We all have good and bad days as presenters. I think that complacency is a performer’s most dangerous (legal) habit. In pondering the kinds of thinking and approaches that hurt even highly skilled speakers I came up with this. The 5 most irritating things that good presenters do, but great presenters don’t are: 1. Think that…
You know who he is. He’s the zeitgeist shaping writer of such popular classics as ‘Outliers’, ‘The Tipping Point’ and ‘Blink’. He’s popularised performance psychology and brought millions of readers to consider some fundamental human questions like – Q.What’s the difference between Bill Gates and me? A. Not much. Q. Is success all about hard…
It’s 3am New Orleans time. I’m wide awake in my room at the name hotel on Bourbon St, where I’ve chosen to be for the next 4 days at the Presentation Summit 2015. I spent 18 hours travelling here. I missed the most important game of rubgy there has been for years (I discovered on…
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…
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…
Most presenters forget that their job is not simply to explain something, it’s to transmit a feeling to their audience. Often, for business audiences, they feel nor face nothing much that is positive. They are under pressure, have too much to do, and don’t have much time to spare on you and your message; so…
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…
In my last article I wrote about the decision to ditch PowerPoint and use Prezi for a big event or presentation. Lots of people are thinking of doing it as they see the tool in action, or get asked to use it by their clients. To make sure that it all goes well, and that you…
In our series on Personal Branding we explained that the way you and your slides look contributes to your audience’s impression of you. Creating a ‘look’ is a great way to give yourself a recognisable brand, and with the resources available online, it is actually easier than you might think. Even if you don’t naturally…