Presentation skills creative professionals Creatives often have to present their work to clients, senior decision-makers, or the general public. These are tactics that can apply to UX Designers presenting to non-design teams, Filmmakers and Visual Artists seeking funding, and others that have to speak with impact and influence a non-creative audience. Edited Transcript of the … Read more
How to Practice a Speech: Key Strategies Practice and rehearsal is essential for giving a great presentation. But occasionally clients or students ask me exactly how much they should practice. Of course the correct answer varies for each person. But the short answer is that you should rehearse until you know the entire presentation by … Read more
One of the most frequent changes I make with my clients is to force them to slow down when they speak. Speaking slowly, a seemingly simple adjustment, almost always creates a huge change in how they sound. But they sometimes ask: “If I slow down, will I be able to say everything I need to?” … Read more
(Listen to the audio or read below) You can’t sell something if you aren’t completely sold on it yourself. Or can you? What if it’s your job to persuasively communicate something, regardless of your personal feelings? We might see this with sales development reps (SDRs), account executives, management consultants, or marketing professionals. We can also … Read more
Three Examples of How to Start a Presentation This past weekend I attended the Synergy Global Forum in New York. Some of the biggest names in business and entrepreneurship presented. It was a public speaking coach‘s dream. Specifically I was interested in how everyone opened their presentations. So I took videos of each speaker right … Read more
Concise Speaking in Professional Communication Concise communication is a frequent challenge we see with clients and students. Concision is hard because professionals have lots of information to convey in a very limited time. Important decision-makers are usually very short on time, and have a limited attention span. You have to get your point across quickly and … Read more
When we first start speaking in public, we have a desire to be reassured by the audience. We subconsciously look for positive reactions from the crowd to signal that we are doing a good job. But if you think about, while this is understandable (we’re nervous and anxious and looking for reassurance), it’s unrealistic. Just … Read more
Presentation Preparation with Limited Time To make your presentation as powerful and persuasive as possible, it takes an investment of time. But, especially in certain industries, you often don’t have the luxury of lots of time to memorize, edit, order and reorder slides, get feedback from friends, and rehearse over and over. So here are some presentation … Read more
Steve Jobs’ Public Speaking Style Steve Jobs’ superior skill with presenting and public speaking was a key factor in his success. There were many bright and talented people in the computer field in the 1970s and 80s. But few had the presence, confidence and verbal ability of Steve Jobs. In this video, just 4 years after … Read more
Have you ever felt your heart beating faster right before giving a speech or presentation? It’s common, especially when there is a lot of anticipation and buildup. For example, when you are scheduled to speak at 10:15 AM and there is a roster of speakers before you at 9:30, 9:45, 10:00… This buildup is what kills us. … Read more