Category: Basic Tips
Tactics and tools for when you’re new to presenting and/or don’t know where to start with your presentations
reconnecting with your audience
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
storytelling – the four steps
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
A story matrix and using them one your presentation
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
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
being more charismatic when you present
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
More maya Angelou
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 to lay out the room for your presentation
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
how do I replace bullet points in my 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 … Continue readinghow do I replace bullet points in my presentation?
How to end your 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 … Continue readingHow to end your presentation
presentation delivery vs content vs structure
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
online presentations
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 … Continue readingonline presentations
five tactics for introvert presenters
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 … Continue readingfive tactics for introvert presenters
two podcast interviews about presentations
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 … Continue readingtwo podcast interviews about presentations
Using apples to handle presentation nerves
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 … Continue readingUsing apples to handle presentation nerves
