The Premier Blog For Quickly Improving Your Public Speaking, Presentation & Communication Skills
Every technical organization seems to have a big annual meeting of some sort. The last one of these that I attended was put on by an Executive Director at a firm who liked to do these twice a year. He would fly in all of his direct reports and have them spend 30 minutes each … Read more
So there I was, on one of those conference calls with way too many people and all of a sudden it started to happen. The moderator would ask a question of someone who was on the call and that person would say “Huh? I’m sorry, but could you repeat the question?” This happened over and … Read more
So you can find self-help info on how to deliver better presentations just about anywhere on the web (including this blog!); however, where can you find guidance on how to really deliver a disastrous presentation? Well fear not, that’s what we’ll cover today… Monica is one of my friends who is a professional speaker by … Read more
I probably need to apologize in advance for this rant — I’ve finally reached my breaking point. I somehow got myself trapped in a presentation on changes to my 401k retirement program. I guess that I should start by admitting that I really can’t think of a much more boring topic to talk about in … Read more
By Dr. Jim Anderson In the eternal quest to communicate better and have our message “stick” with our audience, a powerful tool is often overlooked by us technical types. A good story, told at the right time, in the right way, to the right audience can have a lasting effect that can transform an organization. … Read more
If you don’t know who Edward Tufte is, then you really should. He is a Professor Emeritus at Yale University and his specialty is teaching people how to present data using information graphics. He is truly an expert on the best way to present complex information. A long time I was scanning the web when … Read more
In the world of information technology, we actually have it pretty good. We don’t work around spinning industrial machinery nor do we operate fork-lifts or work out in the hot sun. More or less everyone remains fairly healthy and we generally don’t get injured on the job. That being said, we do live in the … Read more
You might think that you have the most amazing information to share with your audience; however, if you don’t structure your speech correctly, your message will never “stick” with them. As we’ve already talked about, you need to have a strong opening and closing in order to get your message across. Here’s 10 tips to … Read more
Whenever we are called on to give a speech or write a report, we almost always focus on what we’d like to say in the middle of the delivery of our material. What’s interesting is that no matter if we are speaking the words or writing them, it’s the way that we start and the … Read more
How many times has this happened: you’ve got an important message to get across, you work hard to put together the best presentation that you can, you practice-practice-practice, and then when you finally deliver your piece de resistance you can clearly see that some folks in the audience are getting it while others have tuned … Read more