Influencing
Presentation Skills – The Gentle Art of Moving Minds
What do the great orators of the past, the compelling media presenters of the TV era and great entertainers all have in common? I believe that the answer lies in their ability to challenge our thinking. They understood that the art of public speaking is a means to an end and that end lies in the minds of their audience.
Read MoreBecome More Persuasive – Start Where Your Audience Are At
I was moved to write this post about how to become more persuasive as a result of a recent set of experiences. I have a friend who, due to personal circumstances, has become incredibly passionate about healthy eating. He has started expressing his zeal in many ways including multiple social media posts and a hard-hitting…
Read MorePublic Speaking Tips – How to Make a Dull Subject Interesting
Sometimes we have to speak about topics that our audience may initially find boring or dull. Our challenge is how to make a dull subject interesting, relevant and memorable. Recently I heard a presentation on IT for small business owners that pushed all the right buttons. Afterwards, I thought I would share some of the…
Read More(Q1xD)xQ2=R – A Formula for Sales Success?
Sometimes it’s the simplest ideas that are the most useful. I recently attended a networking meeting and the group leader shared a formula which has helped me think more productively about my business. In this post I’m going to share this formula for sales success with you. To be honest, when (Q1xD)xQ2=R appeared on the…
Read MoreBoost Your Influence by Fine Tuning Your Intonation
In this post, I’d like to show you how a greater awareness of one particular area of your vocal delivery can boost your ability to influence others. Intonation is the way we change our vocal tone within a sentence, and it can dramatically alter the meaning of the words we speak. You can harness the power…
Read MoreWhat to do When Your Managers Suck
I read a recent article demonstrating the difference made by effective managers which seemed to sum up a lifetime of experience. It summarised a number of recent research articles looking at the value of effective managers within any organisation. Did you know that effective managers can increase productivity between 12% and 25%! Another study by Wharton business school,…
Read MoreStart with the audience.
RESEARCH YOUR AUDIENCE BEFORE WRITING YOUR PRESENTATION In a previous post I encouraged all presenters to start by asking the question”What do I want my audience to do as a result of this presentation?” The second golden rule is to tailor your presentation content to suit your audience. A “one size fits all” approach may…
Read MoreHow do you develop presence?
When I ask the people who attend my workshops what is the difference that makes the difference between and average speaker and a great speaker they often come up “presence”. When I go on to ask them to be a bit more specific about what they mean by presence, they tend to struggle. So what…
Read MoreMake it relevant to your audience
The other day I attended a talk on procurement by a university lecturer who had vast experience in the corporate world. The talk could have been really interesting but wasn’t. Why? Because he assumed that his audience members all came from larger companies with full-time purchasing and procurement departments. In fact, we were the opposite…
Read MoreIt’s not the economy, its your philosophy that really matters
In this short post, Influencing and presentation expert Gavin Meikle discusses the importance of attitude to business survival and outlines a clear and practical three step approach to upgrade your attotude in the moment.
Read More