I work abroad a lot, and I spend 50 day plus a year in Barcelona that beautiful, hot, dripping in culture city in Catalunya, Spain. I love Barcelona, and I know it pretty well, so I was asked to speak about the city at my son’s school as a part of their ‘different cultures’ week….
Here’s a much used clip of Steve Jobs launching the Mac-book Air way back in 2008. I think that Steve Jobs was a competent presenter, no more, but with 2 advantages over the rest of us- He represented the best marketing company in the world He walked into the room as Steve Jobs. Which gives…
I heard Olivia Coleman, a rising star of the UK stage and small screen give a funny and interesting interview on BBC Radio 4 this week. I was intrigued to hear her saying that she deals with her constant stage fright by blanking the audience out of her mind completely, which is the opposite of…
In a previous post here I talked about the importance of making great first impressions when you’re the ‘newbie’ at work. It’s a hard time for every new starter, and a bit of skill here will stand you in good stead. It’s something most of us have had to develop in our lives at work. Here’s…
Lovely post from Simon Raybould on his refreshingly opinionated blog- ‘Telling People’. He makes the point that ‘errr’ is a natural human sound that people make when they’re looking for the next word, and most people in our audiences don’t notice it, but lots of presentation trainers do. His thesis being ‘a little bit is fine’ and presentation coaches can get narrow in what they work on with their clients. Here’s the blog and a recommendation that you read lots of it.
It’s only a disaster if someone gets killed isn’t it? I remember when one of my clients fell off the stage, but he wasn’t actually killed, so it was just an embarrassment that he handled well. A matter for caution, yes; but also an opportunity to show the audience how a professional presenter handles those ‘slapstick’ moments…
Here’s a guy that I met this week at a speech I made in London. His name is George Moore and he’s an engaging, charismatic and powerful speaker. Note the attention grabbing start, serious appropriate tone, and powerful close. Text book. More about Moore. I wish I could have done this at his age. Excellent.
Here’s a great article on FT.com about the use of management speak in the London held inquests into the deaths of the innocent and guilty in the London Bombings of 2007. Lady Justice Hallet, the coroner, objected to the use of ‘management speak’, by the senior representatives of the emergency services interviewed as a part…
‘The compassionate Fool’ by Norman Cameron , is one of my favourite poems. It’s beautifully written. When I first got to know the piece I thought that it was about me, as teenagers tend to. About how difficult I found it to get out of relationships in case I hurt the other person’s feelings. Then I passed through…