Jan Schultink makes a valuable point very simply when he shows us how to make an endless listing of our products into a relevant, logical introduction for our customers’ benefit. In short, put the poor customer first in your thinking. Give them some background to help them understand you and your products, then ‘share’ a…
Here’s a really useful post from Dr Nick Morgan at Public Words, a well written and beautifully presented blog on err.. the kinds of words you say in public- Nick Morgan, Public Words: What Questions Should You Ask to Prepare a Speech?. A great and comprehensive list with a simple of addition from me, particularly…
For people like me, who fail to be funny and original at the same time, here’s a set of great quotes from the UK’s ‘Total Politics’ blog. You’ll find political quotes, anecdotes and one-liners from around the Western world that the ethical among you will quote, and the rest of us will simply errr- recycle….
It’s not often that a golfer makes me laugh. And even then it’s usually clothing related. I love the game but loathe the fake press conference ‘insight’. And I don’t blame the golfers. Journalists often like the easy option in a press conference and rehash tired old cliches and long-dead ‘incidents’ looking for a scoop….
I once bought a book by Edward de Bono, called ‘How to be Interesting’. It wasn’t. But it’s a great title isn’t it? Why might someone as fascinating as me buy a book like that? Well, it’s simple, I was seeking an answer to all of the questions I’d been asked around ‘how do you…
One of the key skills in developing ‘Flair‘ as a speechwriter and presenter, is learning to use the ‘tricks of the trades’ from all branches of the performing arts. Poetry, drama, creative writing, music and songwriting all offer useful lessons, for even the most experienced of us. Adding flair requires that you do 3 things…
I’ve been working in Barcelona again this week, with a global pharmaceutical company, and here’s a small, but significant lesson I learned from Xavi, an IT Director about finding the right ‘hook’ for a speech to his IT colleagues. We were talking about understanding our audience before we start to create our message,- ‘Fit‘ as…
In the aftermath of the terrible events in Japan of the past 2 weeks, there has been a rush to ‘trash’ the idea of nuclear power as a ‘safe’, carbon-free technology for electricity generation. Germany led the way by closing its power stations for safety checks, the EU then followed up by issuing an unintelligible…
The rule of three is powerful technique that any presenter should learn to use. First noticed by the ancient Greek orators, followed by the Catholic Church, and reinvented by marketeers in the 20th Century, it’s a simple tool you can use to plan, deliver and drive your presentations. It’s based on the fact that people…