Let me tell you a story: Mark delivered a #Presentation He was well prepared. Had spent hours making sure his information was accurate. Making sure he had enough content to answer any questions the audience could throw at him. Designed slides that were detailed and right and comprehensive. Had run out of time to speak it […]
Archive | mistakes Speakers make
Editing – is it cheating or less authentic?
Had an interesting conversation with my 12 yo on Sunday when we were walking the dogs. We both like taking photos on my camera and I happened to mention that for a long time, I thought editing my photos was cheating. That adding filters was misrepresenting what was actually there. My son who edits carefully […]
Eye Contact
Remember to look at the camera folks when you communicate on remote platforms this week. Sounds obvious. Harder to do in practice and needs to be intentional. One of my clients sticks a post-it on the laptop just to remind him. Whatever trick works for you. Eye contact is your connection, your control and your […]
Don’t speak…at least not yet
What do you do when you first stand up to speak? In lots of cases what people do is…well speak. But there’s some very good reasons why this reduces the effectiveness of your talk. Here’s a few to ponder: Not everyone is tuned into you, your way of delivery, your voice and your topic. Take […]
Learning from mistakes
When I started my first ‘proper’ job in retail management, my boss called me into his office, said I needed to be good and confident at speaking to groups and immediately set me two tasks. One was to prepare for a short slot at the next management meeting. The other was to go and deliver […]
When are actions more important than words?
I’ve been reminded this morning about the quote which says We judge ourselves by our intentions but judge others by their behaviour. Agree? I refer to this frequently in my workshops on feedback and when I’m working with managers around how to build strong working relationships. But it’s also so so relevant when we think […]
How to think on your feet when speaking in public
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 […]
How to deliver a presentation when you are full of the cold…
Do you watch The Apprentice? It has become a firm family favourite in our house at a time when we rarely all sit down together to watch anything on the TV or find something that appeals to both me, my husband and my teenage son. But there is nothing quite like a programme that generates […]
What people say after your presentation…and what they really mean
What people say and what they really mean: Thanks for enlightening us But you didn’t really think about us at all and what we already knew. In fact you’ve just spent time lecturing at us and missing the point completely. Lovely font on your slides Your voice was so boring and you stayed glued behind […]
Presentations in disguise – are you wearing camouflage?
It is tempting isn’t it…if we have the Big Presentation coming up, the one that matters, the one where it is critical that all goes well – to include all that we know. After all, we want to be credible. We need people to know that we know. But the more information we include the […]
