Closing a Presentation. By far, the most read and listened to posts I've written and recorded, over many years, are ones about Closing a presentation. They are favored because of their immense importance. This is because of The Law of Primacy and Recency. This rule says an audience best remembers the first and Read More
Speaking/Presenting
If English is Not Your First Language . . .
Suggestions for making sure your audience GETS IT! First, and this goes for all speakers: Know your topic. Really know what you’ll be speaking about. You’ll never know everything, but know enough so you have "confidence in your competence" and the audience feels that self-assurance. Your nonverbal and Read More
A Diverse Audience Means Knowing . . .
WHO They Are and HOW Best to Deliver. The Diversity of Your Audience is Important to the Content and Delivery of Your Presentation. The goal of your talk, and all communication, is simple and straightforward. The recipients should GET IT! They may not agree with everything you say. They may not agree with anything. Read More
Writing Can Make You . . .
A Better Speaker! One of the Best Pieces of Advice I was ever given about becoming a speaker was to WRITE! I was correctly told, "Content is King!" Write lots and lots of great content! As you write, the knowledge of your subject matter grows. Eventually you become an EXPERT! That's a worthy goal because: • We Read More
Build a MASTER SLIDE DECK with Modules For . . .
Future Presentations. Develop a "Signature Presentation." This should be one you can deliver to target audiences. Whatever the topic, develop one that will appeal to as many individuals as possible. Doing this will expand your possible "Speaking Opportunities." One result of this "Signature Presentation" will be a Read More
Spreadsheets On Slides . . .
REALLY? If Bullet Points can Kill a presentation, asking your audience to read Data on a spreadsheet is a Massacre! Sometimes it is necessary and important to talk about sales trends, costs, and other "statistical movements." For a number of reasons, showing full screen spreadsheets with many columns and rows will Read More
You DON’T Impress People with . . .
Words they don't know. You make them feel Stupid! NO Buzz Words, Acronyms, or Techno-Speak! The goal of all communication; verbal, written, or visual is the same. We want the audience, as quickly as possible, to GET IT! They may not agree with everything we said. They may not agree with anything. But if they don't GET Read More
Chris Cebollero Interviews Me For . . .
The Ultimate Leadership Podcast. Public Speaking: A Necessary Rung on the Ladder to Success. Chris Cebollero is the ultimate host and consummate interviewer. I always learn from him! Check out his site for great leadership skills information. ChrisCebollero.com Transcript Announcer: Thank you for joining us on Read More
When the Screen is BLANK, they . . .
Look at YOU! Blank, in this case, means completely Black. A Blank slide immediately takes the attention off the screen, and puts it on the presenter. There are two components to a presentation: Content and Delivery. Content is the message. Delivery is presenting that message and it outperforms content. Delivery Read More
The AFTER-Duction is . . .
Usually Missing. You’ve experienced this, haven't you? Immediately after the speaker closes their presentation, the emcee takes the microphone and says, “Thanks for attending the event today. Drive home safely.” That’s memorable, isn’t it? NOT! Ending a program like that is underwhelming. Unfortunately, this Read More