Nothing is more inspirational than an engaged speaker. And nothing more powerful than an engaged motivating speaker. History has shown us this, and perhaps you might think to use this opportunity to build team strength and character? Jonathan Stock, Presentation Consultant

powerpoint wizard Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 03 Nov 2005 Online Status: Offline Posts: 4	Quote Reply Posted: 14 Nov 2005 at 14:46
	Hey Jonathan, thanks for your comments. I think you are right in your observations. As a matter of fact, we havent had a particaularly good year financially this year, much to do with the rising oil and gas prices which has made the car rental industrial segment a very competitive market. With really only the major players such as Hertz etc., able to keep prices low and on a similar plane to 2004. The smaller actors, such as ourselves, have naturally been forced to increase rental prices which has had a negative affect on overall rentals, etc., So it will be a diffcult speech, and not one to which I am looking forward, in light of the possibility of potentially losing staff during 2006. The PowerPoint Wizard

Jonathan Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 22 Sep 2005 Online Status: Offline Posts: 19	Quote Reply Posted: 14 Nov 2005 at 15:22
	I see powerpoint wizard. Then yes, my adivce would certainly be to steer well clear of that subject or related topics. Perhaps focus instead of the positive values a smaller organization or office such as yourselves possesses over the larger colder corporate dinosaurs. I'm thinking about aspects such as: Customer care can be much more personal Customer service minded staff Positive happy faces make positive happy customers It's very much like the man who went to see the doctor every Saturday and said doctor please, you have to do something for my headache. So the doctor gave him some aspirin. The following Saturday the man went to see the doctor again and the same thing happened. This contnued for about 2 months before the doctor said. Listen, if you want to do something about your headache, stop drinking every Friday night. Often the cure is not the answer to the problem. Organizations often have to lose employees because it appears as a cure. But the affects are always short term. To turn the organization around, you need to motivate people to want to succeed on an individual and on a group level. Jonathan Stock, Presentation Consultant

powerpoint wizard Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 03 Nov 2005 Online Status: Offline Posts: 4	Quote Reply Posted: 14 Nov 2005 at 15:38
	I agree Jonathan. Do you have any thoughts in repsect to the structure of the speech, perhaps the opening? Something that I could use to help set the tone for the overall presentation? The PowerPoint Wizard

Jonathan Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 22 Sep 2005 Online Status: Offline Posts: 19	Quote Reply Posted: 14 Nov 2005 at 17:02
	Perhaps something along these lines powerpoint wizard, "Welcome, everyone. When you reach the end of the year, it's my experience that three things happen: You speed up Then you tally up And then, all things being fair, you find some time to rest up. The first two are pretty much inevitable, but the third one can sometimes get by on you. Well, I want to remind you tonight that you've earned the right to rest up a little. Business today asks a lot of us all. No matter how much we do, we know our clients will always want more. Greater value, more sophisticated service, and a better consumer experience..." I think from here powerpoint wizard, you could talk about how your customer experience is today, and interactively ask your staff how they think you could improve the customer experience. Try to think in advance of some ideas that you would like to share for helping customer care, employees day to day, etc., any thoughts that would make the team a more motivated, positive, and cohesive unit. Get the audience involved. They are your customer contact points so they know what works and what doesn't work. Be enthusiastic. Talk as a team, not as them and you. And remember, end of speeches such as the one you are about to give provide you with the opportunity to motivate your staff and turn around any negative results, or attitudes in the organization. It's an opportunity that you can use to either motivate, or simply relay statistics and information. Try to avoid any talk of redundancies, people will already begin looking for new positions elsewhere over the holidays, and the moral of the team will be quickly diminished. You want your staff motivated and energetically charged. Providing good customer experiences, and helping turn around any negative trends. Jonathan Stock, Presentation Consultant

powerpoint wizard Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 03 Nov 2005 Online Status: Offline Posts: 4	Quote Reply Posted: 14 Nov 2005 at 21:19
	Thank you so much for your constructive input Jonathan. I am motivated myself already!!! I will use the opportunity, and my speech, as you suggest to motivate the team, and prepare my presentation accordingly. Many thanks again, The PowerPoint Wizard