It’s your worst nightmare. You are delivering your important presentation. It’s all going to plan. You are on a roll. And then a member of the audience asks you a question left of field. Or you are asked to deliver your twenty minute speech in fifteen because there’s been an over run. Or there is […]
Speaking in public is a skill. Sure, there are those who love the limelight and relish the opportunity to be standing up there, strutting their stuff. And yes, there are those who seemingly can speak off the top of their head, clearly, concisely and with confidence (but not as many as you’d think!). And I […]
Be yourself – everyone else is taken, Oscar Wilde Lots of clients tell me (and I believe them!) that they feel confident and relaxed when they are speaking one to one or in a familiar meeting or even in small groups but oh dear, when they have to stand up all their personality seems to […]
Oh my! It started with the loud pulsating music, followed by dancing girls, followed by lights, flashing images…and that was before the speaker had even arrived on stage. To be fair, they made a valiant attempt to keep up the expectation of that build up and for the next two hours bounced, strode, jumped and […]
For lots of us when we get the opportunity stand up and speak out, it is on a subject close to our hearts – our business, our plans, our passion. Even when we work in an organisation perhaps we love what we do, think our product or service is the bees knees, feel proud to […]
What do you do when you start to listen to a presentation? Settle yourself down. Get your pen and notepad out. Check who else is in the room. Check your phone. Chat to the person next to you. Check your phone again. Now you are sitting, start to think of all the things you need […]
It’s a common fear. Not that we have to stand up in front of a group of people and articulate a viewpoint per se but that no one will listen to us. Imagine the scene: You are there at the front of the room. You’ve spent days if not weeks preparing for your presentation. You […]
Do you love an argument? Do you hate conflict? I was listening to Lord David Owen on the radio in the car the other day. A high profile, big personality MP now sitting in the House of Lords, he explained how he liked controversy, he enjoyed an argument, he welcomed discussion, alternative points of views, […]
It’s one of the hardest questions you will get asked in business. ‘What do you do…?’ Sounds so innocuous doesn’t it? But beware…if you answer it blindly, without thought, you could get into hot water! What do you do…? Well behind the questions is a whole range of questions the asker might want answers to: […]
I’ve had enough: Of people who insist on telling us all they know and cramming it in ten minutes Of people who don’t take the time to find out about their audiences Of people who don’t prepare because they prefer to speak from the heart Of people who put their scripts on PowerPoint so they […]
The Day my projector broke…presentation disaster?
Three reasons why PowerPoint stinks
Feedback is useless…
Could you present on anything?
Catherine Sandland: Oh I like this story. Thank ou for sharing....
Colin Barnes: A great lineI heard from a speaker, who was speak...
Catherine Sandland: Thank you for posting this link. I absolutely agr...
@LightbulbJo Jo Cook: One way to focus is using Action Mapping. It bring...
Catherine Sandland: Hi Kieron, thank you for your comment. This is an...