Tactics and tools for when you’re new to presenting and/or don’t know where to start with your presentations
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 I actually … 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 (fantastic) quote … 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
So you’ve heard of “death by powerpoint” and you’ve all be shot at by the screen-full of bullet points on a slide. And you promised not to do it to your audiences – but you did. Why? Because knowing how to replace … Continue readinghow do I replace bullet points in my presentation?
I’ve talked before about one of the best ways to start your presentation, so here’s the other bookend – the close of a presentation. Let’s talk about questions and let’s talk about applause. Your audience expects one of these at the end … Continue readingHow to end your presentation
Great delivery can’t save rubbish content. We often forget that there are three key parts to an outstanding presentation… it’s not just (or even mainly) about how well you present in the room … Continue readingpresentation delivery vs content vs structure
Because of the Corona Virus, lots of people are asking me for urgent help with their online presentations. I’ve split this post into too parts – general help about online presentations and how they’re different from in-the-room presentations and then some specific … Continue readingonline presentations
Confession time: I’m an introvert. You’d not know it if you saw me on stage, of course, and I’ve recently been described as “a very social chatterbox, like me” but that misses the point of the real me… the me that my … Continue readingfive tactics for introvert presenters
Well, while I finally get my act together about to relaunch the (upcoming) “HaveMoreImpact” podcast, I’ve been busy on other people’s 🙂 By co-incidence both came out in the same week. First up is Paul Lancaster’s one-hour long (!) interview for his … Continue readingtwo podcast interviews about presentations
It’s not just presenters who feel the pinch of nerves! Chatting about the Commonwealth Games a while ago, my friend Alan Stevens posted on the Professional Speaking Association’s Facebook group a comment from one of the shooters, saying that they didn’t feel under pressure … Continue readingUsing apples to handle presentation nerves
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 … Continue readingHow to sound interesting in presentations: by telling the toucan
Presentations that share the presenter’s story are both common and usually pointless. Here’s why and what you to do instead. … Continue readingusing your story in presentations
This is a bit of a personal-reaction blog, because a lot of people are asking me about how to make presentations or have meetings for that matter in rooms where there are lots of distractions. (Dedicated presentation-spaces are few and far between!) … Continue readinghandling distractions in your presentations
You might have heard of the VAK model – the idea that people are either Visual Learners, Aural Learners or Kinesthetic Learners. It’s largely tosh and what you should be doing is matching the medium (V, A or K) to the message, … Continue readingWhat are good visuals in your presentation