Blog posts on Delivery
Why striving to be authentic can be a trap
I suggested to Michaela that when she was delivering the most important parts of her presentation, she stand square to the audience. She pushed back on my suggestion, claiming that it wouldn't be authentic. What she really meant is that it didn't feel natural to her...
The first time is never the best
At the beginning of term, a ceramics teacher divided his students into two groups, Group A and Group B. To Group A he said: “I want you to make as many pots as possible. At the end of the term I'll grade you on the weight of your pots.” To Group B he said: “I want you...
The 5-step cure for boring body language
Could your body language be more expressive? Do you inhibit your natural body language when you're public speaking because of your self-consciousness? Or maybe you've been told (by a well-meaning but misguided person) that you wave your arms around too much? As a...
How to use the Magic of Live to be a Compelling Speaker
Live performances are magic. We pay to see our favorite bands performing even though we can listen to the songs anytime for free. We travel long distances to hear a famous speaker live, even though we can watch their speech online at home. We pay more for a Broadway...
How to Look Authoritative when you Feel Anything But
Having to deliver a presentation to people who are older than you, more important than you, or more expert than you, can make you doubt yourself. To look more credible and authoritative do the opposite of what a person lacking in confidence would do. Typically, they...
Three good reasons to distribute your handout after the presentation
In my last post on presentation handouts I suggested that it's best to distribute your handout before your presentation. The comments to that post identified three situations when it makes sense to distribute your handout after the presentation. As not everyone wades...
13 Best Practice Tips for Effective Presentation Handouts
Your presentation handout is the lasting concrete manifestation of your presentation. It’s an important part of the total experience for the audience: But most of us focus on preparing what happens during the presentation, not what happens afterwards. Here are the...
How to stop worrying about forgetting what you want to say
Do you have a fear of missing out something critical from your presentation? This concern can sabotage your presentation in three ways: To alleviate your concern you put everything you want to say on your slides You write a script and read from it. You spend the whole...
How to stop waffling once and for all
Waffling happens when your brain stops working but your mouth keeps going. The solution to waffling is simple: When you have nothing ready to say, stop, look at your notes, work out what you to say, look up again and start talking. Easy to say. Difficult to do. That’s...
How to keep to time during your presentation
Do you regularly go over time when you’re delivering a presentation? If a time limit has been set for your presentation, then it’s your responsibility to finish it within that time. Consider it as part of the contract between you and your audience. Here are some tips...
