So many people ask how do you start well in a presentation, and we can learn a lot from Shakespeare to make maximum impact in those first few seconds. It’s a 2000 year old lesson to learn and is the foundation of story structure. Remember that the first 2 minutes are the point at which [...]

I was working with a group of (London) city professionals last week. Building a pitch for a piece of new business. One of the team asked me a great question. How do I stop myself ‘freezing’ when I’m speaking? She was an excellent presenter. Engaging, warm, knowledgeable and very well prepared. She asked me a simple, direct question and [...]

What can TV teach professional presenters – 3 pieces of FREE Presentation Advice

June 5, 2013

The latest in our series of expert guest posters comes from Roger Kethcart. Roger is an entertainment writer by trade, but his intellectual curiosity knows no bounds.  His interest in rhetoric and public speaking started in college when he took Latin and was introduced to Cicero, the Roman philosopher, who though dead, added life to Roger. [...]

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Thumbnail image for Pitch It! by Jan Schultink – a reader’s review

Pitch It! by Jan Schultink – a reader’s review

May 24, 2013

Jan Schultink is the Founder and CEO of Idea Transplant, a presentation design firm that creates sales, conference, and investor presentations. He updates his blog every day with brief posts giving random yet practical suggestions on how to improve your presentations. Having previously been a Management Consultant with McKinsey & Co, and made the transformation [...]

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How to Structure a Speech or Presentation

May 21, 2013

Whether they’re Shakespeare or Andrew Lloyd Webber, anyone who has a story to tell follows the same natural structure to tell it: Introduction/Prologue – to silence the crowd and get permission to tell your story:  grabs the audience’s attention, and gives them a reason to keep reading, listening or watching. You introduce the one sentence message [...]

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Thumbnail image for Speech Structure – The Strategy Recommendation Presentation

Speech Structure – The Strategy Recommendation Presentation

May 21, 2013

  First read How to Structure a Speech or Presentation for an understanding of how to approach your speech or presentation structure. Introduction – Define the objective Your introduction is a quick-fire journey through the three acts to follow. There’s no need for detail, you just need to explain what you’re going to talk about. Sentence 1: [...]

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Thumbnail image for Speech Structure – The Training or Teaching Presentation

Speech Structure – The Training or Teaching Presentation

May 21, 2013

  First read How to Structure a Speech or Presentation for an understanding of how to approach your speech or presentation structure. Introduction – Frame the skill in terms of its importance to the audience Summarise the main skill you’re going to provide them with, and add a hook by identifying the relevant value that skill will [...]

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Thumbnail image for Speech Structure – The Product Sales Presentation

Speech Structure – The Product Sales Presentation

May 21, 2013

First read How to Structure a Speech or Presentation for an understanding of how to approach your speech or presentation structure. Introduction – Frame the customer ‘need’ that the product, service, or idea addresses If you’ve been charged with giving a sales presentation, chances are you already know what to do here. Your introduction needs to create [...]

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Speech Structure – The Bad News Presentation

May 21, 2013

  First read How to Structure a Speech or Presentation for an understanding of how to approach your speech or presentation structure. Introduction – Show what happened and clarify the damage/costs People probably already know the bad news. That shouldn’t be the focus of the presentation, so summarise it in the introduction and make sure everyone understands both why [...]

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Thumbnail image for Speech Structure – The Justification of a Decision Presentation

Speech Structure – The Justification of a Decision Presentation

May 21, 2013

  First read How to Structure a Speech or Presentation for an understanding of how to approach your speech or presentation structure. Introduction – Frame the situation Summarize the dilemma, and significance of the choice. Hook your audience by explaining why the decision matters – i.e. explore some of the potential repercussions. Act 1 – Describe the [...]

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