Most of the time, expertise is of neutral value unless you are able to communicate what you know to decision makers and colleagues in a way that they can use. It is the ability to persuade, argue, influence, explain and even inspire others into action that creates value from your expertise. For every idea which…
In my previous post I drew attention to a troubled twerp called Julien Blanc. He’s the guy who’s a self-called ‘pick-up artist’ who for years has been selling his services as a speaker, all across the world, to men who want to learn how to become a PUA themselves. He’s in a whole heap of trouble after…
I was working with some brilliant Grads at a global investment bank last week. Paolo was as handsome, charismatic and imposing a 22 year old as you’re ever likely to meet. He was a technically skilled speaker- He had a point, he wrote clear text for speech, his articulation in English was excellent, he looked confident, but…
In Julian Treasure’s TED Talk, ‘How to speak so that people want to listen’, he takes us through: What we say – How 7 Deadly Sins can affect the content as we speak, and how to make positive changes How we say it – How we use our voices to convey meaning, feeling and emphasis…
Remember that the first 2 minutes of a presentation – when you’re probably at your most nervous are also are the point at which you have the audience’s fullest attention, experienced presenters and salespeople learn how to use this ‘golden time’ to full effect, because they know that when all else is forgotten, the audience…
Here’s a really interesting article from Lucy Kellaway at the FT in London. She tells a funny story about trying to launch her speech to 600 bankers with a costume change to help her make her point. It’s a good story and she draws her own conclusions about what she (and we) can learn from…
Want to know how to give a successful presentation? I can sum it up in one sentence: answer your audience’s questions. Successful Presentations Answer their Audience’s Questions I’ve often seen presentations which were captivating, funny and interesting, with great visuals and well presented by the speaker…which has left the audience disappointed and frustrated. Why? Because…
My experience as both an audience member and presenter tells me that the longer a presentation is, the more chance there is of the audience feeling boredom and apathy. And I doubt I’m the only one to have this groundbreaking insight. It could be that presenters get less interesting the more they talk, or meeting…
It’s becoming increasingly common for meetings to be conducted via conference call, Skype or virtual online meetings in business. Of course it makes sense from a business point of view, saving lots of money and time. But is communicating with remote audiences causing you to lose focus in your presentations? Is your message being diluted…