J Thor Audio Visual Event Rental Production Tampa Bay St Petersburg Orlando Miami Florida

In the a/v business we have seen every type of presenter. To help you present like a pro we have created a list of tips based from our experiences.

Presentation Tips:

- Speak clearly and louder than usual to help reduce feedback. - Do not wear a cell phone if you are using a wireless microphone, it may cause interference. - Ask where you should stand on stage. - Do not use your hand shield stage lighting, if you have to interact with the audience ask for house lights to be raised. - Do not read from the slides and your slides should be bullet points if the subject not a full report. Stick to key points. - Familiarize yourself with the equipment. If you are using a presentation controller make sure before going on stage that you understand how it works. - Don't hide behind the lectern or turn your back on the audience, Using a confidence monitor will help avoid this problem. - End on time, the audience is on a schedule and your delay could effect the overall conference flow.

PowerPoint Tips

- Keep slides simple and clutter free. This is easier on the eyes of your audience.
- Stand about 10' back from screen to view your content. If it's difficult to read adjust the font and size. - Let pictures and graphs tell the story. Less text is better. - Keep a slide with your company logo. This helps when you are either finished with your PowerPoint or have not started yet. - Use contrast: light on dark or dark on light. 

I hope these help with your next presentation, If you have any to add I'd love your feedback.

Letting our fans know how grateful we are to be part of your lives no matter how big or small. We are wishing you and your families a very happy holiday season. Enjoy the video, Little Drummer Boy is one of my favorite Christmas songs and it's all done LED lights. http://youtu.be/4Xa6msB00Ds

When social media was introduced to the world, naturally the marketing industry boomed. Social media created an entirely new platform that big companies and small entrepreneurs could use to reach their current and future clients. Marketing via social media is pretty simple and it’s easy to reach hundreds of people with just one click. But there are a few mistakes that you should avoid along the way. Are you making any of these common 5 mistakes? If so, it looks like you have some social media resolutions for the New Year!

Social Media Suicide #1: Disrespecting Your Clientele
Social media makes it easy to reach so many people every single day, which can make some marketers get a bit of tunnel vision. In an attempt to cover all of their bases, some marketers forget that the individual is important, too. Singular clients and customers make up the whole, and while it’s tempting to speed through your client list, it’s important to remember that people want to be treated with individualized attention and respect. Avoid clumping everyone together in a herd for the sake of reaching more and more clients.

Social Media Suicide #2: Controlling Opinions
If you set up a Facebook page for your business, you probably want to collect a lot of friends or fans. This opens up the possibility for some very public negative feedback. One huge mistake that marketers make over and over again is trying to control these negative messages. Micromanaging the opinion of your client base will only annoy your customers more. People want to be heard, so accept the feedback, address it when appropriate and take some of it into consideration for bettering the company.

Social Media Suicide #3: Allowing Anything and Everything To Be Posted
This may seem like it contradicts the previous suggestion, but it doesn’t. Should you let your customers rant if they’ve had a terrible experience at one of your stores? Yes. Should you let your Facebook friends post crude and offensive comments on your wall? Absolutely not. Healthy criticism is one thing, but offending all of your other visitors will only shrink your clientele pool. Make sure that there isn’t any foul language or offensive material posted on your site.

Social Media Suicide #4: Bad Mouthing
Freedom of speech doesn’t mean that it’s appropriate to bad mouth other companies. Just because you legally can say something doesn’t mean you should. Stay neutral in your client’s eyes and avoid getting into a virtual he said, she said battle. And never, ever post negative comments about your customers on a social media site. 

Social Media Suicide #5: Ignoring Your Competitors
You’re not the only business out there, and there are other local businesses in the same industry. Don’t ignore this. Instead, embrace the competition and learn from it.

Emily is a blogger and a contributing writer for Invesp, a company that helps clients with their conversion optimization efforts by improving landing page design.

The holiday season has arrived and people are planning gatherings for the season. If your home is like mine and it’s the center for this holiday feast it’s time to make your list and check them twice. To help relieve some of the stress planning your family Thanksgiving dinner and enjoy your time with them without being a slave to your kitchen, we have created a few tips that we hope will make the remaining week a little more relaxing.

1 Week Before:

Take an inventory of table and kitchen supplies. Purchase your non-perishables, wine, alcohol, and soft drinks. If using a frozen turkey, plan the day you will begin to defrost it in the refrigerator. The rule of thumb is to allow one day for every five pounds of turkey. If you are renting anything (tables, chairs, linens, etc) make these reservations. Iron any table linens and polish your silver that will be used this season. If ordering centerpieces this is the time to place your order or if you are making your centerpiece on is the time to start. Begin to clean the rooms that will be seen by your guests, starting with the messiest room first.

3 Days Before:

Purchase the rest of your perishables, bake and freeze any desserts that can be frozen. Begin to decorate your home.

2 Days Before:

Begin cleaning and chopping any vegetables for the stuffing / dressing and side dishes. Keep this refrigerated. Prepare recipes that can be refrigerated for two days.

1 Day Before:

Dust and vacuum rooms your guests will be in.  Set your table with the centerpieces and dinnerware. We recommend having a table that your buffet table keeping everything together. If your centerpiece is a larger piece this is where it should be placed. Smaller ones are for the table. Make and refrigerate your stuffing or dressing. Clean your turkey, then refrigerate. Finish preparing your salads and desserts.

Thanksgiving Day:

Roast turkey and dressing. Finish any appetizers and side items. Before family and friends arrive take a hour to relax and freshen up. To add ambient lighting light candles.  Don’t forget the little people in your family. Place battery operated lights for your candles to avoid any accidents. To accommodate your younger guests create a table that is just for them. Instead of using table linens use kraft paper and set out cups with crayons. They can draw or play tic tac toe keeping your little ones busy. 

Thanksgiving isn't only about the meal, so celebrate the people you are most thankful for and share your favorite holiday memories.

We wanted to thank all those that have served and currently serving our armed forces. We can not thank you enough for all you have sacrificed so freely to keep us free. We  don't forget the family members that also sacrifice when their loved ones are deployed or stationed far away.  How will you be honoring veterans today? I'd love to hear your ideas.  Check out this video: http://youtu.be/xN2W429x_oA                                                                                                                               

What a way to start the beginning of fall than by traveling to Denver, CO to a Melting Pot Annual Reunion. We partnered with Jacobs’s Incentive for another meeting in the beautiful mountains of Colorado.  It was held this year at the Omni Interlocken Resort in Broomfield, Co.

J. Thor Productions provided the audio video, and lighting needs for the 4 day event.

To help bring the mountain scenery inside, we displayed images of the picturesque Rocky Mountains, lakes, and canyons on the center 15’x26’5” projection screen. The podium was custom made to represent a rock with up lighting and live foliage at the base.

The last night of the event was an award ceremony with live entertainment from Face, a vocal band. You can check out their You Tube videos here. At evenings end the audience got to choose the winner of the prestigious POW award by texting in their vote using software by Poll Anywhere.  The event went off without a hitch.  Donna Barnard, Jacob’s COO said that the feedback from the event is nothing short of perfect!

Today was an amazing day. Myself, mother in law and a friend woke up at the crack of dawn to walk the 5k Susan G Komen breast cancer walk at Vinoy Park with our children in tow. You could feel the beautiful cool fall weather we couldn't ask for better day. We slowly made our way to the starting line. If you have never been there or around that area this time if year, it is like no other time. Thousands of people come out for this event. Some are in the competitive running or the 5k running/walking. I personally have been walking this event for about 11 years now missing only 1 year because the birth of my daughter a week prior to the event. J. Thor Productions has helped me raise money for the cause and last year we walked as a company. To find out more about the event you can visit Tampa Bay News.

Today's post has nothing to do with a/v or meeting planning. While clearing out an old folder I came across a sheet of paper I had written from an article I read. I forgot I even had it, it's been so long since I copied. But it had caught my eye a year or so ago, which is why I wrote it done, and it once again did. Everyone at some time in their life is looking for hope so I wanted to share these 8 ways this author had written. I do apologize not giving credit to the author but that part I didn't write done. 

1. Be kind to yourself (For me this has always been hard. I'm truly harder on myself than anyone has ever been.)

2. Create a daily 5 minute silence ritual

3. Curtail your intake of news (good one)

4. Treat each day like a precious gift

5. Take a break morning, afternoon, night 30 seconds to look at the sky

6. Express love tangibly

7. Say "I am key to peace." everyday

8. Make a difference

I'd love to hear if you have anything to add to this list. I hope you have a wonderful weekend.

Wikipedia: Labor day is a United States federal holiday observed on the first Monday on September that celebrates the economic and social contributions of workers.

Today the only event production we did was the events that were taken place at our homes. We spent our time with family and friends enjoying the beautiful Florida weather. We hope that you were able to spend your day same where ever you may be located. Take today to enjoy this day off with the ones you care about. If you have to work today, we do hope you aren't working to hard. Happy Labor Day!

Social Media Make Event Promotion Easier

By: Melissa Schraiber

Nothing has impacted promoters and event planners in recent years like social media. Once a tiresome and tedious specialty of marketers, event promotion is suddenly something anyone can do.

Whether one is a professional event planner, making their living by planning and executing multi-million dollar corporate event, or an average Jane trying to coordinate a party or a reunion, social media sites have become a key component in any event. And executing an event promotion via social media has become as easy as pushing a button.

For professional promoters, LinkedIn is one social media site growing in popularity. The site boasts more than 12 million professional among its network of users. Geared mainly toward business rather than social connections, LinkedIn is a great way to keep track of event invites, as well as a vehicle to present the event details.

For individuals tasked with promoting one of life's moments, Facebook is a great place to start. Most people only need to look to their Facebook friends list to find an already created invitation list. According to the world's most popular social network, there are 750 million Facebook users. Thirty percent of them live in the U.S. and half of all Facebook users log into their account at least once per day.

Facebook, as well as other social networks, offer free applications that care of the work for you. Event planners can create separate accounts specifically for the event that includes pictures, times and as much information as one wishes to include. Users can also create an event page. Facebook automatically creates and send instructions, details, and event electronic invitations, Recipients can easily confirm attendance, decline or even reply that they aren't sure. Digital notices and an ever present thumbnail picture of your event create a contact reminder for expected attendees. If a large turnout is the goal, social media sites specialize in spreading the world like no others. Each Facebook user has an average of 130 friends. When you invite them on Facebook, each of their 130 friends also sees the event details and their friends see it, and so on. That's the beauty of social media.

Some say the days of designing and printing multiple rounds if invitations and save-the-date cards are long gone. With postage rates always climbing, event promotion via social media has presented a free alternative to the costly ways of the past. Still, if an event requires a touch of class or elegance, nothing does the trick like a good old fashion printed invitation. These days, it's not a choice between old and new. An event planners can incorporate both traditional tactics and new opportunities using social media into a fantastically successful event.