why good personal presentation is important for museum staff

• PERSONAL SKILLS
• Caring for Your Body

Personal Presentation

Search SkillsYouNeed:

Personal Skills:

• A - Z List of Personal Skills
• Personal Development

Check out our popular eBook now in its third edition.

The Skills You Need Guide to Life: Looking After Yourself

• Personal Skills for the Mind
• Emotional Intelligence
• Stress and Stress Management
• Anger and Aggression
• Assertiveness
• Living Well, Living Ethically
• Understanding Sustainability
• Measures of Wellness
• Wellness Testing and Tracking
• Positive Body Image
• Looking After Your Physical Health as a Teenager
• Self-Care For Teenagers
• Perimenopause and Health
• The Importance of Exercise
• Types of Exercise
• How to Exercise Safely and Effectively
• Top Tips for Exercising on a Budget
• Using Fitness Trackers to Exercise
• What is Sleep?
• The Importance of Sleep
• Food, Diet and Nutrition
• What is Protein?
• What are Carbohydrates?
• What is Sugar?
• Complex Carbohydrates, Sugars and Diet
• What is Fat?
• Cooking Fats and Oils
• What is Fibre?
• Dietary Minerals
• Vitamins - Nutrients Essential to Health
• Ultra-Processed Food
• Dietary Supplements
• Understanding and Improving Your Gut Microbiome
• Veganism and Plant-Based Diets
• Organic Food
• Debunking Some Food and Diet Myths
• Calorie Counting and Food Labelling
• Dieting for Weight Loss
• Body Mass Index - BMI Calculator
• Food Intolerances and Allergies
• Coffee and Health
• Alcohol and Health

Subscribe to our FREE newsletter and start improving your life in just 5 minutes a day.

You'll get our 5 free 'One Minute Life Skills' and our weekly newsletter.

We'll never share your email address and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Personal presentation is how you portray and present yourself to other people. It includes how you look, what you say, and what you do, and is all about marketing YOU, the brand that is you.

What others see and hear from you will influence their opinion of you. Good personal presentation is therefore about always showing yourself in the best possible light.

We all know that you only get one chance to make a first impression. Most of us are probably also aware that it takes quite a long time to undo that first impression—and that if it is negative, we may never get the chance to do so. This page explains some of the skills involved in making a good first impression—and then continuing to impress over time.

Understanding Personal Presentation

Personal presentation is about you and how you present yourself to others.

This includes both in everyday situations and when under pressure, for example, at job interviews. It is best thought of as a form of communication , because it always involves at least two people—the person presenting themselves (you) and the person seeing and hearing you.

Personal presentation covers what other people both see and hear. It includes how you look, what you say, and what you do. It therefore requires a wide range of skills, from improving your personal appearance to your communication skills.

However, all these aspects start from one place: you.

To present yourself well and confidently, you need to believe in yourself—or at least, be able to act as if you do.

Perception is Truth

People who present themselves as confident will be perceived as such by others.

There is also plenty of evidence that once we start acting as if we are confident, we generally feel more confident too.

Confidence—but not arrogance—is a very attractive trait. Having a justified belief in yourself and your abilities helps other people to be confident in you too.

Good personal presentation therefore requires good self-esteem and self-confidence. It means that you have to learn about yourself, and understand and accept who you are, both your positives and your negatives, and be comfortable with yourself. This does not, however, mean that you believe that there is nothing that you can improve—but that you are confident in your ability to achieve, and know how to overcome your flaws.

Paradoxically, therefore, personal presentation is actually not about being self-conscious or overly concerned with what others think about you. People who present themselves well generally do so because they believe in themselves, rather than because they are worried about what other people think. These concepts are closely related to Personal Empowerment .

A complete picture—and a cycle

Personal presentation is about conveying appropriate signals for the situation and for the other individuals involved.

People who lack self-esteem and confidence may fail to convey their message effectively or fully utilise their skills and abilities because of the way they present themselves. However, by improving your communication skills and reducing barriers to understanding, you may also improve your self-esteem and confidence.

Our pages: Communication Skills , Barriers to Communication and Improving Self-Esteem provide more information.

Areas of Personal Presentation

Improving personal presentation therefore requires a look at several different areas.

These include:

Self-esteem and self-confidence – how you feel about yourself and your abilities

Personal appearance – how you look, and how other people see you

Non-verbal communication – your body language, voice and facial expressions

Verbal communication – how you speak and use your words to make an impression

Behaviour – how you behave more generally, including politeness.

Self-Esteem and Self-Confidence

Self-esteem and self-confidence are closely related, but not quite the same thing.

Self-esteem is how you see and value yourself .

Self-confidence is believing in or having faith in your ability , rather than yourself as a person.

Neither self-esteem nor self-confidence are static. They vary as a result of numerous factors, including different situations and the presence of different people, personal stress levels and the level of change. Low levels of self-esteem are often associated with low levels of confidence, but those with good self-esteem can also suffer from low confidence.

To improve your self-esteem and self-confidence, spend time thinking about how you value yourself. Remind yourself of what is good about you, and learn to manage the highs and lows of self-esteem. In particular, try to avoid being affected too much by others’ opinions about you.

It is also worth practising coming across as confident even when you are not, because those who appear confident are not only perceived as confident, but often actually become more confident.

See our pages on Improving Self-Esteem and Building Confidence for more discussion, tips and advice on this area.

Personal Appearance and Non-Verbal Communication

Personal appearance is the way that you dress and take care of your general appearance.

Much as we may hate the idea that appearances matter, this is an important factor in personal presentation. Whether you like it or not, others will make judgements about you based on how you look, which includes how you dress and your accessories. It is therefore worth taking time to think about what messages you are sending to others in the way that you dress.

Case study: The ‘gravitas bag’

Louise was a young graduate, working in a government department. She had been working there about two years, and had just started working for a new boss, a woman just a few years older than her.

One day, on the way to an important meeting, Louise’s carrier bag, in which she was carrying her notebook and pens, broke on the bus. Her boss laughed, but said to her, carefully,

“ You know, you ought to think a bit about how what you wear and carry affects what people think about you. I’m not sure it gives quite the right impression to wander into a meeting with pens and books spilling out of a split carrier bag—that’s why I keep a briefcase in my cupboard for the days when I’ve worn a backpack into work. This may sound stupid, but I always feel that people may be judging me because I’m both female and quite young. I don’t want to give them any reason to doubt my professionalism. ”

Neither did Louise. The next weekend, she went shopping. On the Monday, she proudly showed her boss a new handbag and matching briefcase—her ‘gravitas bag’, as she described it.

Your personal appearance is closely related to the body language, gestures and other non-verbal messages that you use.

Many people are unaware of how they are affected by body language, and also how they are affecting others. By being aware of positive and negative non-verbal signals, you can improve your image and the way people perceive you.

There is more about these ideas in our pages on Personal Appearance and Non-Verbal Communication , including specific pages on Body Language and Face and Voice .

Verbal Communication and Effective Speaking

What you say and how you say it are both important aspects of how you are perceived by others.

Verbal communication is all about the words that you choose. Those who are good at verbal communication understand the impact of their particular choice of words and choose the right words for the situation and the audience. They are skilled at getting their message across to others and ensuring that it has been received.

See our pages on Verbal Communication for more.

Good communicators also use their voices effectively to convey their feelings, and to influence their audience. Your voice says a lot about you and learning how to use it more effectively has many benefits. There are a number of aspects to your voice, including accent, tone, pitch and volume. Some of these are easier to change than others, but it is worth thinking about how each of these affects your audience, so that you can learn to use your voice more effectively. 

See our pages Effective Speaking and Non-Verbal Communication: Face and Voice to learn more.

How you behave, and not just how you speak, will leave a strong impression on others.

For example, if you are habitually late, you may give other people the impression that you do not value their time. Good time management skills can therefore be helpful in giving the right impression—as well as enabling you to work more efficiently.

See our pages Time Management and Avoiding Distractions for some ideas of to improve your time management skills.

More crucially, your general politeness—to everyone, and not just people who ‘matter’—will create an important impression about how you value others.  This is an essential element of personal presentation. It pays to consider your manners.

See our page How to be Polite for more.

Further Reading from Skills You Need

Our Communication Skills eBooks

Learn more about the key communication skills you need to be a more effective communicator.

Our eBooks are ideal for anyone who wants to learn about or develop their interpersonal skills and are full of easy-to-follow, practical information.

And finally…

It is almost certainly impossible to overestimate the importance of personal presentation, especially in creating a good first impression, but also in giving a longer-term view of yourself.

Improving some fairly basic communication skills and increasing your self-awareness will improve your ability to present yourself well. Knowing that you are more likely to say and do the right things, and look the part, will help to increase your confidence. All these will, in turn, help to ensure that you give the right impression.

This is especially true in more formal situations, culminating in improved communication and therefore better understanding.

Continue to: Personal Appearance Self-Presentation in Presentations

See also: Effective Ways to Present Yourself Well Building a Personal Brand That Will Boost Your Career 8 Ways to Effectively Market Yourself as a Professional

• Onsite training

3,000,000+ delegates

15,000+ clients

1,000+ locations

• KnowledgePass
• Log a ticket

01344203999 Available 24/7

The Importance of Presentation Skills: That You Must Know About

Uncover The Importance of Presentation Skills in this comprehensive blog. Begin with a brief introduction to the art of effective presentations and its wide-reaching significance. Delve into the vital role of presentation skills in both your personal and professional life, understanding how they can shape your success.

Exclusive 40% OFF

Training Outcomes Within Your Budget!

We ensure quality, budget-alignment, and timely delivery by our expert instructors.

Share this Resource

• Effective Communication Skills
• Presenting with Impact Training
• Interpersonal Skills Training Course
• Effective Presentation Skills & Techniques
• Public Speaking Course

Table of Contents  

1) A brief introduction to Presentation Skills 

2) Importance of Presentation Skills in personal life 

3) Importance of Presentation Skills in professional life 

4) Tips to improve your Presentation Skills 

5) Conclusion 

A brief introduction to Presentation Skills  

Presentation skills can be defined as the ability to deliver information confidently and persuasively to engage and influence the audience. Be it in personal or professional settings; mastering Presentation Skills empowers individuals to convey their ideas with clarity, build confidence, and leave a lasting impression. From public speaking to business pitches, honing these skills can lead to greater success in diverse spheres of life.  You can also refer to various presentation skills interview questions and answer to build you confidence! This blog will also look into the advantages and disadvantages of presentations .It is therefore important to understand the elements of presentations .

Importance of Presentation Skills in personal life  

Effective Presentation skills are not limited to professional settings alone; they play a significant role in personal life as well. Let us now dive deeper into the Importance of Presentation Skills in one’s personal life:    

Expressing ideas clearly   

In day-to-day conversations with family, friends, or acquaintances, having good Presentation skills enables you to articulate your thoughts and ideas clearly. Whether you're discussing plans for the weekend or sharing your opinions on a particular topic, being an effective communicator encourages better understanding and engagement. 

Enhancing social confidence  

Many individuals struggle with social anxiety or nervousness in social gatherings. Mastering Presentation skills helps boost self-confidence, making it easier to navigate social situations with ease. The ability to present yourself confidently and engage others in conversation enhances your social life and opens doors to new relationships. 

Creating memories on special occasions  

There are moments in life that call for public speaking, such as proposing a toast at a wedding, delivering a speech at a family gathering, or giving a Presentation during special events. Having polished Presentation skills enables you to leave a positive and lasting impression on the audience, making these occasions even more memorable. 

Handling challenging conversations  

Life often presents challenging situations that require delicate communication, such as expressing condolences or resolving conflicts. Strong Presentation skills help you convey your feelings and thoughts sensitively, encouraging effective and empathetic communication during difficult times. 

Building stronger relationships  

Being a skilled presenter means being a good listener as well. Active listening is a fundamental aspect of effective Presentations, and when applied in personal relationships, it strengthens bonds and builds trust. Empathising with others and showing genuine interest in their stories and opinions enhances the quality of your relationships. 

Advocating for personal goals  

Whether you're pursuing personal projects or seeking support for a cause you're passionate about, the ability to present your ideas persuasively helps garner support and enthusiasm from others. This can be beneficial in achieving personal goals and making a positive impact on your community. 

Inspiring and motivating others  

In one’s personal life, Presentation skills are not just about delivering formal speeches; they also involve inspiring and motivating others through your actions and words. Whether you're sharing your experiences, mentoring someone, or encouraging loved ones during tough times, your Presentation skills can be a source of inspiration for others. 

Exuding leadership traits  

Effective Presentation skills go hand in hand with leadership qualities. Being able to communicate clearly and influence others' perspectives positions you as a leader within your family, social circles, or community. Leadership in personal life involves guiding and supporting others towards positive outcomes. 

Unlock your full potential as a presenter with our Presentation Skills Training Course. Join now!  

Importance of Presentation Skills in professional life  

Effective Presentation skills are a vital asset for career growth and success in professional life. Let us now explore the importance of Presentation skills for students and workers:  

Impressing employers and clients  

During job interviews or business meetings, a well-delivered Presentation showcases your knowledge, confidence, and ability to communicate ideas effectively. It impresses employers, clients, and potential investors, leaving a positive and memorable impression that can tilt the scales in your favour. 

Advancing in your career  

In the corporate world, promotions and career advancements often involve presenting your achievements, ideas, and future plans to decision-makers. Strong Presentation skills demonstrate your leadership potential and readiness for higher responsibilities, opening doors to new opportunities. 

Effective team collaboration  

As a professional, you often need to present projects, strategies, or updates to your team or colleagues. A compelling Presentation facilitates better understanding and association among team members, leading to more productive and successful projects. 

Persuasive selling techniques  

For sales and marketing professionals, Presentation skills are instrumental in persuading potential customers to choose your products or services. An engaging sales pitch can sway buying decisions, leading to increased revenue and business growth. 

Creating impactful proposals  

In the corporate world, proposals are crucial for securing new partnerships or business deals. A well-structured and compelling Presentation can make your proposal stand out and increase the chances of successful negotiations. 

Gaining and retaining clients  

Whether you are a freelancer, consultant, or business owner, Presentation skills play a key role in winning and retaining clients. A captivating Presentation not only convinces clients of your capabilities but also builds trust and promotes long-term relationships. 

Enhancing public speaking engagements  

Professional life often involves speaking at conferences, seminars, or industry events. Being a confident and engaging speaker allows you to deliver your message effectively, position yourself as an expert, and expand your professional network. 

Influencing stakeholders and decision-makers  

As you climb the corporate ladder, you may find yourself presenting to senior management or board members. Effective Presentations are essential for gaining support for your ideas, projects, or initiatives from key stakeholders. 

Handling meetings and discussions  

In meetings, being able to present your thoughts clearly and concisely contributes to productive discussions and efficient decision-making. It ensures that your ideas are understood and considered by colleagues and superiors. 

Professional development  

Investing time in honing Presentation skills is a form of professional development. As you become a more effective presenter, you become a more valuable asset to your organisation and industry. 

Building a personal brand  

A strong personal brand is vital for professional success. Impressive Presentations contribute to building a positive reputation and positioning yourself as a thought leader or industry expert. 

Career transitions and interviews  

When seeking new opportunities or transitioning to a different industry, Presentation Skills are essential for communicating your transferable skills and showcasing your adaptability to potential employers. 

Take your Presentations to the next level with our Effective Presentation Skills & Techniques Course. Sign up today!  

Tips to improve your Presentation Skills  

Now that you know about the importance of presentation skills in personal and professional life, we will now provide you with tips to Improve Your Presentation Skills .

1) Know your audience: Understand the demographics and interests of your audience to tailor your Presentation accordingly. 

2) Practice regularly: Rehearse your speech multiple times to refine content and delivery. 

3) Seek feedback: Gather feedback from peers or mentors to identify areas for improvement. 

4) Manage nervousness: Use relaxation techniques to overcome nervousness before presenting. 

5) Engage with eye contact: Maintain eye contact with the audience to establish a connection. 

6) Use clear visuals: Utilise impactful visuals to complement your spoken words. 

7) Emphasise key points: Highlight important information to enhance audience retention. 

8) Employ body language: Use confident and purposeful gestures to convey your message. 

9) Handle Q&A confidently: Prepare for potential questions and answer them with clarity. 

10) Add personal stories: Include relevant anecdotes to make your Presentation more relatable.   

All in all, Presentation skills are a valuable asset, impacting both personal and professional realms of life. By mastering these skills, you can become a more effective communicator, a confident professional, and a persuasive influencer. Continuous improvement and adaptation to technological advancements will ensure you stay ahead in this competitive world. 

Want to master the art of impactful Presentations? Explore our Presentation Skills Courses and elevate your communication prowess!  

Frequently Asked Questions

Upcoming business skills resources batches & dates.

Fri 7th Jun 2024

Fri 5th Jul 2024

Fri 2nd Aug 2024

Fri 6th Sep 2024

Fri 4th Oct 2024

Fri 1st Nov 2024

Fri 6th Dec 2024

Get A Quote

WHO WILL BE FUNDING THE COURSE?

My employer

By submitting your details you agree to be contacted in order to respond to your enquiry

• Business Analysis
• Lean Six Sigma Certification

Share this course

Our biggest spring sale.

We cannot process your enquiry without contacting you, please tick to confirm your consent to us for contacting you about your enquiry.

By submitting your details you agree to be contacted in order to respond to your enquiry.

We may not have the course you’re looking for. If you enquire or give us a call on 01344203999 and speak to our training experts, we may still be able to help with your training requirements.

Or select from our popular topics

• ITIL® Certification
• Scrum Certification
• Change Management Certification
• Business Analysis Courses
• Microsoft Azure Certification
• Microsoft Excel Courses
• Microsoft Project
• Explore more courses

Press esc to close

Fill out your  contact details  below and our training experts will be in touch.

Fill out your   contact details   below

Thank you for your enquiry!

One of our training experts will be in touch shortly to go over your training requirements.

Back to Course Information

Fill out your contact details below so we can get in touch with you regarding your training requirements.

* WHO WILL BE FUNDING THE COURSE?

Preferred Contact Method

No preference

Back to course information

Fill out your  training details  below

Fill out your training details below so we have a better idea of what your training requirements are.

HOW MANY DELEGATES NEED TRAINING?

HOW DO YOU WANT THE COURSE DELIVERED?

Online Instructor-led

Online Self-paced

WHEN WOULD YOU LIKE TO TAKE THIS COURSE?

Next 2 - 4 months

WHAT IS YOUR REASON FOR ENQUIRING?

Looking for some information

Looking for a discount

I want to book but have questions

One of our training experts will be in touch shortly to go overy your training requirements.

Your privacy & cookies!

Like many websites we use cookies. We care about your data and experience, so to give you the best possible experience using our site, we store a very limited amount of your data. Continuing to use this site or clicking “Accept & close” means that you agree to our use of cookies. Learn more about our privacy policy and cookie policy cookie policy .

We use cookies that are essential for our site to work. Please visit our cookie policy for more information. To accept all cookies click 'Accept & close'.

Job Jumpstart

Why personal presentation is so important.

Did you know it takes only a few seconds to form a first impression of someone?

An employer will have likely formed an impression of you before you’ve even had a chance to say hello.

Why is good personal presentation so important when meeting employers?

First impressions are really important when meeting employers. Employers will likely make assumptions about you based on how you look and dress. To make a positive first impression, take some time to think about what message your personal appearance and body language might be sending.

Consider the following:

• Your physical appearance. Are you wearing clean and neat clothes? Is your hair clean and brushed?

Dressing well shows the employer you are taking them seriously. It can also help you feel more confident and professional.

• Your body language . Are you smiling? Making eye contact? Is you posture good?

Positive body language can show the employer that you are genuinely interested in meeting them.

• How you speak to and get along with others. Are you being friendly and polite to everyone you meet?

This can show an employer how well you interact with others around you. This can also show them how you might fit into their workplace.

These tips can help you ensure you make a good first impression:

1. dress the part.

Think carefully about what to wear to an interview.

Show the employer that you are serious about the job by putting effort into your clothing.

So what should you wear? 

• For a professional office job. Wear business attire (clean and ironed). Keep makeup and jewellery to a minimum.
• Casual and less conservative setting (for example retail, hospitality or a trades position). Try to dress up rather than down and go for neat, clean and ironed at a minimum. Remember that what you see workers wearing on the job might not reflect what the employer expects applicants to wear at an interview, so always dress a little better.

2. Do your hair

Make sure your hair is clean and tidy. If it is long, tie it back so it's not in your eyes. Employers have told us that applicants who have untidy or dirty hair do not leave a good impression.

3. Watch your body language

Employers are impressed by job seekers who:

• smile and are friendly
• make eye contact
• have good posture (it makes you appear more confident).

Practise meeting an employer for the first time in front of a mirror. This can give you immediate feedback on how you appear to an employer.

These tools can help you:

Networking and personal presentation.

Tips to help you network and present you best self to employers.

Personal presentation tips

Tips on presenting well at interview.

Succeeding at job interviews

Use this workbook to help you prepare for a job interview.

Related articles

How to make a great first impression on employers.

Job search troubleshooting - How can I improve my chance of getting a job?

How to succeed at job interviews

• Sustainability

Museum of Art

By Ariel Abonizio, '20 . Published on April 12, 2018

What Makes a Presentation Better

William Manning Untitled #1027 Mixed media on paper 16 x 16 inches

Since I started working as an Education Intern at the Bates College Museum of Art, I have been thinking quite a bit about what the function of a museum is. In my very first few meetings with Anthony Shostak, the museum’s education curator, I remember discussing that museums are responsible for the collection, conservation, and interpretation of objects. However, from my experience this Winter Semester, there seems to be more than these ingredients in the inner-workings of a museum. At its core, a college museum such as Bates’s is community-oriented. After this semester, it is clear to me that any education department must ask itself the question: who are we educating? I soon found out that my job required me to do more than interpret, but ask questions.

My most complicated responsibility this semester was to give two short talks to 250 fourth-graders. The event, called Rollin’ to Olin, challenged me to rethink my ways of speaking, my art historical background, and my personal interests. It was challenging to even start to answer the question of what would be relevant for them that could be presented in the short period of 25 minutes in which I would have their undivided attention. Early in the semester, Anthony suggested I read Visual Thinking Strategies: Using Art to Deepen Learning Across School Disciplines , by Philip Yenawine. Primarily and foremost, the book defended that audience engagement is a key component of information retention. With scientific information backing it up, the primary goal of Visual Thinking Strategies was to craft effective ways to engage your audience and lead discussions.

As one of the core texts of many education departments today, Visual Thinking Strategies helped me immensely. My first question for the audience at my Rollin’ to Olin presentations was always, “What is going on in this picture?” Having the students come up with their own interpretation gave me a starting point from which to push their understanding forward. Yenawine suggested that questions such as, “How do you see that?” allow the students to ground their ideas on evidence. Moreover, the book reiterated the importance of using constructive language, such as saying, “What more do you see?” rather than asking, “What else do you see?” The author argues that the word “else” may give the idea that the educator is working towards a specific point rather than engaging with the students’ original inferences. Moreover, Yenawine also suggests that it is a good idea to always restate the input of your audience out loud. Taking the author’s suggestion, I was able to make sure I had understood their analyses. This also allows the students to develop a broader vocabulary without ever being corrected; on the contrary, they feel heard. It was based on these ideas that Anthony and I cooked up this semester’s Rollin to Olin presentations.

While Visual Thinking Strategies was fermenting in my head, I started researching the museum’s database and catalogs to select which pieces of art I would present. Anthony and I visited storage a number of times prior to deciding which colorful and engaging pieces were the best to get the audience thinking deeply about visual imagery. For the first presentation, I focused on works by Lewiston-born artists Charles Hewitt and William Manning. I hoped the large, colorful abstractions would engage the students with liveliness and a sense of place. For the second Rollin’ to Olin, Anthony and I decided to explore how artists visualize invisible phenomena such as sound and music. My hope was that students would think deeply about how patterns, volume, mood, harmony, and melody can be represented visually. A good deal of work went into searching for material that was engaging, complementary to the concept of the presentation, and with rights of reproduction owned by the museum.

At the early hour of 9 a.m., it was time to get started with the presentation Anthony and I had been cooking up. I already had art-inclined students pre-selected from each middle school who would join me onstage and be eager to share their views. However, wanting to create a sense of investment among the audience, I asked for three volunteers to join me onstage, and I had never seen hands rise that fast! They were none the wiser that their teachers had already given me a short-list. While I occasionally pointed my audience towards specific art historical facts, most of my role as a presenter was to take my volunteers’ interpretations a step further. Both presentations were challenging, but extremely rewarding. I was inspired to create something with children who were not unlike I was a few years ago. I found that stirring up conversation can be fun. Suddenly, rather than a forgettable presentation, I got to talk to 250 L/A middle schoolers about why William Manning’s Untitled 1027 painting resembles a landscape more than it resembles a piece of bacon. It was an experience I’ll be able to chew on and savor for some time.

Ariel Abonizio, ’20 Art & Visual Culture and Anthropology Double Major

• Season Pass

Search Museum Next

Subscribe to the latest museum thinking.

Fresh ideas from museums around the globe in your inbox each week

• Consent * I agree to the Privacy Policy

Film: How staff engagement creates success in Museums

This presentation on how staff engagement creates museum success was presented at MuseumNext Dublin on 19th April 2016, by Eleanor Appleby from  Jane Wentworth Associates .

Eleanor: Hello, everybody. I’m Eleanor Appleby and I work for Jane Wentworth Associates, which is a brand strategy and staff engagement consultancy, specialising in the cultural sector. But before we start, I just want to say who here is a director or a senior manager? One, two, oh, good, yes. Okay, quite good turnout, okay.

Who’s not one of those people, who I might just call ‘general staff’? Who’s just general people, general people? So quite a lot of general people. Of course, directors and leaders are staff and senior managers are staff so I’m not discounting staff but when I’m talking to you in different groups, that’s kind of who I mean.

So just think senior managers and directors, I just want you to take a moment to think how many times this year have I told my staff of the vision for my organisation? How many times have you told them through any channel? Have I written it on a corporate plan? Have I sent it out on a document? Have I done it in a speech? Have I put it in a communication to staff? Have I actively put it in some sort of communication? How many times this year? Write it down.

Staff, how many times has your director or senior manager or leaders told you what the vision for your organisation is? Can you think how many times? If you’ve just … well, think of it, if you’ve just joined, think of an organisation you’ve worked for previously. How many times did you hear it? Do you know what it is at all? So remember that.

So this is all about inside out. I used to also work at the V&A I should say, so very much for 12 years, experienced working inside an organisation and now working with a consultant outside, so for me it’s very much an inside-out experience as well, but I hope you’ll feel this presentation really touches on things that we’ve been talking about all today because for me I think if you’re going to engage with visitors and audiences, you need to first engage your staff.

I think the best asset any museum has is their staff. We’ve got fantastic objects, amazing environments but really it’s nothing without the people who bring those objects and share them with the public. People who work in museums are experts. They’re really passionate about the subject matter and I know [Delia] said it’s a really point, not as diverse as they should be, but they still are very diverse in their thinking and the types of people that they are, the types of jobs they have in these museums, and they are very clever people and they really need to be all brought together, and you need to work really well with them to help them do their best.

But it’s all very well; how to get everybody working at their best? Well, I think you should do it through staff engagement, fostering staff engagement because otherwise everybody’s going to be going off in different directions, doing their own thing, and it’s about bringing all these really, really clever people together for the good of your organisation.

What are the benefits of engagement? Well, engaged staff are really invested in their work, they really care about it, they’ve got a really strong sense of purpose. Why do we get up in the morning? Why do we go to work? They’re motivated and they’re proactive. They’re the sort of people who try and sort problems out or say this went really well; I’m going to do it even better, and they also really, and it’s really important, they’re the people who make the right choices for your organisation.

In a large museum, could be 700 people all making different choices on a daily basis. You need them to be making what we consider the right choices – how are we all going to work together to make this organisation, this museum as good as it can be, what’s the right programme to put on, what’s the right way to display these objects, what’s the right fundraising campaign to do? You need people making the right choices.

And there’s a lot of evidence of the benefits of staff engagement. This is compared to other organisations, organisations with high levels of staff engagement compared to those without, twice net profit, 12% increased customer satisfaction, 59% increased productivity and innovation, 40% lower turnover because, of course, if people are engaged and enjoying their work and motivated they’re less likely to go off sick, they’re less likely to leave the job and go to a new job so you build loyalty with your staff as well. 35% efficiency. Better health and safety. These statistics are from the corporate world but they’re absolutely as relevant for the not-for-profit sector.

And we’re also looking what is the sort of success criteria we get in the museum? Happy, motivated staff – fantastic. Who wouldn’t like that? Who doesn’t want to work somewhere where you’re not happy and motivated? Bear in mind in museums we’re not generally there for the money so we need to feel good about being at work and enjoying ourselves at work. It’s true. Come on.

What about coherent visitor experiences? Everybody’s working together well; they’ll be putting on the best things for people. The shop will be fantastic, the café will be fantastic, the exhibitions will be fantastic, the public programme will be fantastic, the puppet programme will be fantastic, the research output, everything will make sense; it will all come together to create a really great experience for visitors.

And ultimately, all the things we’re after, we’re going to get increased audience numbers because people think that place looks great, I’m going to go. We’re going to get increased income in the shop or the café or the tickets or the fundraising offer. We’re going to get bigger donations and people want to partner with us more, and we’re also going to increase our reputation. Reputation’s one of the most important things a cultural organisation has and it’s so important to build it and that’s what brings people to you, that’s why they want to be involved with you. So that’s why it matters I think.

And I was … this presentation seemed to all be about why self-engagement is a good idea but actually I don’t think I need to tell you why it’s a good idea. We want to go to work and have a good time and be doing our best, so actually I’m going to spend more time talking about what we do to engage people, what the processes are, and step one is thinking what do I want them to engage with? If you’re just saying oh, their job, we’re not thinking big enough.

I think we need to get people to engage with what you’re all about, what’s this organisation, this museum all about, and we are looking here at the idea of the whole experience, and in our work we usually find the best way to do this is to boil it down to four key items – what you’re all about, signified by four key ideas: what you do, what you offer the public, what the public or any stakeholder gets when they encounter you, why you do it, your purpose and that’s obviously, I think you recognise, that’s where your mission statement comes in, that’s why we all get up in the morning and go to work. How you do it, your values, what do we do here, how do we behave in this organisation? What’s important to us? And where you’re going, your vision.

That sometimes gets missed off the list but it’s one of the most important things. Where do we want this museum to be a 10, 15, 20 years’ time, and have I explained it to people? And you really want to get a very clear articulation of this, and if you’re comfortable with the word ‘brand’, I would say this is your brand strategy. It creates your brand. Your brand, as we were hearing earlier, is what everybody experiences about your organisation, it’s very much about your reputation so the brand strategy, these four ideas underpin what everybody in your organisation does and it really influences how people experience you.

So I thought it would be useful to show you an example of a museum’s brand strategy. This is the Philadelphia Museum of Art one. It’s quite simple ideas. They’re very short sentences because we need staff to remember them and they summarise slightly longer ideas but nothing very extensive; it’s really got to be very snappy because we need people to remember them on a daily basis. They offer the society a surprise around every corner because they’ve got incredibly diverse and important collection. The values – they want to be open, connected, vital and provocative. The purpose – they want to people to see the world anew and find the art anew. People come and really encounter the art and engage with the art and have an experience, and their vision is to be Philadelphia’s place for creative play.

So this is all looking good. I’ve got my brand strategy. I’ve worked it all out with people. How am I going to get people to engage with us? What does brand engagement, band strategy engagement look like? Well, we’ve got a process and I would strongly urge you to follow each section of this process when you’re working on this sort of activity. The brand engagement process has four parts. We need people to hear about the brand strategy, what you’re all about; we need people to understand it; we need them to believe it; and then we need people to be able to act on it.

Now, that’s not going to happen automatically. You, as an organisation, as any member of staff, and it’s not just for senior managers, it’s any member of staff, you need to put things in place to make these things happen in your organisation, otherwise that brand strategy, that what we’re all about document just sits on the shelf and everybody just goes about their business in the normal way because I am talking about change, and we talked about change this morning, we are about trying to change things for the better in organisations and things like this really do sit at the heart of change as well.

So what are you going to do to get people to hear about it? You need to explain why; explain why have we got a brand strategy, why is it important, what do the four elements come into play, when do we use them? We need to tell people about it; tell people about it all the time. Just think back to when I asked you at the beginning how many times did your boss or your director tell you what the vision is? How many times have you told your staff?

I’m thinking about the V&A and I think five, six, formal times a year, not bad, maybe my boss is very good at talking about it so maybe another five, but probably ten still wasn’t enough; we probably could have told people about it another ten times because people are busy, they’re rushing around doing lots of activities so we need to tell people, we need to tell them through every channel we’ve got, all the different ways, on the intranet as a screensaver, we need to send it out on postcards, we need to put at the beginning of the corporate plan, we need to mention it when we’re doing presentations and speeches. What we’re all about. We’re trying to achieve this together, everybody.

Another thing you really need to do, as well as writing it and sending it out through those sort of channels, you need to line up the touch points, staff touch points, we’re talking about visitor touch points. Staff touch points are things like what someone gets when they start at an organisation. Thinking at the V&A, when we started on this process the V&A’s vision was to be the world’s greatest museum of art and design – pretty big but quite exciting to be part of, and we’re, like, that’s great and we’ve got values are things like generosity and imagination, and we were looking at all our staff touch points and we thought about our staff, what you got when you started and you got to think of the staff induction workbook, and there was this massive thing, A4 folder, there you go, and it was full of rules and rules and rules about the museum, very strict, lots of writing about IT and why you mustn’t do this and why you mustn’t do that.

I thought that is the least generous imaginative, beautifully designed thing I’ve ever seen. It’s just the most depressing thing when I start work, and we thought what can we do and we just revisited it, we redesigned it, much shorter, more friendly point of view, chattier approach, still the same rules but you don’t have to have four pages saying don’t look at this on the internet.

Redesigned it, beautiful pictures of the objects in the collection and of course the first thing we talked about tin it was welcome to the V&A, we’re going to be the world’s greatest museum of art and design so it set out all those big ideas upfront. We gave it to the staff when they started and they were like oh, thank you very much, that’s lovely. Now I know where I work, and I’m working somewhere that’s very exciting.

So thinking of all those things, all those other ways, it’s the form as well as the content. Thinking also about staff parties, what’s the moods by those; the staff socials, the sports activities; how are all of those communicating to your staff what you’re all about? Really important one, and we were talking earlier about back of house, a museum who shall remain nameless, had the worst back of house experience I’ve ever seen in my entire life, went in to their staff entrance, which is also where their visitors come, was a massive traffic cone; just by the desk was a really nasty pen to sign in, and a thing for stern internal mail with a lolly stick just in the bottom and this is the most depressing experience.

A, how do your visitors feel when they come, your guests come, what are you saying about yourselves to your guests with this experience? B, what are you saying to staff about how you value them and what’s important, and it was really interesting to me, nobody who worked there had moved that traffic cone, nobody had taken it upon themselves to think this isn’t good enough, we are not a traffic cone, miserable, sad, poster sort of organisation. It sent such a strong message to the staff. So those things are really, really important.

Then we need to start to understand. We told them all about it and we’ve got to them understand. Now, if you were clever, the first way to get them understanding it is to involve them in working out what you’re all about in the first place. You should absolutely have involved your staff in the brand strategy creation – what we are, why we do it, how we do it – because then they will be absolutely on-board with the whole process, but of course there’s people who come and you haven’t done that with, so they need to … you’re encouraging people’s input.

Then you’re, of course, encouraging two-way conversation – comment and questions: what do you think about this, does it make sense to you? And a really important process, go around and allow everybody to explore what it means in practice in their department, and every department has a role to play and it’s really important that everybody gets to go through that process.

We had a great time with the Philadelphia Museum of Art; we went around every department, said to finance, right, how are you going to manifest these ideas in your work, and they were thinking about being a surprise around every corner and bringing art to the heart and they said we write the cheques, we send out cheques, we could print a picture, an object picture on the cheques or a quote from an artist on the cheques that we sent to suppliers. Yes, you can, that’s absolutely superb!

Finance department communicating about this organisation and what it’s all about for the channel they have, for the audience they have, and if you get every department just thinking of one or two things like that, don’t really cost any money, every department will be communicating about your organisation, every department really starts to understand the role they have to play, especially ones who possibly get left behind on this process: security, finance, HR, back of house – every department has a role to play so it’s very important to explore with them what it looks like in practice, in their work.

Then people need to believe. Now the top priority for people believing, so you’ve got it all lined up, you’ve told them about it, they’ve understood what it means in practice, they’ve thought of some things they want to do, but if you are the boss, and this is specifically for bosses, you must role model it because people are nervous of making changes. You have to give them confidence that they can make those changes.

You have to show how you are making changes, how you will not put up with people who aren’t generous in their behaviour. You have to call out ungenerous behaviour or if you say we’re about being open, you have to do some things about being open. You say because we’re about this, I’m going to have an open house in my office once a week or whatever it takes. You have to be seen to lead the way. You have to role model. It’s not about what you say; it’s about what you do.

Manifesting commitment short-term, you’re looking for short-term wins and you’re also looking for long-term commitment. People want to see the strategic activities put in that budget for the long term, but they also want to see short-term activity, and you need to put some new systems in place. You need to ask your staff, what’s stopping us getting here? Why can’t we get there? And people say, well, it’s because of this and this and this. Right, let’s try and fix those. Let’s try and remove some of those barriers and try, and therefore, we can all go forward together, so listening to what people say, putting in new practices to help everybody get there, and doing things like putting the values and the appraisals, you need to really make sure everything is being covered off, every channel you’ve got.

And the final part of the story is that people then act, fantastic, I’ve got it, I believe it, I’m going to do this thing, I’m going to sort out my cheques with the visuals on the back, then you absolutely, I’m jumping ahead, you have to recognise that and celebrate and say fantastic, it’s exactly what I’m talking about. Everybody, look what they’ve done; this is exactly what we’re talking about. Nice presentation from the staff member concerned to other staff members. Less hierarchical is always better. Peer to peer, look how we did it in our department. We did it by ourselves. How do we feel? What was the outcome of what we did? Everybody would like that. It’s fantastic.

We’ve seen that time and time again, people feel so pleased when they’ve been able to take action so you’re recognising, you’re celebrating, you’re saying this is the sort of thing I mean, and I think we’ve been talking a lot about empowering audiences but it’s absolutely about empowering staff; empowering them to take action, to sort things out, to say yes, this is what we’re all about, a broad structure but within that, you do your thing, bearing this in mind and I trust you to do it and to think of really exciting things.

And I think things like that, what we saw this morning are the result of that kind of empowerment where staff think I’m going to sort this out, based on what we’re trying to achieve. Absolutely, delegating and empowering your staff, recognising and celebrating, and then of course you’re also evaluating, you’re saying, well, we did all these things, where has it worked, what didn’t work, that’s fine, it’s good to try things out and test things out, keep building on your success, keep changing, just incrementally. It’ll make a huge difference.

Now, you’ll probably say to me, that’s all very well, all the staff in the room, I’m not a boss, these things all to do with bosses, what am I going to do with it, but A, one day you probably will be the boss so please remember this for when that happens, but also we can all influence our colleagues, we can be an internal leader with our colleagues, we can say, well, I’m going to live by the values and I’m going to base my ideas on this brand strategy and hopefully even just the things you do will influence colleagues and you’ll show how change is possible.

It’s very difficult in a big organisation but it is possible, just bit by bit. But at the same time, this is just for bosses. I said I’d say in my summary of my presentation the most important thing bosses can do to get staff behind them? Any ideas? Okay, here it comes. Do not say things and not do it yourself – ever. You have to walk the talk. Otherwise nobody believes you. You must do it yourself. You must be seen to do it. You must find something to be seen to be doing, even if it seems a bit weird. It makes a huge difference.

And it’s not going to be easy and it’s actually the difficult things that are the most important. Anybody know who this is? Suzie knows probably. Who is it? Mark Jones, assistant director of the V&A, so Mark Jones, he’s the director of the V&A during its extraordinary transformation where it put on a million visitors from about 2003 to about 2013, about a million visitors while grant and aid and income is going down from the government.

And he’s quite a self-effacing person. He wasn’t very good at getting up and having big speeches to staff but he stood by his beliefs and he said if we’re about being a museum of art and design, we’ve got a couple of galleries that really don’t fit with that idea and although, of course, there was a huge fuss and people were really upset about closing those galleries, he said they don’t fit in with the story of art and design that we’re telling, and he explained that to people, and people respected him so it was actually the difficult decision but it was the most important and people thought, yeah, he really is serious about this, and that’s I felt as a member of staff, he really is serious about this because he has taken a difficult decision to communicate what we’re all about.

So in summary, tell your staff what you’re all about, you engage with them about it and you show them how they can be empowered to do it in their work. They will then go off and create this amazing experience for your visitors because they’ll be really into it and they’ll be enjoying themselves and they’ll be thinking collectively how can we make it as good as possible, bearing in mind what we’re trying to achieve and that will create museum success and it will be worth it.

This presentation on how staff engagement creates museum success was presented at the MuseumNext conference in Dublin on 19th April 2016, by Eleanor Appleby from  Jane Wentworth Associates .  To stay informed about our International Museum Conferences  follow MuseumNext on Twitter or like MuseumNext on Facebook .

• How museums can use image licensing to enrich engagement with digital audiences August 17 2021
• New York City announces vaccine requirement for museum visitors and staff August 18 2021
• Guggenheim Museum Staff Pushing to Unionise August 22 2021
• Manchester Museum begins pilot programme to train staff as social justice researchers November 18 2021
• Museum trust gives staff extra holiday in January to bolster health and wellbeing December 14 2021

Related Content

Museums and galleries cannot afford to ignore cybersecurity if they want to consolidate the success of their digital pivot.

Museums and galleries have become more dependent on digital technologies during the Coronavirus pandemic. But as Ian Armstrong, Senior Information Security Consultant at Security Risk...

From Souvenirs to Success: Breathing New Life into Museum Gift Shops

“Exit through the gift shop” is a phrase that needs to be re-evaluated. Museum gift shops can and should be more than just racks of...

How can museums improve their staff wellbeing?

In any workplace, staff wellbeing plays a vital role in ensuring that the environment is healthy, harmonious and productive. Without a valued team that pulls...

• How we are run
• Our strategy
• Our statements
• Our funders
• Annual Reports
• Our committees
• Our policies
• Code of Ethics
• Anti-racism
• Collections
• Decolonising museums
• Learning and engagement
• Museums Change Lives
• Museums for Climate Justice
• Associateship (AMA)
• Museum Essentials
• Fellowship (FMA)
• Competency Framework
• Redundancy Hub
• Wellbeing Hub
• Career Conversations
• Entering the sector
• Conference 2024
• Forthcoming events
• Watch our webinars
• Conference 2023 content
• Esmée Fairbairn Collections Fund
• Benevolent Fund
• Beecroft Bequest
• Mindsets + Missions
• In practice
• Watch and listen
• Museums Journal

Focus | Why work in museums?

Cast an eye over the staff list of a medium-sized UK museum and the variety of roles on offer might surprise you. Today’s treasure houses – from world-famous national museums, heritage sites and regional galleries to independent institutions, historic homes and town museums – all require a range of skills, knowledge and experience that casual visitors may not suspect.

While the size of a museum will in part determine the staff it has in-house, and many positions encompass different roles, departments in museums include:

• Visitor services and front-of-house
• Audience development, community, learning and education
• Facilities and estate management
• Marketing, media, digital and events
• Exhibitions, collections management and curatorial.

“It’s useful to have an idea of what kind of museum work you want to do because there are an enormous number of specialisms,” says Alistair Brown, the policy manager at the Museums Association (MA). The sector is an exciting place to work not just because of the amazing collections that institutions hold, but also because it provides a chance to shape how people see the world.

“That’s one of the most fascinating things you can do: encourage people to look twice at stories that they think they already know, introduce them to new ideas and change people’s lives,” Brown says.

The pandemic has brought immense challenges to the sector. The financial impact on museums means that jobs have been lost and hiring freezes are in place. Jobs at senior level as well as lower-paid posts are the most at risk of being made redundant, sending well-qualified people into the job market to pursue fewer vacancies.

The pandemic followed a period of economic austerity, which had already hit museums hard, with cuts to local authority and central government funding, fuelling the rise of short-term contracts, reliance on freelancers and job insecurity.

There are structural problems, too. Competition and demands for higher-level qualifications has made entering the sector difficult. Poor wages at lower levels are also a barrier to entry.

But the past few years have also seen the emergence of a new sensibility in museums, one that is mindful of these limitations and keen to address them. Recruitment practices are also changing, though slowly, says Tamsin Russell, the MA’s workforce development officer.

For students or people hoping to work in museums, volunteering remains an excellent way of getting to know the sector and gaining experience and contacts. Most venues have structured volunteering programmes that ensure participants get what they need from the experience as well as vice versa. And the union Prospect accepts volunteers as members to help protect them and also avoid undermining the professionalism of the sector.

Following job vacancies – which you can find on the MA website as well other sites and via social media – enables you to better understand the skills and experience you need for the jobs you’d like to apply for. If you are interested in a role, contact the postholder and see if they will share how they got there. It’s also important to follow developments in the sector and to keep up-to-date with current practice and standards.

Competition remains keen, so when applying for an internship, voluntary work or a paid position, think about how you can draw on your experience of other jobs and roles – and think creatively about how to package it, says Russell.

Digital skills, such as running personal social media accounts and working with databases, as well as organising teams for a student society, are all transferable skills that are useful to museums. And dealing with customers via work experience in a pub or restaurant can be rebranded as problem-solving.

In the early part of your career, you can capitalise on professional development opportunities by knowing what you want to develop and seeking it out.

“Professional development needs to be purposeful. Think what it is that you want or need to have to move ahead in your career,” Russell says.

Julie Nightingale is a freelance writer

Think creatively Kate Knowlden did a master’s in curation at Norwich University of Arts and is now the curator of the Museum of East Anglian Life in Stowmarket in Suffolk, where her role includes managing an Esmée Fairbairn Collections Fund and Headley Trust supported project to reinterpret collections. She was drawn to the sector through her love of history and enthusiasm for lifelong learning. Knowlden volunteered with the collections team at the National Trust-run Ickworth House near Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, to gain experience. “If you are able to get experience volunteering, do as much as you can and take any opportunities that come your way,” she says. “If that doesn’t work for you, look at other routes into the sector. “At Norfolk Museums, for example, we have a paid traineeship programme for people new to the sector or who want to make a career change. Don’t think that you have to do a degree to get your foot in the door, as there are plenty of other ways in.”

Download the full guide

Leave a comment cancel reply.

You must be signed in to post a comment.

Careers guide

The changing face of the museum sector, the benefits of work experience, trendswatch | distance learning.

• SUGGESTED TOPICS
• The Magazine
• Newsletters
• Managing Yourself
• Managing Teams
• Work-life Balance
• The Big Idea
• Data & Visuals
• Reading Lists
• Case Selections
• HBR Learning
• Topic Feeds
• Account Settings
• Email Preferences

What It Takes to Give a Great Presentation

• Carmine Gallo

Five tips to set yourself apart.

Never underestimate the power of great communication. It can help you land the job of your dreams, attract investors to back your idea, or elevate your stature within your organization. But while there are plenty of good speakers in the world, you can set yourself apart out by being the person who can deliver something great over and over. Here are a few tips for business professionals who want to move from being good speakers to great ones: be concise (the fewer words, the better); never use bullet points (photos and images paired together are more memorable); don’t underestimate the power of your voice (raise and lower it for emphasis); give your audience something extra (unexpected moments will grab their attention); rehearse (the best speakers are the best because they practice — a lot).

I was sitting across the table from a Silicon Valley CEO who had pioneered a technology that touches many of our lives — the flash memory that stores data on smartphones, digital cameras, and computers. He was a frequent guest on CNBC and had been delivering business presentations for at least 20 years before we met. And yet, the CEO wanted to sharpen his public speaking skills.

• Carmine Gallo is a Harvard University instructor, keynote speaker, and author of 10 books translated into 40 languages. Gallo is the author of The Bezos Blueprint: Communication Secrets of the World’s Greatest Salesman  (St. Martin’s Press).

Partner Center

• Partnerships
• Cultura e Salute
• Art and Science
• Let's Science!
• Parole Fertili
• USI Scholarships
• Archived projects
• Ticino Scienza
• Fellowships
• Abstract / Paper
• Book series
• Digital columns
• Partnership

Well-being becomes a meaningful horizon for museums

From 31 January to 2 February 2022, in a marathon of shared experiences, the first international summit entitled The Museums, Health & Wellbeing was held. It was organised by MuseumNext, a UK company founded in 2009 to begin and accompany the transformation of arts institutions in keeping pace with their social counterparts.

A deep dive into the role of museums in creating well-bein g , a theme that’s even more relevant in the context of the pandemic, with speakers from all over the world chosen via a call to action. 24 institutions including museums and archives, 2 medical research centres and universities, 2 academies and art schools and 1 festival shared in-depth case studies and good practices showing how cultural institutions can exert a strong cohesive and therapeutic potential in society , by offering inclusive spaces and cultural and creative stimuli that result in physical, psychological and emotional benefits.

Europe was represented by the U.K, the Netherlands and Switzerland, while other important experiences came from the USA and Canada, Asia, Australia and Oceania.

The mental health of the population , especially the most vulnerable, is one of the main focuses of engagement, with increasingly structured partnerships between the world of health and arts institutions. A lot of attention was devoted to caregivers who risk burnout, children and adolescents in difficulty, people with disabilities or degenerative diseases, and community spirit.

Some inspiring cases. Ann Blokland and Sarah Broekhoven of the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam presented “ Wellbeing with Vincent ”. The project is inspired by Van Gogh's life and works and offers a Mental Health Program with actions aimed at a range of audiences, from young people to health professionals and psychiatric patients.

Reducing stress and symptoms of burn out in doctors and student trainees is the goal of “ Art and Health ”, presented by Sander Damms of the Groninger Museum and Dr Edwina Doting of Universitair Medisch Centrum Groningen (UMG) in Bruges, in a joint project between the museum and the university medical research centre .

New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art , represented by Heidi Holder, presented “ Your Met Art Box ”, a project in partnership with the national Citymeals on Wheels programme based on conversations around art to fight people's isolation and reinforce their social and emotional skills .

Emma Lee of Singapore’s ArtScience Museum and Charleen Leo of the S cience Gallery in Melbourne discussed the “ Art of Being Calm (ABC), A Year of Mental Health” programme, a joint commitment by the two institutions to a mental health support programme aimed at promoting community resilience.

Rachel Mackay presented “ Supporting Mental Wellbeing ” at Kew Palace . Starting with an exhibition entitled The Mind Behind the Myth , the London museum has launched a partnership with the community to tackle the social stigma of mental illness through storytelling, objects and stories shared by citizens.

Louise Thompson of Manchester Art Gallery contributed the “Using trauma sensitive mindfulness in museums” programme, which uses MuseumMindfulness practices aimed at the elderly, children, adults with mental illness and armed forces voluntee rs.

“ GIF FEST about Anxiety ”, introduced by Tanya Wilson from EYEYAH!, Singapore , is a multimedia festival that addresses the subject of “Anxiety and Mental Health” through apps, installations, digital animations, workshops and conversation groups, to promote resilience and mental health in adolescent s.

Siobhan McConnachie of the National Galleries of Scotland showcased the “ Art Helps ” programme, in partnership with the Edinburgh Children's Hospital Charity, involving material kits and play therapy for children, adolescents with mental illness, families and medical staff.

Children are also at the centre of the schools’ programme “ Children, Grief and Loss ”, presented by Lisa Shames and Emma Crew of the Jewish Museum in London, which works with emotional storytelling based on the evocative power of the objects kept in the museum.

Glasgow Museum’s Ageing Well programmes are aimed at the elderly with dementia and are structured around Dementia Cafes, visits and conversation groups, exhibitions in centres for the elderly and digital pathways through user-friendly technologies.

Diana Morton, who represented the museum, highlighted its role during lockdown with “ Discos, walks and wellbeing: Supporting older adults to live well in lockdown ”.

The challenge of neurodegenerative diseases was taken up by the National Museum of Liverpool . Carol Rogers talked about “Connections Through Collections: How museums can impact the lives of those living with dementia”. With “ House of Memories ” the museum offers innovative training for elderly people with dementia, their families, carers and communities, using intuitive, interactive and accessible resources.

Te Manawa Museum of Art, Science and Heritage in Palmerston North, New Zealand, is also facilitating wellbeing for the local community and accessibility, especially for older people with dementia, through its “ Dementia-Friendly ” programme. Jaime Cour talked about Hauora (Wellbeing) and the Visitor Experience.

New museums are being designed with universal accessibility i n mind, with design that encourages learning for people with disabilities and how relevant this approach is to each audience. Marleen Hartjes of the Van Abbemuseum and Barbara Strating from Maastricht University illustrated this innovative, multisensory space with “Museum as a wellness resort for the senses: learning from disabilitie s”.

This new direction needs new skills. Several museums have created dedicated staff, reinforced awareness and skills, and thinking about their staff’s well-being . Danielle Hodes, Amy Nitza, Adam Reed Rozan and Karla Vermeulen of SUNY New Paltz presented the case of the Smithsonian's National Museum of American Histor y . With “Supporting Museum Staff in a Trauma-Infused World”, the museum offers action to support the mental health of museum staff, through sessions and facilitators to aid with traumatic experiences.

The North Carolina Museum of Art ’s Mindful Museum Program , introduced by Bryanne Senor, has a similar aim. “Creating Opportunities for Mindfulness Anywhere “specifically targets staff to help the museum support citizens’ well-being, reduce anxiety, and strengthen resilience.

With “Handling Hard History”, Camille Hunt from the North Carolina Museum of History introduces practices to support the mental well-being of museum workers working on "hard history" collection s.

A cultural transformation is taking plac e This international overview confirms the transformation underway in the arts world, the responses to crises fuelled by the pandemic and the desire to play a central role in promoting the health and well-being of citizens and society as a whole, as a prerequisite for sustainable development. They are pathways that change institutions themselves and become strategic levers. It is evident that there is a strong acceleration, innovation in introducing tools and in acquiring skills that promote inter-secto ral dialogue for integrated projects combining the arts and the health system . The organisations repurpose services whose social impact has been reimagined, as tools for engaging the public and communities, and for training through the development of accessible content.

By Catterina Seia e Sara Uboldi Sara Uboldi is a PhD in Humanities, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia

Catterina Seia

Può interessarti anche.

Privacy notice

The power of a paid internship: creating pathways to careers in museums, share this article.

• Facebook Icon: Facebook
• Twitter Logo: Twitter
• LinkedIn Logo: LinkedIn
• Email Icon: Email

In 2015, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation  issued a report on diversity  in art museums that reinforced what is obvious to anyone working in or affiliated with the industry: non-Hispanic white men dominate leadership positions, and there is a lack of diversity in religion, ability, sexual orientation, or geographic origin at the executive levels and in the board rooms. The survey catalyzed a major movement toward a more diversified art and museum world, and The Phillips Collection is taking part in that change.

Art is a vehicle for expression, social justice, and change. The Phillips Collection has always leaned into this mission by following the ethos of our founder, Duncan Phillips, as a progressive thinker and champion for the benefits of the arts. “Art is part of the social purpose of the world and requires appreciation and the bonds of fellowship with all who understand,” wrote Duncan Phillips. As our city and nation become more diverse, the Phillips is actively working to reflect that diversity and be accessible to our audiences. This includes opening up pathways for the next generation of leaders and learners from diverse backgrounds who can offer new insights that will continue to inform the work that we do as a museum on our journey to be more inclusive.

At the Phillips, we are taking a comprehensive approach to diversity, equity, accessibility, and inclusion (DEAI). We constantly ask ourselves if we are a place that is welcoming for all visitors to work, play, and enjoy, and whether employees of all backgrounds are able to contribute fully to the museum. DEAI is at the center of everything that we do, from recruiting our staff and board to making curatorial choices. I recently joined the Phillips staff to lead this effort, and my first priority was launching a paid internship program.

Museums and art organizations bear a responsibility to eliminate barriers to employment by providing meaningful opportunities for students to learn about the museum field. However, most museum internships are unpaid, disqualifying those who are unable to work for free. Paid internships provide the next cadre of museum professionals with the training and skills to establish credentials and networks. We pay our interns to make the experience both professionally rewarding and practical; they are treated as employees of the museum and we provide them with tools for success.

Our internship model is a carefully crafted learning experience in which mentors work closely with interns to develop goals throughout the semester. Interns are evaluated at the conclusion of the term through presentations that look holistically at their experience and progress. Each intern is placed within a specific department, such as development and fundraising, media relations and marketing, curatorial, collections management, or the director’s office. Weekly meetings across departments provide internal networking opportunities which allow the interns to learn about other roles within the museum and how they function within the organization. Ultimately, this provides an in-depth, firsthand experience in a specific department while also promoting a comprehensive understanding of all moving parts within the Phillips. Interns are each assigned a mentor from their department. The mentors ensure the interns work on projects that align with their interests and career goals, as well as assist them to strengthen skills they already have and develop in areas they have yet to experience.

During the first paid internship cycle in fall 2018, the Phillips received a four hundred percent increase in the number of applications from previous cycles. The seven selected interns represented diverse ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds, as we shifted to focus on intentional engagement with leaders and students from a wide array of four-year colleges, universities, and community colleges.  At the end of the semester, interns presented the results of their work in formal presentations to museum staff, outlining the projects they worked on and illustrating the impact they had on the Phillips. The presentations were professional-grade, with a goal of being included in the intern’s personal portfolios for future use.

To further engage with younger audiences, in summer 2018 the Phillips launched an initiative that offered free admission to visitors ages thirty and under. Attracting younger generations is crucial to developing a more diverse and inclusive art world, particularly among an age cohort that is just entering the workforce, or may be struggling with student debt. By providing admission-free entrance, we aim to reduce another financial barrier to access for our audiences and community, in order to best create an experience and dialogue that is welcoming to all.

In 2019, The Phillips Collection is introducing the Sherman Fairchild Fellowship , a comprehensive program that focuses on hands-on experience, mentoring, and professional development, creating greater equity and diversity within the museum. All are welcome to apply for the fellowship, and the Phillips will select up to four fellows. Successful applicants will demonstrate how they will contribute to the diversity of the institution, including identifying with an ethnic, gender, or ability group that is underrepresented, or having overcome a disadvantage or other impediment to success in the museum field. The fellows will each receive a stipend and the program will last for twelve months. Following the fellowship, the Phillips will continue to engage the fellows through mentoring and networking.

Museums are places for engagement, reflection, appreciation, and learning. This happens not only in the galleries, but also behind the scenes with our staff and board. As a museum, an art organization, and an institution located in our nation’s capital, we are in a unique position to employ people from a wide variety of backgrounds to ensure that multiple perspectives are represented at the table. By including a multiplicity of backgrounds, opinions, and insights to a discussion, we will be better equipped to move our museum forward into its centennial year and beyond.

The Phillips Collection paid internship program is open to junior and senior undergraduates, graduate students, and recent graduates. Applications are accepted for the summer, fall, and spring semesters.

AAM Member-Only Content

AAM Members get exclusive access to premium digital content including:

• Featured articles from Museum magazine
• Access to more than 1,500 resource listings from the Resource Center
• Tools, reports, and templates for equipping your work in museums
• Not a member? Join Now
• Learn more about AAM Membership

We're Sorry

Your current membership level does not allow you to access this content.

• Learn More about AAM Membership

Upcoming Events

Planning for Collections Storage

Practical Strategies for the Care of Film and Glass Negatives

Engaging with Your Local CVB

What’s Cooking?  New Directions in Historic House Kitchens Conference

Bravo!! As I research paid internship opportunities for college students, it angers me to see the higher quality, more experiential unpaid interneships cut out certain students because they need to work to eat.

Not only that, when social justice organizations don’t pay interns, they end up with privileged kids shaping policy on things they know nothing about! Harvard, for example, has a legal aid program for low-income people, yet their legal interns are unpaid. How does that make sense??

Pamela La Gioia

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Latest Stories from AAM

Celebrating Deaf Culture: How 5 Leading Museums Approach Accessibility and ASL Year-Round

Museums with a Future: Prioritizing Climate Resilience to Respond to a Changing World

AAM Statement on Museum Ban in U.S. House of Representatives Community Project Funding (Earmark) Guidance

Guiding Light: How Values Exercises Can Help You Present Challenging Content

Subscribe to field notes.

Packed with stories and insights for museum people, Field Notes is delivered to your inbox every Monday. Once you've completed the form below, confirm your subscription in the email sent to you.

If you are a current AAM member, please sign-up using the email address associated with your account.

Primary Role Archivist/Librarian Board Chair (unpaid) Community Outreach/External Relations Conservation Consultant/Independent Professional Curatorial Development Educator: College/University Educator: Museum Exhibitions Facility/Operations Finance & Accounting Former Director/CEO General Administrative Staff Government Agency Staff Government Relations HR IT/Web Legal Living Collections Care Membership Museum Events/Food Service Museum Store Museum Trustee Museum Volunteer Other Museum Function Other Non-Museum Function President/CEO/Executive Director Public Relations & Marketing Publications Registration/Collections Management Research: Audience Evaluation Research: Discipline Based Retired Museum Staff Security Senior Management/VP/COO/CFO/Division Director Student: Museum-Related Student: Other Visitor Services Volunteer Management

Are you a museum professional? Yes No

Are you a current AAM member? Yes No

Success! Now check your email to confirm your subscription, and please add [email protected] to your safe sender list.

• Sell Properties in Costa Rica with NATIVU
• Why sell your property with NATIVU?
• How to price your home to sell in Costa Rica?
• Costs of Selling Property in Costa Rica
• How to choose a real estate advisor in Costa Rica?
• What does the Real Estate Agent commission include?

• Costs of buying properties in Costa Rica
• Ways to buy properties in Costa Rica
• Get a loan in Costa Rica
• Can a foreigner own a property in Costa Rica?
• Why buy properties in in Costa Rica with Nativu?
• Steps to Buying Properties in Costa Rica with NATIVU
• Commercial and development
• Escazú and Santa Ana
• Santa Teresa
• Home & Design
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Guide of articles to share with clients
• NATIVU Footprints
• NATIVU News
• NATIVU Magazines
• Highlighted Properties

The power of a good personal presentation

“There is no second chance to make a good first impression.” This phrase is a reality that summarizes the importance of having an adequate personal presentation, especially in the workplace. Therefore, the following tips will be very useful.

When talking about personal presentation, not only clothing is considered, but also grooming and nonverbal language. Because together, all these elements, that seem to be imperceptible or small, actually say a lot about you.

The perception of people is constructed from mental processes that are not entirely conscious, that means that here are stimuli, that when interpreted by the brain, they build a generalized image of a person. It doesn’t mean that they are entirely correct, however, the first impression you make on someone will affect the rest of the interactions you may have with this person. So how can you make a good impression?

Dress for success

Clothing is a form of expression, that’s why there are so many styles and sometimes you may get lost among so many options. But, when presenting to a client, a potential employer or partner, or to a board, etc., ask yourself the following question:

If I were the client, how would I expect the other person to be dressed?

Putting yourself in the shoes of the other person is a good start, this exercise will give you inputs of what is appropriate and what is not. For example, you would like those people with whom you are going to conduct a business – or in the case of real estate, who are going to advise you to look for a house or an investment -, to show themselves with authority, credibility, sympathy, etc. .

Therefore, for you to reflect this on others, look in your wardrobe for clean, well-maintained clothes that look professional. In the case of women: a not very high heel or closed shoes, a blazer, long pants or a dress at the level of the knees. For men: polished shoes to wear, a jacket, button-down shirt …

There are currently many options that look more casual and can be more comfortable. It’s not about pretending to be someone else, or anything similar; It is a matter of combining your personal style with a professional look. Work attire isn’t boring, you can be creative with accessories and patterns, to show your own characteristics.

The trick is to look clean, comfortable, safe and without many distractions, so that people can concentrate on what you may have to say.

Facial Expressions

The tip for excellence in this topic is that: a smile is the best way to start a conversation. Smiling won’t cost you anything and reflects that your are someone cheerful, friendly, fun and reliable. It also creates a stress-free environment, which makes it easier to get along with someone you are meeting for the first time.

The eyes direction is also important, nobody likes to talk to someone who does not look at them in the eye, this rather says that the person has no interest in the conversation, is upset or bored. But maintaining eye contact is not only a plus, it is also a sign of respect for others.

Body language

Like expressions and clothing, the nonverbal language of our bodies generates many opinions in others. Some basic tips are:

• Maintain an upright posture: this gives authority, if you bend over it seems like you’re sick, tired, disinterested, closed to ideas, etc.

Move your hands: having your hands with your palms up gives a feeling of calm and openness, if they are down it represents dominance. Also it is not advisable to point to others.

• Don’t shake: these movements or even tics, denote nervousness and insecurity. It is best to avoid them.

A correct personal presentation will facilitate many social encounters, whether for your work or private life and it really isn’t something difficult to achieve. Just remember to stay true to your personal essence, do not try to make a false presentation of yourself, it is very easy to detect for others. Experiment until you find what best suits your personality.

The three prices of a property for sale

What is a security deposit in Costa Rica?

Challenges and opportunities for investors in Guanacaste GC

Why are expats investing in modular housing in Costa Rica?

Housing Bonuses in Costa Rica: Everything You Need to Know

How important is Personal Presentation in the Workplace?

• June 21, 2022

The short answer …VERY!

Personal presentation is how you portray yourself to other people. It includes the way you look, speak and move and is part of your communication skills. Communication is one of the most important life and work skills you need to be successful 🤓

Your personal presentation is made of: 👗Appearance – from wearing well presented clothes. 🗣Body Language – From the way you smile to the way you shake hands and your ability to make eye contact.

🧠Behaviour – your attitudes and behaviours towards situations and people are part of your your personal branding.

Within the first few seconds, we are judged based on our appearance and body language 😬

✨ Tips for making the most out of your Personal Presentation include:

✅ Dressing for the occasion. Don’t change your entire style every time you have to present. This is about adapting your own style to the situation.

✅ Practice power moves – Standing tall, power stances first thing in the morning, shoulders back – these contribute to looking confident.

✅ Affirmations – Make a list of your “I am” statements for those important occasions.

I am currently taking bookings for 1 day corporate workshops on Personal Presentation. If this is something you are interested in please feel free to email me at:  [email protected]

Privacy Overview

Featured Topics

Featured series.

A series of random questions answered by Harvard experts.

Explore the Gazette

Read the latest.

A Chekhov play relatable to Americans today

Gain without pain

Everything, everywhere, all at once (kind of)

Tomiko Brown Nagin (clockwise from upper left), speaks with Sven Beckert, Christy Coleman, and Makeda Best about the evolving role of museums.

Kris Snibbe/Harvard Staff Photographer

Who is this museum for?

Harvard Correspondent

Experts discuss how displays and artifacts reflect choices about whose story is told, and how and why

Who are museums for? Whose perspective do they reflect? As museum professionals and the public are becoming increasingly aware, every artifact or piece of art on display reflects a choice. Museum professions need to be more thoughtful and self-aware about those decisions going forward, said Christy S. Coleman, executive director of the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation,

Giving the 2021 Seminar in Innovative Curatorial Practice, a partnership between the Harvard Museums of Science and Culture and the Harvard Art Museums, Coleman spoke on Wednesday about “The Intentional Museum,” addressing these issues and examining the implications of contemporary museum displays and their context.

Questions about audiences and points of view are being more openly discussed now, but they aren’t new, Coleman said. In fact, she said that such questions came to the fore in the mid-1990s during her first professional museum job at the Baltimore City Life Museum. Although the six-building complex purported to be about the life of the city and stood across the street from public housing, there was little interaction. In fact, she said, the museum actively worked to disperse Black children who stood outside with buckets, trying to earn money washing car windows.

“This was a museum about life in the history of the city of Baltimore, and these children were prohibited from being a part of that institution,” Coleman said. Realizing that, except for the security and housekeeping staff, she was the only person of color at the museum, Coleman saw an opportunity. “I began to give them tours,” she said. “When all was said and done, I had a group of about 15 children, age 12 to 15, who became junior volunteers. They were filing paperwork. They were doing interpretation in the living history. They were greeting guests and escorting them to the different buildings.”

Beyond building what has since become known as “community engagement,” Coleman discussed how museums can reach out to underserved populations. To start with, those who run the institutions must reconsider the narratives they have long presented, she said.

These narratives, she explained, are accepted as fact — as “history.” In reality, they rely on memory, which can be faulty, and are framed in the context of heritage with an interpretive idea at its core: “what that community wants to value and what it wants others to know about them.”

Coleman cited the widely accepted ideas that George Washington had wooden teeth and “never told a lie.”

“Those things are not forensically true,” but in context, they are understandable, she said: “The new nation was coming together and rallied around one person.” Add in the faultiness of memory — how “we may create or add details to fit a heritage narrative” ­— and we can begin to recognize how such flawed “history” has come to be accepted.

“So often we think we have an object that can shift people’s opinions, but what we’re up against is also heritage and memory.” Makeda Best

Once recognized, however, it is essential that such falsehoods — and the narrow viewpoint that created them — should be corrected. “History has never been for the dead. It has always been about the living,” Coleman said, sharing what she called her personal mantra. “Our extensive knowledge and increasing knowledge about the past is brought about because of the questions we are asking of ourselves. We are looking for grounding. We are looking for connection. We are still looking to belong.”

Before starting work with the foundation, Coleman was president and CEO of the American Civil War Museum and served as an adviser on the biopic “Harriet,” about the leader of the Underground Railroad, and the TV adaptation of “The Good Lord Bird,” James McBride’s award-winning novel about the abolitionist John Brown.

Following Coleman’s presentation, the seminar opened up to a discussion with Makeda Best, Richard L. Menschel Curator of Photography, and Sven Beckert, Laird Bell Professor of American History, moderated by Harvard Radcliffe Institute Dean Tomiko Brown-Nagin.

Prompted by Brown-Nagin, Coleman gave an example of how a museum can present objects in an enlarged and corrected context. “With curatorial practice, we tend to think of the maker and the owner of a thing, not the additional users of the thing,” said Coleman. To illustrate, she brought up Mary Elizabeth Bowser, a free Black woman who worked in the residence of Jefferson Davis, the president of the Confederacy, while spying for the Union.

More like this

Though museums are closed, the work continues

Museums of Native culture wrestle with decolonizing

Kevin Young and a unified theory of Black culture — and himself

Her story provides a more compelling context than Davis’ for items such as the teacups and punch bowls in the American Civil War Museum, said Coleman. Bowser “cleaned Davis’ office. She set dinner tables. She touched virtually everything in that house, and as she was touching them she was gathering information and sending it out of that house virtually every day,” she said.

“The way we have collected artifacts and art have always favored the white narrative, outside of ethnic-specific museums, so we are at a deficit,” said Coleman. “Black and brown hands have touched virtually everything that white hands have made or been given credit for, I can guarantee you.”

“This rubric offers a way to understand what contested objects and stories mean to people,” noted Best. “So often we think we have an object that can shift people’s opinions, but what we’re up against is also heritage and memory.”

Despite the challenges, “It’s important to correct these narratives,” said Beckert. Such stories, he added, “tell us who we are as a people and where we come from and also help us understand the contemporary problems that we face.”

Share this article

You might like.

At first, Heidi Schreck wasn’t sure the world needed another take on ‘Uncle Vanya’

OFA dance classes offer well-being through movement

There’s never a shortage of creativity on campus. But during Arts First, it all comes out to play.

Glimpse of next-generation internet

Physicists demo first metro-area quantum computer network in Boston

Finding right mix on campus speech policies

Legal, political scholars discuss balancing personal safety, constitutional rights, academic freedom amid roiling protests, cultural shifts

‘The scientist is not in the business of following instructions.’

George Whitesides became a giant of chemistry by keeping it simple

And they saw the God of Israel: Under His feet there was the likeness of a pavement of sapphire, like the very sky for purity. —Exodus 24:10

The Role and Relevance of Museums Today: From the Universal to the Particular

How do these custodians of culture fit into our lives today? What purposes do they serve?

Museums have been a part of the fabric of history for a long time. In the Western world, they range from the great European royal collections that evolved into national museums to the local, regional, and metropolitan museums and historical societies that have emerged across America over the past 150 years. Their role is to serve as custodians of culture, preserving works of art and artifacts of life from different time periods and contextualizing them within ever-changing perspectives. Museums can be universal and all-embracing or, like Jewish museums, particular in their focus. Each has the potential to place the material heritage of individual cultures into a broader context, producing powerfully illustrative stories of communal connection with special meaning in their own time as well as for us today.

Many of us first experienced museums as children, traveling on school buses for group visits that may or may not have left an impression, or as young adults traveling internationally and making obligatory stops to see icons of world culture. With the proliferation of smartphones, these stops have often devolved into Instagram moments, sometimes without the museumgoer casting even a glance at the object or work of art itself or absorbing when it was created, why, or by whom.

Museums have also always had devoted followers who appreciate, on their own, the importance of the timeline of material culture as an illuminating narrative of world history. Whether as patrons, collectors, scholars, or devoted visitors, these audiences have enabled museums to become a flourishing part of the global landscape. They have also stimulated a robust culture for creative making in our own time — contemporary art — and a market that embraces an impressively broad following with an interest in emerging visual culture.

The past few years have presented challenges that call into question the meaning of museums today, the role they play in our lives, and the purposes they serve. Covid put on hold the opportunity for a live museum experience at the same time that we are losing our ability to experience material culture firsthand as museums increasingly embrace the digital world’s capacity to create museum-like experiences online. While the virtual museum experience cannot replace the live experience, this shift only underscores the question of how and why museums can and should remain relevant to us in our increasingly virtual era.

By way of context, my own experience began in a rural setting, not far from a major city whose encyclopedic museum — the Carnegie Museum of Art — offered an opportunity to see works of art and objects of antiquity and to think of them as illustrations of the cultures and periods in history when they were created. My academic path took me to literature and art history, and the study of the connection between words written in different periods of time and objects of art that illustrate the history of those times. I focused particularly on the middle of the 19th century, when art not only told stories in a literal way but began to offer visual vocabularies that would, over the succeeding century, create the story of modern, classic-contemporary, and contemporary art.

Good fortune brought me to the start of my professional life at the Museum of Modern Art, where I had the privilege to absorb the wondrous unfolding of the invention of modernism from the 19th century to the present and across all disciplines of the fine arts. By the time of MoMA’s founding in 1929, these disciplines had already grown to include photography, film, and architecture and design as relevant modernist mediums. Throughout my MoMA years, I focused on 1850 or thereabouts as the stage on which the narrative of modernism — from that moment to the present — would play out. This experience was revelatory, allowing me to understand and appreciate the role that visual culture in any medium might play in illuminating our times — resonating as well with the social and political phenomena that shape our lives and become our history. The immediacy of modernism also underscored the connection between art and politics, helping us grasp how the social and political developments of any given moment might influence the art produced at that time, and how the art of any given moment might in turn help shape social and political perspectives.

When I was invited to become director of the Israel Museum in Jerusalem — not just an encyclopedic museum, but rather a universal museum — my perspective shifted dramatically to the full narrative of material cultural history from 1.5 million years ago to the present, embracing cultures from around the world. This was another revelatory moment, as was the evolving definition of the “universal” museum as one whose collections were deep and extensive enough to connect cultural history — from the first evidence of human hands touching matter in a creative way — to the present, while also looking at art’s resonance among cultures globally.

Museums dedicated to specific cultures, like Jewish museums and others devoted to singular themes or subjects, can and should take advantage of the opportunity to look at examples of their cultures in the context of when and where they were created.

Today the Israel Museum’s collection galleries tell a remarkable tale. They are divided among the archeology of the ancient Near East, principally the ancient Land of Israel and its neighboring cultures; Jewish art and life, being the story of sacred and secular Jewish practice from the Middle Ages onward and across the global Diaspora; and the fine arts, being the Western art traditions from the Renaissance to the present and the arts of Africa, Asia, Oceania, and the Americas. The message that unfolds across the museum’s galleries is that all things connect across time and geography — from man’s first encounters with materiality to the seeds of existential reflection and the invention of monotheism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam; then to the story of the Jewish Diaspora from the Holy Land to the east and west from the end of the Byzantine era to the present; and then to the parallel narratives of the fine arts worldwide.

To say that we live in complex times is an understatement. Not just because of Covid, but also because of political shifts globally, we are experiencing a kind of turbulence that we have not known since emerging from World War II. We are seeing in some parts of the world a drift toward nationalism and accompanying trends of supremacism and racism, and in other parts of the world a social awakening that underscores the importance of diversity and inclusiveness. Pervasive everywhere is also the phenomenon of global migration that is creating a culture of exile — of exile as home — at a level that is without precedent in modern times.

In this context, while art and politics remain distinct, art has become increasingly engaged with social activism. Art and art history offer examples for this phenomenon, and museums such as MoMA and the Israel Museum are able to tell these stories with clarity. As an example, the political upheaval of the period between World War I and World War II in Europe produced the Dada and Surrealist movements which forged a new definition of artists as creative practitioners. These creative makers expanded their mediums and their ways of working, forging an engagement between art and activism that then spread globally with the migration of artists from Europe to the Americas and to the emerging Soviet Union. This phenomenon remains foundational for art-making today.

Few cultures have ever existed in isolation, and how they live, work, and create is always subject to the influence of those living, working, and creating around them.

The notion that all things connect across time and geography could not be more meaningful than in an era as complex as ours. Universal museums embrace distinct cultures globally and demonstrate how these cultures resonate with others that share their place on the timeline of history. A museum such as the Israel Museum notably demonstrates how the world is always a mosaic of cultures — an example of definitional diversity — and the stories it tells place these distinct cultures in the context of others. Often these stories also demonstrate the cross-cultural engagement among individual cultures that history otherwise might portray as disconnected. An iconic example might be the museum’s 2016 exhibition Pharaoh in Canaan: The Untold Story , telling the story of the time around 1,600 b.c.e. when the Canaanites lived in Egypt and then, a century or so later, when the Egyptians ruled in the land of Canaan. Their practices and aesthetics became merged — and even the seeds of monotheistic belief were formed in this time — and these two cultures became integrated and engaged. In today’s divisive world, examples like this can be enlightening.

In the same way, museums dedicated to specific cultures, like Jewish museums and others devoted to singular themes or subjects, can and should take advantage of the opportunity to look at examples of their cultures in the context of when and where they were created. This practice exactly defines inclusiveness. Given today’s world climate, demonstrating this phenomenon of diversity and inclusion throughout history could not have more meaning.

Subject-specific museums abound across the American and European landscape. Historically, they have tended to look at their subjects in isolation, often elevating their content to a platform of identity and appreciation that may serve their own culturally specific audiences but rarely reaching beyond to attract and educate others. They are often also site-centric, highlighting the achievements of their own community within the geography where they reside.

This is certainly the case for many local and regional Jewish museums, raising the question of the role and relevance of these institutions today and even the question of whether they should exist at all. In my view, the answer is yes — and the path to relevant engagement and success may be to follow the example of universal museums such as the Israel Museum in looking at specific cultures and their unique attributes in the context of history and in relation to other cultures and communities around them in their era. Few cultures have ever existed in isolation, and how they live, work, and create is always subject to the influence of those living, working, and creating around them.

Stories emerging through this lens can inspire us to celebrate diversity and embrace inclusiveness. Again, taking Jewish museums as an example, placing such stories into context enables Jewish audiences to appreciate Jewish achievement in the setting of where and when it took place. This approach can also engage other audiences and help them understand and appreciate the foreignness of Jewish culture. Embracing diversity through cultural narratives in museum settings, rather than through political narratives in the public arena, can also offer an important model today.

For example, just now at the Jewish Museum in New York, the exhibition New York: 1962–1964 explores the seminal role of the Jewish Museum in the early 1960s in pivoting the global spotlight on emerging contemporary art from Paris and Europe to New York and the United States. It illustrates an important moment in the history of postwar contemporary art, and it amplifies a subtext about the exodus of creative makers from Europe to America during and after World War II. While its subject is not specifically Jewish, there is much to explore in the meaning of the Jewish Museum’s role in this phenomenon and the part played by artists of Jewish heritage for whom America became home during and after the war. For museum professionals, as well as for patrons and museum audiences, this kind of expansive reflection can be engaging and energizing.

With regard to the broader phenomenon of the social awakening in America that seeks to bring diversity, equality, and inclusion to communities that have been overlooked and underrepresented, the traditional mechanisms of museum practice can and are playing a critical role. As an example, the museums of Historically Black Colleges and Universities across the country actively mine their collections to surface artists and art movements that are central to the stories that American and international museums need to tell.

The Venice Biennale has also played a role here for a very long time, with exhibitions percolating from the work of museum curators worldwide. The central exhibition of this past year’s Biennale, Milk of Dreams , looked back at the invention of Surrealism during the period of social and political unrest and uncertainty between World War I and World War II, and then at how artists are responding to the same circumstances of unrest and uncertainty weighing on the world today. More than 80 percent of the participating artists were women — and from cultures worldwide — and their work was anchored in the achievements of the avant-gardists of nearly 100 years ago, whose work shines masterfully today and sets the stage for identifying and displaying artists from across a much broader playing field.

In these times of social and communal awakening, museums have a responsibility to follow examples like these. With the level of cultural engagement that has flourished worldwide since World War II, they can open the door to cultural diplomacy as an antidote to the fractiousness of today’s increasingly extreme politics. For them to assert their relevance, they need to tell stories drawn from diverse cultures around the world, and explore and celebrate the wonders of social and communal inclusion and integration that give strength to the backbone of world history.

JAMES S. SNYDER is the executive chairman of The Jerusalem Foundation, Inc., and the director emeritus of The Israel Museum, Jerusalem, where he served as director from 1997 to 2016 and then as international president through 2018. He is a senior fellow of the Middle East Initiative at the Harvard Kennedy School.

• Yale University
• About Yale Insights
• Privacy Policy
• Accessibility

What Makes a Museum Successful?

Museums must remain relevant to a contemporary audience while upholding a mission to preserve human culture for posterity. Daniel Weiss ’85, president of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, explains the challenges and opportunities that come with managing a cultural legacy.

• Dan Weiss President, Metropolitan Museum of Art

Recently, a number of museums noticed a surge of visitors, particularly of young adults—the demographic most prized by institutions anxious to replace their aging audiences. Were young people being pulled in by blockbuster exhibits or perhaps by evening events offering a chance to mingle surrounded by artwork? Well, no. The museums eventually determined that the new arrivals were Pokémon Go players in search of virtual characters hidden in the galleries.

Kathy Sharpless of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum was philosophical about the influx, telling Bloomberg that the Boston museum is “delighted to be included in the craze.” She added a caveat: “We hope that once inside the museum, visitors will focus on the beauty rather than the game. If the game helps them get here and then they want to relax and enjoy, everyone wins.”

Should an art museum’s goal be to simply get people through the door? What makes a museum successful?

At one time, the size and importance of the collection was the key consideration. Exhibiting the work was something of an afterthought. But conserving and building a collection is expensive and inevitably requires public support. While hiding away much of the art might be cost effective, it would defeat a key function—documenting and inspiring the ongoing endeavors of humanity.

Today, public engagement is a core function of museums, and a trio of metrics are imperfect surrogates for impact: the number of museum members, the marketability of exhibits, and overall attendance. But how to measure and use those numbers remains a matter of debate. Maxwell Anderson, the former director of several museums around the country, calls for a more considered approach in a 2004 essay for the Getty Leadership Institute.“Over the last generation,” he writes, “art museums have shifted their focus away from collection‐building and toward various kinds of attention to the public—without balancing these two imperatives and without a consensus on what constitutes best practices in the latter.”

On top of membership, exhibits, and attendance, some institutions have layered other performance indicators, including energy usage per square foot, the percentage of the collection on display, or the ratio of adult to child admissions, according to John Jacobsen’s in Measuring Museum Impact and Performance: Theory and Practice . While each might have some use, the data can serve to obscure the essential concern, Jacobsen writes: “The field still lacks an accepted way to measure impact.”

In part the challenge comes from not having a single bottom line as a measure of success. But that shouldn’t change, according to economists Bruno Frey and Stephan Meier, who write in a 2003 paper that “it is crucial to go beyond the market” to understand the economics of museums . “Museums create social values, for which they are not compensated in monetary terms,” they write. Think of what the Louvre does for the prestige of Paris or the Guggenheim Bilbao does for Bilbao. Iconic museums enrich the lives of locals and draw tourists. They offer educational opportunities through classes, guided tours, and the chance to simply wander and absorb the art. An additional yield, Frey and Meier assert, is the “bequest value” that comes from protecting the thread between past and future generations.

However “priceless” art museums may seem, the realities of running such an institution require putting dollar values on every aspect of collecting, protecting, and exhibiting the artistic history of humanity. Limited budgets create tensions around priorities and short-term versus long-term obligations. Daniel Weiss ’85, president of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, discussed with Yale Insights the challenges of effectively navigating a museum’s multiple, intersecting missions.

To Weiss, the Met’s collection remains the source of its worth and its top priority. “The Met is the repository of the cultural legacy of our civilization. We have 5,000 years’ worth of art; our first job is to protect it,” Weiss said. “Unlike many commercial entities, universities and art museums are perpetual institutions. We’re here for the duration. We have to change with the times but not so much so that we lose our way.”

The museum itself is nearly 150 years old, and has its own traditions, deeply entwined with the life of New York City, its donor class, and the art world. “Any plan for change or strategic vision has to be predicated on deep understanding of the DNA of the organization,” he said. “That’s a discussion that requires lots of voices and a lot of reflection because it isn’t as obvious as it may sound.”

In launching new initiatives and programs, and in its use of new technologies, the Met must find a balance between reaching new audiences and honoring its mission. “If no one is interested in our programs, then they are not meaningful programs,” he said. “On the other hand, if all we’re doing is pandering to the public, then we’re not really respecting our mission.”

But no new programs, formats, or technologies are off the table as long as the Met continues to protect, preserve, and collect the best art while making it available to scholars and the public, he said. “The rest of it is negotiable.”

• Social Entrepreneurship
• Competitive Strategy

13 Reasons Why Presentations Matter (for Students & for Professionals)

Hrideep barot.

• Body Language & Delivery , Presentation , Public Speaking

Presentations are a common component of every business, whether you’re getting ready to sell potential clients or trying to hire new staff.

You may present with poise and assurance. But a strong digital presentation can help you improve your public speaking abilities in general.

Given their potential to have a significant effect on the audience, presentations need to be carefully planned. They can give your words more force and better represent you and your business. This can assist you in getting good results.

Have you ever questioned why presentations play such a significant role in our lives? It is simple to become confused about what all these individuals are generating these presentations about when there are more than 50,000 new presentations created every day. Who exactly came up with the idea? The question “Why would anyone want to incorporate their ideas into these things called slides when you can just have a straightforward speech written on a piece of paper?” may be running through your mind if you dislike presentations in general. We recognise your point. We are also here to explain why, though.

Importance of presentations

• To have more sway in your organisation, sector, and market.
• To be more adamant when necessary.
• To inspire more in your team, department, or organisation.
• To communicate both intellectually and emotionally more efficiently.
• To enthral, stimulate, and motivate others.
• To drive change.
• To establish and grow your desired personal brand.
• To communicate your point in a clear, succinct, and convincing manner.
• To establish genuine connections with others.
• To “make friends and have a good impact.”
• To change something
• To influence and persuade others to work with you or adopt a different viewpoint.
• To leave a lasting impression and be recalled favourably.
• To grow your own sense of self-worth and self-assurance.
• To advance in your career and achieve your goals.
• To mature and advance intellectually, emotionally, and even “spiritually.”
• To discover the exact communication strategies that currently work for you.
• To recognise and put into practice the chances that are accessible to you for more powerful and successful communication.
• To handle challenging situations and individuals with more composure and less stress.
• The capacity to settle disputes amicably and successfully.

Why do presentations matter for students?

1. involvement of students at the centre of learning.

Presentations provide variety and difficulties in contrast to an academic lecturer’s routine delivery. Sometimes, students are more willing to learn from their peers’ successes and failures than from their teachers. 

Presentations might be used as well as a productive method of peer education. You participate actively in your learning experience when you take charge of creating and delivering a presentation.

2. Develop fresh insights and understandings of a subject

Presentations provide chances for skill and knowledge development in concert. Through this process, learning and a desire for learning more can be strengthened. The audience should have learned something new and developed a greater interest in the subject of the presentation was successful. When we hear information from a unique or distinct source, we occasionally remember it. Tutors can gain new insights from the viewpoints of their students, which they can then use to improve their instruction.

3. Practice in an established setting or circumstance

Students have the chance to practise performing during presentations in a relatively safe setting. You will start to gain the necessary abilities and be able to apply them from presentation to presentation when you have to prepare multiple presentations for a course.

It makes you undoubtedly accustomed to the academic setting. You might give presentations in spaces where you also take part in lectures and other events, which might assist to ease your anxiety. People in the audience who are also in your cohort may be sympathetic if they can relate to your feelings.

4. Gaining more self-assurance to talk and present in front of a crowd

Academic courses that include well-run presentations can be utilised to boost students’ skills and confidence. You might be able to express your personality in a way that is impossible when sitting through a lecture as a passive listener.

You may stand out from the crowd and get noticed by using presentations. They provide you with the chance to express your uniqueness. You can develop a good coping strategy for anxiety that will help you feel less fearful and anxious. With consistent practice, you may boost your self-assurance and gain some of the interpersonal and communication abilities that employers respect.

5. Raising the grade received for a module assessment

You may occasionally have the chance to receive a greater percentage of marks for presentations than for written work alone. Students who prefer to speak to write may be more effective presenters and communicators when speaking or using visual aids rather than writing. This is so because, in addition to the verbal intelligence required for essays and reports, presentations also make use of other types of intelligence.

Some pupils are very self-assured when giving presentations and perform better in groups than they do alone. These students might receive a higher overall grade for the module if the presentation and written report are assessed jointly, particularly if the presentation accounts for up to 40% of the module grade.

6. Learning a variety of communication and presentation techniques

You might need to consider your personal communication preferences and talents. Do you favour mind maps, lists, diagrams, or charts & graphs?

You can use presentations to communicate in a variety of media types. Additionally, they provide you with the chance to practise performing in front of others and improve your breathing, voice, and hand-eye coordination. Students in the audience will also observe and pick up knowledge from the presenters’ abilities, especially if they are given the chance to offer feedback.

In fact, students frequently give themselves and their fellow classmates the harshest reviews possible. These observations and comments can help students reflect on and recognise the factors that contribute to presentations being an effective learning environment. This analysis can help future performances and be used for more job interviews and evaluations.

7. Learning the abilities necessary for the workplace

Many organisations look for candidates who are self-assured and include presentations in their selection processes. For progress reports, staff evaluations, and professional development, several organisations regularly use staff presentations. As a student, practising presentation preparation and delivery can make you a more capable and assured interview applicant.

They present chances for you to hone your project management and teamwork abilities. You’ll need to meet deadlines and be accountable for producing the intended result of your effort. Your research, design and communication abilities will all increase along with your overall presentation abilities.

Why do presentations matter at the workplace?

1. inform, educate, and inspire the staff.

Presentations aren’t solely for external use, despite popular notions. They are extensively used within organisations as well. They can be a useful tool for inspiring and addressing workers.

In order to provide effective results, office productivity and efficiency are essential. This is only possible if the staff members are regularly motivated to increase their productivity and are made aware of the objectives and goals they are expected to meet.

There are two kinds of presentations: those that keep the audience engaged right up until the very end, and those that they are eager to be over. Making sure of the first one will ensure that your staff is informed and motivated.

2. Portraying your company’s brand image

Business pitches heavily rely on presentations. You might be shocked to learn how presentations affect potential clients. They support your public speaking and give the audience a sense of your firm.

You must create the correct initial impression if you want to accomplish your company objectives. Presentations serve as a visual representation of the mission and strategy of your business.

For instance, you identify yourself in the pitch as a business that provides your clients with cutting-edge branding solutions. The audience can see the evidence in your presentation slides, which will help your presentation have a greater effect.

The audience will perceive your presentation as more serious and positive the more ordered it appears.

Having it developed by a presentation designer may assist guarantee that everything is in the right location and that the overall presentation is consistent with the values and image of your firm.

3. Easily Usable Communication Device

Presentations are easily accessed and seen on your phone, tablet, or laptop and can be used anywhere.

To ensure optimal readability, it would be a good idea to have your presentation developed by a professional.

During a meeting, you can project the presentation using your laptop or a projector, and you can quickly keep them online for quick access. This improves the general effectiveness of your company’s operations and enables you to produce results more successfully and effectively.

If the presentation is well designed and well-aligned with your audience and business culture, its effect can be increased.

4. Boost audience involvement

The audience’s involvement is greatly influenced by presentations. Humans naturally grow weary after listening to someone speak repeatedly.

Maintaining your audience’s interest might be significantly easier if you use professionally created presentations to break up your public speaking. They will continue to be actively engaged if they can connect your speech to the presentation’s content and images.

Making a presentation with the help of a creative digital agency might help you make a lasting impression on the audience. The audience clearly interprets your message when they are actively participating in the process and paying attention to what you are saying.

Go through this article for more information: Interactive presentations: 7 foolproof ways to engage the audience

5. Offer Variability in Information Delivery

The best way to spread information at a reasonable cost is through presentations. They give you the freedom to change the content to suit your demands and specifications.

You may quickly add or remove content to suit your needs and alter the presentation for various audiences.

When trying to make an internal announcement or going for an external assignment like a sales pitch or BTL marketing, presentations are simpler and more practical options to pursue than other printed media.

You can continue using the presentation after having it created by a creative digital agency by adding industry-specific content in accordance with each client’s needs.

Using presentations will save you more time and money while enabling you to communicate your intended message more effectively and clearly.

6. Helps in making a stronger impression

You are presenting your business idea in a pitch. Without the organisation and visual support that a pitch deck will provide, your message may get lost in translation. Your message will be much more powerful if it is accompanied by a complimentary design that effectively arranges your ideas. It may also make your concept appear in a more favourable light. Having a presentation might assist your speech to reflect even more forcefully on company values, business image, and goals.

Tips for effective presentations

1. Connect with your audience by demonstrating your passion.

Being confident and at ease are difficult to do while you’re anxious.

The best method to connect with your audience, though, is to show your enthusiasm for the subject, which is something that outstanding presenters emphasise again and time again.

Tell the audience what matters to you and why it does so openly. The audience will respond if you are eager and genuine.

2. Think about what your audience wants.

What your audience will learn from your presentation should be the foundation of your presentation. Always consider what the audience needs and wants to know when preparing your presentation, not what you can say to them.

You must pay attention to your audience’s reaction while you deliver the presentation and adjust as necessary. Make it simple for your audience to comprehend and respond.

3. Do not complicate: Pay attention to your main agenda

You should always ask yourself this question while you prepare your presentation. “What are the main points—two or three—that I want my audience to remember?” You should be able to express that main idea succinctly.

Some experts advise creating an “elevator summary” of no more than 30 seconds, while others advise writing it on the back of a business card or saying it in no more than 15 words.

Whatever rule you decide to follow, it’s crucial to maintain your main point concisely and focused. And if what you’re going to say won’t help convey that main idea, don’t say it.

4. Make eye contact with your audience and smile.

Although it seems relatively simple, a surprising amount of speakers fail to accomplish it.

You can establish rapport with your audience by smiling and maintaining eye contact. This makes it easier for them to relate to you and your subject. Additionally, the fact that you are speaking to specific individuals rather than an enormous group of strangers makes you feel less anxious.

Make sure you don’t dim all the lights to the point where only the slide screen is visible to aid you in this. Both you and your slides must be visible to your audience.

5. Start off strong

Your presentation’s opening section is vital. You must be able to capture and keep the interest of your audience.

If you’re boring, they will give you a few minutes of grace before they start to lose interest in you. Don’t use that time to introduce yourself. Begin by amusing them.

Consider telling a tale or using an eye-catching but helpful graphic on a slide.

6. Narrate tales

Humans have a built-in tendency to react to stories.

We learn to pay attention and remember information by using stories. Your audience is more likely to pay attention and remember your points if you can incorporate stories into your presentation. Starting with a tale is a fantastic approach, but there is also a bigger point: your presentation needs to act like a story.

Consider the narrative you want to tell your audience and design your presentation accordingly.

7. Utilize your voice wisely

The spoken word actually uses just one of your audience’s five senses, making it a somewhat ineffective form of communication. Presenters frequently employ visual aids as a result. However, you can improve spoken language by making good use of your voice.

You may make your voice more engaging and keep your audience’s attention by varying your speaking pace and emphasising changes in pitch and tone.

8. Use your body as well.

Communication more than three-quarters is thought to be nonverbal.

This means that in addition to your speech tone, your body language is very important in conveying your message. Moreover, make sure you are sending the proper information; bad body language includes crossing your arms, keeping your hands in your pockets or behind your back, and pacing the stage.

Furthermore, move freely around the stage and, if you can, among the audience. Make your gestures open and assured.

Read this article for more useful insights: 6 most effective presentation styles

Final words

The bottom line is that yes, presentations are important because they enable you to better organise and express your objectives, build connections with your audience, and more. Moreover, you will notice the difference if you deliver your speech as a presentation!

Presentations significantly affect the audience. Hence, they need to be carefully planned. In addition, they can give your statements more force and enhance the perception that people have of you and your business. You may be able to get good results by doing this.

Enroll in our transformative 1:1 Coaching Program

Schedule a call with our expert communication coach to know if this program would be the right fit for you

Lost Voice? Here’s How to Recover Sore Throat and Speak Again

7 Keys to Emcee Like a Pro: Unlock Your Hosting Potential

8 Ways to Rise Above the Noise to Communicate Better

• [email protected]
• +91 98203 57888

Get our latest tips and tricks in your inbox always

Copyright © 2023 Frantically Speaking All rights reserved

Kindly drop your contact details so that we can arrange call back

Select Country Afghanistan Albania Algeria AmericanSamoa Andorra Angola Anguilla Antigua and Barbuda Argentina Armenia Aruba Australia Austria Azerbaijan Bahamas Bahrain Bangladesh Barbados Belarus Belgium Belize Benin Bermuda Bhutan Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana Brazil British Indian Ocean Territory Bulgaria Burkina Faso Burundi Cambodia Cameroon Canada Cape Verde Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad Chile China Christmas Island Colombia Comoros Congo Cook Islands Costa Rica Croatia Cuba Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Djibouti Dominica Dominican Republic Ecuador Egypt El Salvador Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Faroe Islands Fiji Finland France French Guiana French Polynesia Gabon Gambia Georgia Germany Ghana Gibraltar Greece Greenland Grenada Guadeloupe Guam Guatemala Guinea Guinea-Bissau Guyana Haiti Honduras Hungary Iceland India Indonesia Iraq Ireland Israel Italy Jamaica Japan Jordan Kazakhstan Kenya Kiribati Kuwait Kyrgyzstan Latvia Lebanon Lesotho Liberia Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Madagascar Malawi Malaysia Maldives Mali Malta Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania Mauritius Mayotte Mexico Monaco Mongolia Montenegro Montserrat Morocco Myanmar Namibia Nauru Nepal Netherlands Netherlands Antilles New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua Niger Nigeria Niue Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway Oman Pakistan Palau Panama Papua New Guinea Paraguay Peru Philippines Poland Portugal Puerto Rico Qatar Romania Rwanda Samoa San Marino Saudi Arabia Senegal Serbia Seychelles Sierra Leone Singapore Slovakia Slovenia Solomon Islands South Africa South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain Sri Lanka Sudan Suriname Swaziland Sweden Switzerland Tajikistan Thailand Togo Tokelau Tonga Trinidad and Tobago Tunisia Turkey Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom United States Uruguay Uzbekistan Vanuatu Wallis and Futuna Yemen Zambia Zimbabwe land Islands Antarctica Bolivia, Plurinational State of Brunei Darussalam Cocos (Keeling) Islands Congo, The Democratic Republic of the Cote d'Ivoire Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Guernsey Holy See (Vatican City State) Hong Kong Iran, Islamic Republic of Isle of Man Jersey Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Lao People's Democratic Republic Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Macao Macedonia, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Mozambique Palestinian Territory, Occupied Pitcairn Réunion Russia Saint Barthélemy Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan Da Cunha Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Lucia Saint Martin Saint Pierre and Miquelon Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Sao Tome and Principe Somalia Svalbard and Jan Mayen Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tanzania, United Republic of Timor-Leste Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam Virgin Islands, British Virgin Islands, U.S.