Better Presentations change your world
Tools, tactics and techniques for when you’ve got presentations sussed – and you want to move them up to really make them have style and impact.
It’s a tricky thing. There are some huge advantages to using music, but some pretty significant pitfalls, too. So here’s your guide to using music well, and avoiding the things can can go wrong. Why use music? Music is intended and designed … Continue readingHow to use music to make better presentations
When we talk about an image being ‘isolated’ we mean that the main object of the image isn’t cluttered up by a messy background – usually there’s no background at all. The image of the girl to the right is isolated. If you … Continue readingIsolated images in slides
There’s quite a lot of evidence that we’re very susceptible animals – easily programmed. (My experience is that we’re depressingly almost as easy to train as dogs – and if you do it right that’s pretty easy!) If you’re not sure, just … Continue readingPresentation environments – and the presentation creation process
I’ve just spent some time working with some ‘early years’ researchers. Given that a research career last for a very long time (mine was quite short at 24 years!) in part because it takes a looooong time to get going (ten years … Continue readingPresentations for academics (and other hard core experts!)
I believe presentations should change something – otherwise they’re just a pastime. So, things that improve the likelihood of change are good (all other things being equal 😉 ). And targeting your presentation makes it more likely to do that. After all, … Continue readingPresentation targeting – the three by three
At the risk of being obvious and boring, I’m going to split this blog into two, big parts.This week it’s why charities need to be particularly good at presenting, and then their particular presentation-problems. Ready? Next week I’ll look at what charities … Continue readingCharity Presentations
I’m writing this on a train. For me, that’s quite unusual, because I tend to use train journeys for consuming content rather than creating it. In part that’s because it’s easier to read my kindle or listen to podcasts than it is … Continue readingUsing your deadtime for better presentations
I’m not particularly one for party games. I’ve had too many experiences of coming last. I guess it says more than I’d like to admit about me and my friends that that matters. But I do rather like Pictionary. For those of … Continue readingPictionary Presentations
Last week, I started to explore some of the work of Mayer about how to make presentations have more impact, in terms of what audience’s remember and can apply. There’s more though, and it’s all good stuff. In terms of the jargon, … Continue readingDoctors’ presentations – part two
I’ve seen lots of doctors make presentations and the brutal version of this blog post could be, frankly “not much”. But that’s odd, because there’s a lot of good research that’s been carried out to see how to improve presentations for medical … Continue readingWhat doctors know about making presentations
Maya Angelou is pretty much my favourite poet. Not quite, but close. But she did write what is probably my favourite poem (Like Dust I Rise). Amongst the many things she’s famous for are pithy bits of wisdom, almost perfectly designed for … Continue readingPresentation rehearsal – learning from Maya Angelou
This one is personal. Unusual for me there isn’t a bunch of research papers behind it (as far as I know no one has written any!) but it’s based on ten years of being a presentations trainer – not a speaker trainer. … Continue readingBeing a Speakers vs Being a Presenter
Foxtrot Oscar? Sorry, what? Well to be honest, I’ve just sworn. Quick badly in fact. If you know what I’ve done great, and welcome to the club. If you don’t let me explain that Foxtrot, Oscar, Whiskey and Tango are part of … Continue readingFoxtrot Oscar presentations – or Whisky Tango Foxtrot
One of my pet peeves when I’m training people in making awesome presentations is that when I ask the, they don’t know what they’re presentation is for. I get waffly answers relating to what it’s about, but that’s not the same thing at … Continue readingMarine Haiku
Right then… let’s face it. Most presentations fail because (as I’ve said until I’m blue in the face!) presenters don’t know what it is they’re trying to do. I’ve posted about that before and I’ll post about it again next week but … Continue readingTargeting your presentations