Three years ago, my colleagues and I delivered our first virtual training event for participants from around the world. It certainly was a steep learning curve and pretty much everything that could have gone wrong did – including the MD of the Moscow office taking...
One of my favourite quotes about presenting is from George Jessel who said “The human brain is a wonderful organ. It starts to work as soon as you are born and doesn’t stop until you get up to deliver a speech.” Many of the people we...
I’ve lost count of the times I’ve sat through presentations where the presenter came across as confident and engaging right from the start and demonstrated genuine enthusiasm for their subject. Then the first slide goes up. We immediately focus our attention away from what the...
Do you have to deliver ‘virtual’ or ‘remote’ training as part of your role? Or maybe it’s something you know you’ll have to do one day and the thought of it fills you with dread. Last year, that’s exactly how we felt when we were...
In last month’s blog we covered tips on how best to network (How to Network - 7 Practical Tips) and maybe now you feel ready to attend that networking event you’ve been avoiding for the past 6 months! Instead of looking forward to it, you’re now...
How often do you attend presentations and find that the slides pretty much contain the presenter’s script? And you think to yourself “You may just as well have emailed it to me and I wouldn’t need to be here”. What about presentations where the content seems...
You’ve done everything within your control to prepare for that presentation. You’ve: considered the audience – who they are, what they know and what they want ‘begun with the end in mind’ and know what you want the audience to do as a result of attending your...
How many presentations have you watched that were so dull the presenter might as well have given you a blanket and a cup of cocoa to finish off the process of putting you to sleep? Do you ever worry that your presentations are sending people into...
“The Pitch” has gained increased recognition recently as Lord Sugar’s Apprentices are required to pitch their ideas in a way that ensures theirs stand out from the crowd! So, what is a Pitch? Do you have one? Does it get your message across effectively and efficiently?...
As you know, it’s not just what you say that matters, it’s the way that you say it! With so much written about interpreting body language, how are you supposed to know what’s right? Professor Albert Mehrabian's research provides the basis for the widely quoted and over-simplified...
You’ve prepared your presentation, you know your subject, you’ve even rehearsed it in front of the dog (but he wasn’t interested). So, why are you still having nightmares about what could go wrong? When I work with groups to develop their Presentation Skills, I always ask...