There’s so much you can do before the event to make sure that you have a great experience on the day. 1 Call the venue to specify how you’d like the room set up well before the event, confirm in writing after the discussion and expect that it won’t be done when you get there. 2 Arrange to…
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…
It’s your instrument; make sure you know how to use it. 1 Rehearse in the place where you’ll make your speech if you can; it makes a full dress rehearsal and readies you for the real thing. If you can’t use the venue, use somewhere like it. 2 Project to people at the back of the room…
In a previous post, I asked the question; ‘Should a presenter ever use a laser pointer?’ The answer’s ‘no’, and the reasons are simple. The audience doesn’t need you to be flashing a potentially harmful shaft of intense, coloured light, over their heads and shakily swishing it round a complex and (usually) spectacularly unhelpful visual aid. Even cats…
You are most often the final ingredient that makes a good presentation on paper go well in the real world. 1 Meet people (even if you know them) as they come into the room, shake hands, have a brief chat with them to help show your confidence and ‘break the ice’. 2 Show enthusiasm for the subject….
In a previous post I gave a short set of reasons why presenters should never, never, never use a laser pointer, when they stand up to speak. Why? Because it makes them look incompetent, and the audience could work out what it was they wanted them to look at specifically if the slide wasn’t – A…
I’ve been working with a set of really skilled and experienced presenters for the past few months. The executives had a set of massively important strategy presentations to give to their Global CEO and his executive team. Their Company realises that even the most experienced and skilful sometimes need a little support in really challenging…
I was speaking at a world famous business school the other day, and for the first time in years, I had some technical problems with my laptop (Top of the range MacBook Pro retailing at £2200.00!!). I’m a professional speaker, very well paid for this gig, and it’s really all my fault when things go…
Our Fit, Focus & Flair model gives us and our clients a shortcut for developing some of the best presentations you’ve ever seen. Fit is all about making sure the things which you’re going to say are relevant, appropriate and tailored for your audience. The benefits of Fit A guy called Josh came to…