Award season is upon us, and if you’re feeling the weight of it—take a deep breath! We’re here to remove the pressure with our expert tips for giving award certificates. Just follow these steps!

1. Choose a Certificate Paper and Coordinating Folder. What’s the occasion? If your award ceremony or celebration is centered around a special achievement, event, or milestone, our foil-stamped certificate papers are a convenient option. Many styles come pre-printed with the most popular award titles—just choose the one that suits your occasion and you’re on your way. Pair it with a matching foil-stamped folder for a polished presentation; or, for ultimate ease and affordability, try our certificate bundles.
   
   
   
   
   Looking for a more traditional presentation? Our scallop certificate paper is our absolute best-seller, so you can rest assured that you’re giving an award certificate that your recipients will be proud to display.
   
   
2. Make It Look Like a Million Kudos. You’ve ordered a certificate paper and presentation option that you love…now what? Your next step for making a flawless delivery is to make sure they look professional. Our free certificate templates are available for every paper we sell and ensure an easy and precise result. Templates are arranged by the paper design, and some come in both portrait and landscape options. Click here to see them all!
   
   
   
   
   
3. Match the Message with the Moment. Whether you’ve selected a certificate paper with a pre-printed title or not, you’ll want the sentiment on the award certificate to be consistent with the reason for giving it. Need some inspiration? We have just the free downloads you need to send a message that sings. Try our sample Award Certificate Titles and Employee Recognition Messages, or check out the popular verses we use for our award trophies.
   
   
4. Present it with Panache. RecogNation, our free resource center, is filled with articles that share tips and ideas from preparing your award presentations through giving them. Our two favorites are: Five Tips for Recognizing with Award Certificates and Memorable and Effective Award Presentation Tips. Read up and you’ll be a pro in no time! Plus, your awardees will feel truly honored—and that’s what matters most!
   
   
   

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Allison is a self-proclaimed Copywriting Diva and has the certificate to prove it! She’s been writing for Baudville for four years and has worked in a variety of business settings for more than 19 years. Before becoming a professional writer 12 years ago, Allison worked as a department manager where she used Baudville products to motivate her team. She’s what we call a true believer! 

Award presentations are a common occurrence in the working world. We recognize behaviors we want to see repeated, so we often present awards to honor years of service, accomplishments, and outstanding performances. 

When you make an award presentation, you want the employee to feel appreciated, valued, and hopefully reinforce their commitment to the organization. Make sure your award presentation has the desired effect with careful planning. We’ve distilled the most important elements of a successful award presentation into the following four tips:

Set the Stage
You can enhance the effectiveness of your award presentation by setting the stage. Consider your location and the setting. Does it reinforce the prestige and importance of the award? If not, change locations or make a few enhancements. You can easily improve an award presentation setting with balloons, signs, and decorations in the theme of the award.

Select an Award
The physical award you present to the recipient should be appropriate for the honor. Select your award item carefully and have a second person proofread your engraving. An award with a typo or misspelled recipient name will not achieve your desired result. Finally, before the award presentation, review the item one final time. Make sure it looks great and wipe off any fingerprints.

Prepare Your Remarks
What you say in an award presentation is more important than the award item. Your remarks will have an important impact on how the recipient feels. When you prepare and practice your remarks, you’re more likely to make the recipient feel unique, special, and valued.

Invite an Audience
Great achievements deserve public praise! Get the entire team involved in your award presentation. You can invite teammates to simply watch the presentation or give them a role. For instance, ask a few individuals to share their own stories about the award recipient to make the presentation even more special.

An award presentation isn’t something you should whip up in a few minutes. With careful planning, you can make your award recipient feel like a star! 

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Cori is Baudville's in-house Recognitionista (she's officially a Certified Recognition Professional, too)  and a member of the Millennial generation. Get her employee recognition tips and special discounts by liking Baudville on Facebook.

Many organizations have annual award ceremonies in the fourth quarter to celebrate outstanding performances and team accomplishments. However, it’s common for annual events to become a little tired year after year. To keep things fresh and exciting, you need to introduce new elements to your event. One way you can enhance the award experience is by changing your recognition award.

This year we set an ambitious goal to bring you an even larger selection of new trophies and awards for your year end award ceremonies. You can now shop 75 new trophies and awards in our trophy collection, many of which are exclusive Baudville designs! For a little guidance on adding extra “oomph” to this year’s award ceremony, we’ve put together five ways you can freshen up your annual award ceremony with new Baudville trophies.

1. Select a Colorful Trophy.
Traditional award trophies are beautiful creations made out of glass, crystal, and wood. Why not add some extra pizzazz to your award ceremony by introducing some color? Our new Brilliant Colored Glass Awards still offer the prestige of a glass trophy while adding a little fun with the bright graphics. For a sophisticated award, our Art Glass Trophies double as art for an office or home.

2. Incorporate Your Recognition Theme.
Several of our new trophies incorporate our well-known recognition themes into their design to complement your existing recognition program or event theme. Your annual award ceremony is a great time to reinforce the theme you’ve been using all year. You can try the new Themed Plaques, Desktop Acrylic Trophies, or Crystal Character Trophies for formal themed awards.

3. Create a Custom Award.
Make your awards unique to your organization by adding custom engraving. It’s easy! You can add your own logo or write your own award verse. When you order $100 or any one trophy, customization is absolutely free. Our new trophies offer large engraving areas so you have an even larger canvas to use to create your own award.

4. Choose a Character Story Award Verse.
Some of our most popular awards incorporate a Character Story. Our Character Stories eloquently express appreciation for unique traits and skills. There are over 100 stories to choose from, so you’re sure to find one for every award recipient! Our Jade Character Trophies are the most popular award for delivering a Character Story, but don’t forget about silver engraved gifts. These practical gifts will be a lasting reminder of the award for years to come!

5. Add a Gift Bag.
Vital to the success of your award ceremony is how you present the awards. To make the award presentation go smoothly, download our Award Presentation Guide and practicing your speech. Then order gift bags for each recipient. Prior to the award ceremony, place the trophy boxes in the gift bags. This will make it easier for recipients to carry their awards and will create a nicer presentation at your event.

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Cori is Baudville's in-house Recognitionista (she's officially a Certified Recognition Professional, too)  and a member of the Millennial generation. Get her employee recognition tips and special discounts by liking Baudville on Facebook.

The fourth quarter is the most common time of year for award ceremonies. Companies are completing their fiscal year, individuals are wrapping up projects, and teams are evaluating goals. When all the analyses and evaluations are done, it will be time to recognize outstanding performers and performances from the year.

When you honor an individual at a public award ceremony, you have a great opportunity to impact their motivation, dedication, and engagement. You can also inspire everyone in attendance! Careful planning of your awards event will make sure your recognition hits the mark.

We’ve created many resources to help you to create a memorable awards event. Start with our highlighted content below then browse through our collection of Award Ceremony information  in the Recognition Resource Center.
 
Award Presentation Guide – Say all the right things during your award presentation when you practice with this helpful guide. It walks you through the key elements of an award presentation so you know what you want to say ahead of the event.

Award Presentation Ideas  Webisodes – Baudville recognition experts share valuable advice and tips for award presentations. These short videos are packed with ideas that will make your awards more memorable.

Trophy Videos – We have over 70 new trophies available for this year’s award season. To get the best feel for these new awards, watch our products videos. They are the best way to understand the size of the award and its different features.

Free Recognition eBooks – Get ideas to make your awards sparkle and make a grand impression on both your recipients and your guests. Winning Ways to Recognize Your Stars ebook   includes handy hints to make your recognition more effective. If you’re looking for ideas on how to celebrate your employees’ accomplishments, read the Milestones chapter from the Team Up! eBook. Both of these should provide some inspiration for your next awards event!

Award Ceremony Newsletters – We’ve carefully selected a few of our Recognition at Work newsletters from the archive that are all about award ceremonies. Learn more about formal awards, tips for recognizing with award certificates, and more.

Gift Finder – Don’t let the title fool you! Our popular tool can help you find a trophy that will fit your budget and occasion. Begin by selecting the “Award Trophies” product category then continue to refine the results by price, occasion, and theme until you find the award that’s just right for your event.

Formal awards and award ceremonies are part of an effective recognition strategy. If you take the event seriously and plan carefully, your employees will feel appreciated and motivated for another year! For even more resources, tips, and ideas, visit our Recognition Resource Center.

What are your best tips and advice for upcoming award ceremonies? What have you learned from trial and error? What are your best practices? Tell us about it here!

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Cori is Baudville's in-house Recognitionista (she's officially a Certified Recognition Professional, too)  and a member of the Millennial generation. Get her employee recognition tips and special discounts by liking Baudville on Facebook.

Certificates are a popular award because of their low price point and easy customization capabilities.  Because Customer Service Week and year end award ceremonies are just around the corner, I wanted to take a more careful look at certificate design to help you prepare for the busy award season!

There are three steps to creating an impressive certificate award. First, choose your components, such as paper, folder, seals, ribbons, and frames. Second, format the certificate design with templates and award verses. Finally, make a memorable presentation to the recipient.

1. Award Components
A certificate starts with your paper selection. Depending on the occasion, you may prefer a more traditional certificate design, like our popular scallop design. Or you may prefer the glitz and glam the foil certificate designs offer. One of the main benefits of the foil-stamped papers is the addition of an award title. Certificates have a variety of different sentiments, including “Excellence,” “Certificate of Completion,” or “Academic Star.” Depending on the award occasion, the foil-stamped design can enhance your award.

Once you’ve selected the certificate paper, choose a folder or frame to display the certificate. Rather than presenting the certificate on its own, the added display tool helps to make a grand impression on the recipient and anyone witnessing the award. Choose a certificate seal to make your award look official, and add a ribbon for color.

2. Certificate Formatting
To simplify the certificate design process, use a template that is already formatted with the appropriate margins and spacing. Next, decide what you want to say on your certificate. Visit our Certificate Idea Gallery for inspiration and download our Sample Award Certificate Titles for ideas. An award certificate design usually includes a title, award verse, the recipient’s name, date, and the signature from a leader. The font you choose also contributes to the design. The award title should be the largest text on the certificate, and the recipient’s name the second largest.

Font choice is also an important part of your certificate design. If your certificate is for a formal award, such as a service anniversary, you will want to use a formal serif font. But if you’re having fun with certificates and using goofy award titles, you can have a little fun!

3. Memorable Presentation
The final step in the certificate creation process is presenting the certificate to the award recipient. Now that you’ve invested a lot of time and effort into carefully designing your certificate, you want to make sure your presentation hits the mark! Take time before your award presentation to consider what you want to say. Download our Award Presentation Guide for useful tips to help you prepare!

Do you consider yourself an expert certificate designer? Share your tips with us in the comments below!

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Cori is Baudville's in-house Recognitionista (she's officially a Certified Recognition Professional, too)  and a member of the Millennial generation. Get her employee recognition tips and special discounts by liking Baudville on Facebook.