Gadgets, once exclusively the domain of teenage boys now has an appeal to both boys and girls alike. Chances are, these Christmas ideas are items that will feature on many a teenager’s top 10 wish list, if they do not already have them all.

Games Consoles

Nintendo Wii is particularly desired because it takes gaming to a whole new level being that body movement becomes a key component in playing many of the games.

Wii Fit. If your teenager already has a Wii, the Wii Fit is a must have. As the name suggests it promotes fitness. As such it involves the use of a platform on which you will twist and turn and shift your weight to achieve the objectives of the games, and lose some calories in the process. This is great fun for all the family.

PlayStation 3 and X-Box 360 remain the other two strong contenders in the market. All three consoles are Christmas ideas that will make great presents. However, with the Wii bringing with it greater interactivity and being pitched as not only a multiplayer console but also as a family friendly multiplayer console, Nintendo have cleverly and successfully created a new niche in the games console market that has made it all the rage and brought families that end up playing together, closer together.

iPod or iPhone

Since the iPod first arrived on the market, it has been a must have. The latest incarnation, the iPod Touch and its mobile phone expanded big brother – the iPhone, ensure this demand is still going strong. If the budget fits, either these are Christmas ideas that you can be sure are high up in the gadget loving teen’s wish list if they have not got an iPod or iPhone already. And even if they do already have the iPod, they most likely are wanting to upgrade to an iPhone.

When it comes to mp3 players, the iPod leads the pack. Many competitors have entered the market, but iPod remains the King of mp3 players. With the latest incarnation, rather than using physical controls, the controls on the iPod Touch are activated by using the touch screen interface of the iPod.

The iPhone takes the iPod touch, and propels it into the mobile phone market. As well as having phone functionality, it also obviously has a built in microphone for speaking and recording. There is also has a built in 2.0 megapixel camera – great for taking pictures of special moments while on the move and emailing them off to your contacts.

Handheld Games Consoles

The Nintendo DS Lite and the PlayStation Portable (PSP) are the younger siblings to the “grown up” home game consoles. The main reason these are desired and are also great Christmas ideas for presents, is that you can take them wherever you go. Fantastic for use when on the move, especially during long boring journeys.

The Nintendo DS Lite is particularly popular as it has a wide choice of games. It also boasts a touch screen interface, bringing with it a whole new element to entertainment and gaming. The main feature PSP has as a standard feature that DS Lite does not, is built in media capability – but unless there is a really strong desire to buy movies to watch on the go, this feature probably does not really matter.

Games for Above Consoles

To be lighter on the pocket, and assuming that the teenager in question already has one of the above consoles, you can simply buy them a game for that console. Before purchasing a game, you might want to try to find out what type of game they like first, or if they have been talking about their desire for a new game recently. This should enable you to be discreet, yet ensure that you gift them a game that they will really appreciate.

So there you have it, 3 gadgets and games. Christmas ideas that make fantastic gifts for the technology and gadget loving teenage boy or girl that are sure to put a smile on their face.

Being able to present to a small or large group, speaking in public, and standing in the spotlight can bring even the bravest leader to his or her knees. Public speaking is the number 1 fear of most business professionals. Discover 5 easy secrets to move from fear to fearless.

In today’s fast-paced environment, comfort and confidence in business presenting is a must. You must be able to present effectively to a group-whether it is a group of peers, your superiors, or important clients.

But what if presenting makes you feel nauseous, queasy or having the overwhelming urge to run out of the room? If you are experiencing symptoms of presentation anxiety, there is hope. Use these quick and easy secrets to escape the jitters and shine in any spotlight.

As you can see from the 5 secrets, it’s time to make friends with the entire process and practice of presenting. Let’s jump into each of these 5 powerful secrets.

Secret 1. Training Is Your Friend
Many professionals not only dread presenting, they also avoid presentation skills training. This is strange and faulty logic. When you take a professional training seminar, you’ll get valuable insights. You’ll learn step-by-step processes that make presenting in public much easier to do well-and to do without fear.

Secret 2. Technology Is Your Friend
With radical advances in technology, it’s time to ‘make friends.’ If you’ve been resisting presenting because you feel technophobic, all that’s about to change.

Technology has gotten much, much simpler. For example, it’s easier these days to add colorful graphics to your PowerPoint slides. Just click on the SmartArt icon and find the graphic that’s right for you.

If you truly can’t relate to high-tech presentations, then go low-tech. Use a whiteboard to sketch while your audience watches. As this is not used as frequently as slides, you’ll show up as creative and innovative.

Secret 3. Presenting Is Your Friend
As presentation experts advise: “you can do more for your career in a 5-minute presentation than you can achieve in 5-years at your desk.” Face-to-face presentations get you noticed by the top brass. Presenting well in front of your boss or senior leadership puts you on the fast-track.

Secret 4. Coaching Is Your Friend
If you’re in luck, your company provides targeted presentation skills training. But if you are caught in a downturn and budgets are tight, take matters into your own hands. Get personal coaching and you’ll get the focused attention you deserve.

More and more professionals are opting for personal coaching delivered virtually because it is convenient, affordable and customized to what you need most. This is hard to achieve in a traditional classroom with 12-40 participants.

Secret 5. Rehearsing Is Your Friend
This important secret could be the most important. Rehearsing. Practicing. Practice your script. Rehearse what you say. Rehearse how you move. Practice overcoming objections. Practice responding to questions. Practice to make the most of the technology. Practice personal strategies to present with total confidence.

Break out each part of presenting so that you can improve your skills. The more you practice-and get real-time feedback from a professional coach, the faster you’ll improve.

When you look at these 5 secrets, it’s easy to see that fearless presenting is a skill that is completely learnable. And yes, you can learn how to present your way to the top of your career.

Success with PowerPoint presentations boils down to consistently doing a handful of simple, commonsense things. Try these 7 tips on your next PowerPoint presentation and I promise your life will be much easier the next time you’re in front of a crowd:

1. Choose a PowerPoint template that uses high contrast between background and text. Like white letters on a dark blue background. Or vice versa. Otherwise your audience can’t read it.
2. Use lots of pictures to break up the monotony of page after page of text. Shoot for a picture or two on each page. Sprinkle in some humor if you can. Otherwise your audience will go to sleep.
3. Use text sparingly in as large a font as practical. Lots of text in small font will quickly lose the attention of your audience. Don’t turn your back to read the text off the slide out loud to them. Your audience can read without your help. The text should be a way to jog your memory at a glance about a point that you want to make and that you can expound upon. Bring some value to the presentation. Otherwise, why are you there?
4. Stand up and speak up when you’re giving a presentation. You’ll command more attention and respect this way. Force yourself to use a louder voice than you normally would. This will give you authority and keep the whispers and side conversations to a minimum.
5. Ask questions of your audience. Invite questions back to you. Get the audience engaged. If they know they might have to answer a question, then they’ll pay more attention and they’ll remember what you said better.
6. Withhold all props until the last third or quarter of the presentation. If you immediately give out widgets to pass around and play with, you’ll lose your audience right out of the box. Gizmos have a high cool factor and everyone gets excited once they’re loose in the crowd. It’s the number one train wreck causer if you don’t use them right.
7. Don’t give out copies of the presentation until the end. This one is a little more controversial because many people want a handout that they can use to take notes on as you go along. In fact some will demand a handout at the beginning, and may get a little irate if you don’t give them one. Resist the urge to give in and pass them out. I have had too many presentations derailed by folks flipping through to the end of the handout and asking questions out of order. If taking notes is necessary, then they can use their notepad and staple their notes to the handout afterward.