Having delivered hundreds of presentation skills courses and assessments since 1999, written over 100 articles and a book on the topic, Trudi and I understand the most common pitfalls that most aspirant presenters plunge into regularly. Many of these pitfalls apply to experienced presenters too. Those who present regularly may think they’re fine, but those that haven’t bothered to critically hone their skills could also be falling short.
[message_box color=”blue”] What’s this about? Simply, it’s about setting yourself up in advance to deliver a dazzling presentation that gets you the result you intended.[/message_box] They’ve come to hear you speak. Their time, like yours is precious. There were many other things they could have been doing. Instead, they chose to attend your presentation. In reality, […]
This article is about why many of us still get presentations wrong, why the missing ingredient is usually….missing, what the missing ingredient is and exactly what to do about it. Here’s a typical presentation scenario: New product, roadshow looming – you’re doing the presentation. You’ve got started on the slide show, working on it when you’ve […]
[message_box color=”blue”]This blog is about preparation: how often you should rehearse, and how to use time to ensure that you are prepared for all presentation related eventualities.[/message_box] It’s true to say that professionals have their talks really well canned – but a sales or business presentation is a different matter. Usually one is speaking on […]
Imagine a sports person taking the field for a key match without months of preparation coupled with the required experience? But this is what so many presenters do – they step up to the podium inadequately prepared thinking their product knowledge and charm will get them through. Maybe it does, or maybe it doesn’t. The […]
Fear of public speaking stems from the very basic need to feel accepted. We want to be seen to be doing well and we fear making fools of ourselves. In order to overcome this fear, most presenters do indeed spend a good deal of time preparing for their presentations, but their time allocation is heavily […]
There are many ways to deliver a good speech. And there is more than one way to prepare a dazzling presentation. But it’s unusual to hear a good speech or presentation that did not involve preparation in one form or another. Here are some common scenarios: You’ve studied your topic and know your stuff. Your […]
In presenting terms, this is often the key difference between experience and inexperience. Our initial attempts at speaking to any audience are so focused on content that we focus on little else. Most of us don’t rehearse – it’s too much like hard work, and besides, there’s always one last slide to touch up. Those […]