This blog a resource for presenters — not pro-speakers, but real people who need to make presentations as part of their 'day job'.
I have to be honest, this blog only gets updated every month or so. If you want a bit more, sign up for the (almost) weekly newsletter instead called "TalkTactics".
Once upon a time I was taking instruction on playing the piano with a view to becoming a professional pianist. I never got that far (I was never that good, not even close!) but it gave me an interesting perspective on how professional performers work. And it’s not like it’s portrayed in the movies. (C’mon, …
Read more “How to present better: Presentation stage management”
Your brain is a wonderful thing. Some brains are more wonderful than others, of course (such as my wife’s) And people have been researching how they work for a long time. Even before neuro-science became popular (or even possible!), people were looking our learning capacity… How does this research apply to presenting? Way back in …
Read more “How much can tell your audience in a presentation?”
I’ve been writing and providing presentation wisdom(?) for a few other people recently! Here are two for the marking guys Andrew&Pete. Firstly, here’s a tongue-in-cheek look at using powerpoint templates. (Caution – large does of sarcasm are involved) https://www.andrewandpete.com/powerpoint-templates/ And more recently I look at how to structure your presentation using an analogy taken from …
If I had a pound for every time I’ve heard someone complain about seeing themselves present on video, just look at themselves on a photograph, or even listen to a recording of their own voice… well I’d be rich enough not to do this 🙂 As it is, however, no one pays me when they …
Read more “Why You Hate Seeing Yourself Present (And What To Do About It)”
You’re known to have good presentation skills, so you’ve been volunteered… It’s coming up to that time of year again – the one when you have to do ‘reviews’… presentations which look back on how the year has gone… that sort of thing. Frankly (and personally) they tend to fill me with dread, ‘cos most …
In the last couple of posts, I’ve talked about: why literal scripts aren’t a good idea for your presentation; and a few things you can do instead of using a script while you present. Now it’s time to wrap up the series by looking at how you memorise what you’re going to say, whether or …
In the previous post in this series, I looked at why presentations without scripts were generally not a such a good thing. This time, I’m looking at what you can do instead. Why do you want a script for your presentation? The main reason – by which I mean the reason almost everyone says they …
I’m a member of an online support group, where there’s been a conversation recently about whether or not scripts are a good thing in presentations. Early opinion was divided – some said “scripts are a good thing in presentations” and there was the obviously opposite camp who said “scripts are bad thing”. At one point, …
Cicely Berry died on the 15th of October this year (2018). This is not an obituary because she needs me to add to the pile of adulation in the same way as Jeff Bezos (net worth $112b) needs my spare fiver. On the other hand, I can’t claim this is purely personal either, because I …
Leading a team or doing your own marketing? Awesome! But not having the impact on the world you think you should? Less Awesome.
StoryMaking is my new book that looks at how to tactically use stories in your presentations, your marketing and your sales. It's my usual light-weight style over heavy-weight research!
This will close in 30 seconds
The StoryMaking System is the result of reading (in mind-numbing detail) over 400 peer-reviewed research papers, dozens of books, thousands of ours of observational research and blood sweat and tears!
It's the framework for designing a presentation which gives you the fastest way to getting something is (almost) guaranteed to work. It gives your audience what they need - and only what they need - to be impacted.
The key elements are:
This will close in 20 seconds
