Tactics and tools for when you’re new to presenting and/or don’t know where to start with your presentations
I’ve seen a lot of presentations recently… and I mean a lot of bloody presentations!… that pretend they’re offering proof that ‘the system they’re presenting about’ works. What they hide are sales pitch/presentation illustrating that the system in question can … Continue readingwhy your presentation doesn’t contain proof
I often get asked how to make ‘stand out’ moments in presentations. People want/need presentations to be memorable, and moments that make your audience go “Wow” are a great way of doing that. But there’s a problem. Presentations with stand-out … Continue readingwhat’s wrong with wow momets in presentations
Presentations are outside most people’s comfort zone, but before you go jumping out of your comfort zone and lining up the big gigs, check out why it might be dumb! … Continue readingjumping out of your comfort zone is dumb
Better presentations change your world. Here’s a simple way of thinking about structuring them if you’re a scientist, researcher or geek! … Continue readingmaking better presentations using a modelling approach
I think we’re all agreed that presentations are intended to do something, right? Better presentations make that outcome more likely – don’t they? We don’t stand up and present (or sit !) just for entertainment’s sake. So why do we … Continue readingBetter Presentations from better hygiene
I while ago I presented at a big multi-speaker conference, and the speakers got compared… it’s inevitable in a way, I suppose. It wasn’t the speakers who were comparing each other (except to help each other out, nicely)… it was some people … Continue readingI wasn’t the most impressive presenter at the conference
“What do you want your presentation to do?” It’s not a hard question – well not any more than “What’s the meaning of life?”. 🙂 Typically, when I ask it, the answers I get are to do with process, not … Continue readingdesigning your presentation with just one question… and then more questions
Content and structure are the Cinderellas of presentations. Everyone fusses about Delivery but that’s not where the bread-and-butter of presenting happens. The real magic lies in knowing what to say and what order to say it in. So here’s a … Continue readingPresentation design by using phone calls
It’s all about the story, we’re told. Tosh. Stories are great – fantastic even – and they’re an amazingly powerful tool in your presentation tool kit but they’re not the answer to everything. They might be the closes thing there … Continue readingreconnecting with your audience
Intro I did an interview recently with the wonderful (and lovely) Geoff Nicholson for his podcast, talking about the new #ReluctantStoryteller project I’m working on. I’ve popped this into a quick video if you want to watch for three minutes … Continue readingstorytelling – the four steps
There’s a lot of crap presentations training around at the moment saying “tell stories”… just “tell stores”. That’s about as much use as saying “be tall” to someone struggling because they can’t reach the top shelf. I used to have … Continue readingA story matrix and using them one your presentation
Presenting is like gardening. When I plant something in my veg patch there are a lot of things that determine whether it grows (or grows well). There’s the quality of the plant (my presentation preparation and content); there’s how well … Continue readingPresenting is like gardening
Credibility as a presenter comes from how much your audience like you (Warmth) and how much they trust you (Competence). You need both. … Continue readingbeing more charismatic when you present
A long time ago I wrote about what we can learn about presenting from Maya Angelou – mainly about the need and approaches to rehearsing. It’s time I updated to that. In particular I want to move on from that … Continue readingMore maya Angelou
How your room is set up makes a huge difference to how well your presentation is likely to go. Lots of it is obvious but some not… … Continue readinghow to lay out the room for your presentation