Influencing secrets – Tell your audience what you want them to do!
I spent some time in George Best International airport in Belfast recently coming back from a fundraising workshop with the charity Concern Worldwide UK When I entered the airport departure lounge I saw the usual television screens with departure and arrival information but I also saw something I had never seen before… Normally, when your…
Read MoreHow to project more authority
I often get asked for tips to help people who have to deal with more senior people. One of the most common questions in this area is how do I project authority and credibility. One powerful way to do this is to simply focus on keep your head still when you speak! Sounds crazy I…
Read MoreLess is more
A few days ago I was running an advanced presentation skills course and when one of my participants gave her first presentation it was clear that she had fallen into the trap of confusing a presentation with an information dump. Its not that her content was bad, there was just far too much data and…
Read MorePresenters Against Poverty
Today is worldwide blog action day and as a supporter of this campaign I want to talk about what we as presenters and communicators can do to help end poverty. Poverty is a very big problem and an emotive topic. Whilst most of us would agree that it is a bad thing, we may also…
Read MoreTips for structuring your presentation
In several of my previous posts I have talked about the importance of having a clear outcome for your presentation or speech. Today I’d like to take a look at the next step in the design process – finding a logical flow. Your audience need to see that there is a path between your starting…
Read MoreAlternatives to powerpoint for visual aids
Recently I have been looking at a couple of free on-line alternatives to Powerpoint for producing attractive and effective visual aids to support a presentation. There are now a whole host and how many will survive only time will tell. Thankfully this morning I found a great post that gives you links to 13 great…
Read MorePresentation Self-Evaluation – Be Fair on Yourself
What to do after a presentation As well as writing about public speaking and presentation skills, I love to read and learn from my peers. Today, I read a great post from Coachlisab about what not to do at the end of a presentation. She was reminding us of the importance of not being too self-critical, Below…
Read MorePresentation emotion – the key element!
Why is it that so many business presentations are dry, dull and ineffective? Well, it could be the presenter’s delivery style, or it could be the tedious and wordy powerpoint slides they insist on using, but I think there is an even more dangerous principle at work here. I think that most business presenters think…
Read MorePitching beyond the room
I heard my good friend Jim Culverwell use the phrase “pitching beyond the room” last night whilst discussing his approach at networking meetings like BNI and Peer Group Learning. I loved the phrase because it sums up a truth that most people who network seem to completely ignore and I had to share it with…
Read MoreCombining PowerPoint and live web access
Have you ever had the need to jump to a live website whilst in the middle of a Powerpoint presentation? It is possible by inserting a hyperling to the site you want, within a slide or image. The problem is that doing so results in you having to come out of Powerpoint and into your…
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