How to sound interesting in presentations: by telling the toucan
How to sound interesting in presentations is one of the most common questions I get about training. Here’s possibly the most simple of all the tips for being more interesting
Welcome to the presentations training blog!
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".
How I made a rocking conference presentation
I recently closed Andrew & Pete‘s first Atomic-X conference – it’s a mini-conference leading into a Christmas party. Any why the hell not, eh? Before I go into detail of how I did it and how the presentation went, you need to know the stakes. Andrew & Pete run Atomic, a marketing-and-business-development community that I’m …
how do i start my presentation
“Starting my presentation” is a very common answer to my question “What bugs you most about presenting?”. I mentioned recently that I starting a presentation with ‘a little about me’ is a mistake because it wastes the audience’s attention. I gave a few ideas of what to do instead. It’s probably a good idea to …
using your story in presentations
Presentations that share the presenter’s story are both common and usually pointless. Here’s why and what you to do instead.
why appearances matter in presentations
Appearances in presentations matter because of the Oppenheimer Effect. I’ve known of the Oppenheimer Effect for years – partially as a social phenomenon and partially from personal experience. When I was a researcher I was the best there was at what I did. (Don’t get too excited about that: after over two decades as a …
pluralistic ignorance
I’m a bit of a fan of the podcast You Are Not So Smart. It’s a classily understated podcast based on interviews and grown up conversations with experts. (Lots of people say they are experts, David McRaney talks to the best, trust me!) One recent episode, on something called “Pluralistic ignorance” really struck home for …
MAT model
Tips for better presentations are everywhere. What we need is a way to use those tips to make better presentations – a framework for presentations.
How to sound smart in presentations
Let’s face it, we’ve all been there – we want to make a good impression when we present. Maybe the boss is there, or maybe it’s our first presentation in a new job… perhaps it’s just that you want to give a strong impression to your audience… or whatever… but the need to be seen …
When to use jargon in your presentations
Jargon has a bad press – and in very many ways thats for good reason. We’re constantly told not to use jargon in our presentations but that’s simplistic advice from trainers trying to sound good with cool-sounding-tips. BadVice alert! Let’s look at what jargon actually does first, before we give it a blanket ban in …
