Expert insights. Personalized for you.
While skimming through my Twitter feed the other day, a Tweet caught my eye. It contained the link to a post on Entrepreneur by Jonathan Li entitled 10 Mistakes Successful Speakers Never Make Again. I was intrigued. I thought, I make mistakes; I … Continue reading → Toastmasters John Zimmer practice presentations public speaking MORE
Many of us start the New Year with goals and promises to improve our lives. Of course, old habits die hard, and new ones may not stick. It takes anywhere from 21-254 days to form a new behavior, depending on the complexity of the behavior and the amount of time spent working on the change. […]. Miscellaneous Vocal Health practicing public speaking tips vocal power MORE
“…Clay created a speaking style, unlike any I’ve experienced before,” explains Matt Eventoff, whose company, Princeton Public Speaking, works with professional athletes to help them improve their verbal impact and style. Read More. Originally posted 2014-02-24 18:35:22. » » Read more. MORE
Communicating your presentation idea alone won’t be enough to convince your audience. You should also have the charismatic appeal to enhance your credibility and complement your central message. A likeable image is what leaves them swayed, in awe, and wanting more. It attracts people’s interest and engages them to listen, thus, helping business relationships to nourish. If you want to project credibility and win everyone’s trust, then work on boosting your likeability factor. MORE
At last month's Shake Up Your Speaking retreat, I gave the attendees an exercise that involve picking a temporary tattoo out of a bag, applying it to their arm, and then applying the message on the tattoo to where they were in their speaking journey. The messages included "Do it now," "Focus," "Courage," "Breathe," "Stand up," "I am powerful," and more. As we went around the room, each woman expressed a clear vision of how her tattoo related to her speaking challenges and goals. MORE
About Gravitas Gravitas is about using your personal power in service to others and giving up the pleasure of asserting your power with a sharp voice tone. contacted me and shared that he is strong technically, reports to the highest leaders in his company and gets great feedback that his expertise is valuable. He has […]. MORE
On Thursday September 1, members of the Silicon Valley Speechwriters Roundtable hosted a conference call with with renowned author, speechwriter and professor Bob Lehrman. Robert A. MORE
Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. Having grown up in the restaurant business I love bringing people together for a traditional Thanksgiving feast. It is a time to celebrate community and share our gratitude for our close-knit family and wonderful friends. Yet even with our mild mannered guests, conversations can get awkward. And while we don’t have “family feuds” per se, tensions can mount when we talk about such topics as politics, social issues or world affairs. MORE
I recently attended an event with a long lineup of speakers. I'm like a kid in a candy store at events with lots of speakers! As a speaking coach, I always learn something from watching others present, and of course, I analyze everything about their approach to see what I can pass along to my community. There's a lesson in every presentation, and this particular event had one overarching message that I must share. About 80% of the speakers looked like they had been over-coached. MORE
Presentation Guru is dedicated to helping professionals communicate with real impact in pursuit of whatever they do. We want designers to design, speakers to speak and teachers to teach to the absolute limit of their imagination. In this article Sandra Zimmer talks about her life’s work: her unending quest to help people held back by the fear of speaking out to share their message with the universe. MORE
Malcolm Gladwell is a Canadian journalist author and speaker. He has written five books: The Tipping Point; Blink; Outliers; What the Dog Saw; and David and Goliath. All five made it to the New York Times Bestseller List. I have … Continue reading → Interviews Malcolm Gladwell Niall Ferguson public speaking Tim Ferriss MORE
I recently read an updated statistic about people’s attention span. According to research done at Kaiser Permanente, humans have an average attention span of 8 seconds [one second shorter than a goldfish!]. As presenters, this should be very worrisome. We’ve known for some time that we need to capture our audience’s attention quickly and work hard to keep it by presenting our information in an engaging manner. Now it looks like that’s more important than ever. MORE
Introduction. At SlideModel.com we create professional PowerPoint Templates to help our subscribers save time creating professional presentation decks. An important segment of our customers is interested in presenting business data and require professional visualizations for this task. Dashboard templates include several charts, cards and visual representations of data in a way that is easy present. MORE
Recently, I facilitated a workshop for a group of people who work in their pajamas. One of them told me that she will do her hair and makeup for the rare call when her customer turns on her video camera, but normally she doesn’t have to worry about being seen. What she has to worry […]. Presence Vocal Image conference call engagement perception MORE
This is a review of a blog post by Craig Hadden , who blogs about presenting at Remote Possibilities. Craig is an instructional designer living in Sydney, Australia. Currently, the main tool he uses at work is Articulate Storyline. He loves “the way presenting is both a science and an art.” ” Craig has a Graduate Diploma in Computer-Based Learning. * * * * *. MORE
There would be people who'd disagree with the premise of Michael Parker's new book, It's Not What You Say. I would not be one of them. Parker, a former vice chairman of the global communications and advertising agency Saatchi & Saatchi London, certainly has a wealth of experience with speeches, presentations and pitches -- making them; evaluating them; coaching others to give them. His key message is that, ".most MORE
Research on how our brain works and how it responds to information gives us a better understanding of human behavior. What is becoming increasingly agreed upon is that images (a.k.a. visual cues) used instead of, or in addition to, words make information clearer, easier to access and more memorable. You see, the part of our brain that processes visual images is much larger than the part that processes words so we have a built-in bias for using images to enhance our understanding. MORE
An interesting post in OZY explains why the next hot job in Silicon Valley is speechwriting. Leslie Nguyen-Okwu does a great job interviewing David Murray, head of the Professional Speechwriters Association, who comments that When twentysomethings get “spit out of the administration after working 23 hours a day and [making] s**t money,” they’re “interested in […]. Speechwriting OZY MORE
Prepare: The more you prepare and the better handle you have on the material you are presenting, the better it will go. Practice: Once you have prepared, you MUST practice, early and often. Rumor has it that Churchill practiced for one hour per one minute of speech content he was delivering. MORE
Edward Tufte is a leading expert in the data analysis and data visualization space. His books are classics and required reading for anyone interested in understanding how best to display quantitative information. I read his books just after I left Apple in 2003 to become a college professor in Japan. His books are foundational. I've talked about Tufte in my own books and on this website going back to at least this post in 2005. MORE
Few have the resources to be Renaissance men today, experts say. Jonnelle Marte. "…Jay-Z, MORE
Robert Pirsig’s Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance was published in 1974. The book has sold more than 5 million copies and is widely considered a modern philosophical classic. In Zen, Pirsig discusses the metaphysics of quality. He explores the subject over the course of … Continue reading → Audience Preparation audience Presentation public speaking Robert Pirsig Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance MORE
More and more, presenters are presenting online, using webinar services. So I thought I’d share my experience and maybe comparing webinar services will help you make a choice. I’ve switched to Zoom! I’ve used GoToWebinar for many years but a friend (thanks, Sheila Finkelstein!) introduced me to Zoom. I tested it for several months and a few months ago I took the plunge — I cancelled my GoToWebinar/Meeting account. I was looking for ways to engage more with my audience. MORE
Haruki Murakami is best known as the author of “Norwegian Wood”, and the “The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle” – and many other books. If you haven’t read his books I highly recommend you check them out. But recently I discovered that he is a long-distance runner as well and has written about his running. I have just finished “What I talk about when I talk about running”, and It is excellent. MORE
A few days ago, I listened to David Grier giving a speech. David does crazy runs that make my marathons look like a walk around the block. He ran across the entire Great Wall of China (4200km), across Cuba (1800km), and a bunch of other crazy runs. He is one of the authors of the Real Meal Revolution ! He is a wonderful man with some great advise. Here are some lessons that I learned from him: You need the self-belief to dig deep. No man achieves anything on his own. MORE
If you are over 50, you may have noticed your voice growing weaker, or phlegmier, or sounding more tired than it used to. Sorry to say, but the process that makes your knees sag also makes your vocal folds get thinner and lose strength and tone. Without sufficient bulk, the cords’ opposing tissues can’t meet […]. Vocal Health aging voice ENT exercises otolaryngology Speech Language Pathologist tired voice vocal power MORE
Most presentations benefit from a question-and-answer session (Q&A). Audience members appreciate this time to get clarification, share comments or ideas, and get deeper information on key concepts. However, because the Q&A feels less formal than the main presentation, many speakers neglect to prepare for this time. In reality, the Q&A requires just as much preparation as any other section of your talk. Following are seven tips for a successful Q&A. Encourage questions. MORE
Fry-day, Fry-day: Is pop music frying our vocal cords? MORE
I’m delighted to announce the launch of the new DeFinis Communications website! Much has changed in the world of web design since our last site was created in 2007, and it was definitely time for an upgrade. You may be wondering what took us so long. I have been meaning to upgrade our website for several years. In fact, I’ve had the best intentions and grandest plans, but just never got around to it. The timing never seemed right. MORE
RHETORIC–The Public Speaking Game™. Public speaking. The mere thought of it can set hearts pounding! And yet, being able to communicate one’s ideas in public is an important and sought-after skill. That’s one of the reasons why we created Presentation Guru: to have a forum where people can share ideas and insights that will make the public speaking experience better for speakers and audiences everywhere.… … Build Your Skills Resources Practice Public Speaking Rhetoric MORE
Shortly after he returned to Apple in 1997, Steve Jobs gave an internal presentation to employees from the Town Hall building on the Apple campus (YouTube link below). This was an important presentation to let employees know where the company stood and where it was heading. A typical CEO may have put together a slide deck and run through a kind of SWOT analysis. MORE
Obstacles to exuding the quality of gravitas are some of the greatest psychological barriers that leaders and emerging leaders must conquer. Briefly, I’ll mention what leadership presence or gravitas means. It is giving weight or importance to anything you say or do. Gravitas is the highest octave of self-confidence. Once a leader has enough self-confidence, […]. MORE
Would you use a soap containing drain cleaner as a key ingredient? If you won’t, then you probably won’t use any soap. One of the best drain cleaners is sodium hydroxide. The reason it is so good at cleaning drains is that it dissolves fat. But what happens when the fat dissolves? It turns into soap! MORE
Recently, I worked with a client who was presenting to millennials. He wanted the design to look modern. His designer told him that he should use thin fonts, meaning that the font stroke is thin. He asked me to consult with him on the overall impression of the slides. I thought I’d share with you 10 guidelines for making your presentation look modern that came out of this process. MORE
I read the news today, oh boy About a lucky man who made the grade And though the news was rather sad Well, I just had to laugh. — The Beatles, A Day In The Life I’ve made a decision to avoid reading the news for the rest of 2016. This might strike some as […]. Deep End Book Review MORE
Ten years ago this week, I started blogging. My first post was published on October 9, 2006. Since that time, I've published 1,475 posts, I've saved 86 drafts that are still waiting to be finished and published, and I'm turning about 60 of them into a book to be published by the end of this year. I've repurposed those posts into audios, teleseminars, webinars and trainings, and many of them are finding new life in LinkedIn and other places I never considered! MORE
Scary may be a good thing for Halloween decorations and theme park rides but certainly not for presentation slides. With all things scary taking center stage as we get ready to celebrate Halloween, it's a good time to ensure that we have some tools to engage our presentation audiences rather than scare them with our terrible PowerPoint slides. MORE
“Don’t use a five-dollar word when a fifty-cent word will do.” — Mark Twain. Quotes for Public Speakers Humour language Mark Twain public speaking quotes quotes Samuel Clemens MORE
Manner of Speaking
SEPTEMBER 13, 2016
Malcolm Gladwell is a Canadian journalist author and speaker. He has written five books: The Tipping Point; Blink; Outliers; What the Dog Saw; and David and Goliath. All five made it to the New York Times Bestseller List. I have … Continue reading → Interviews Malcolm Gladwell Niall Ferguson public speaking Tim Ferriss
PowerPoint Tips
DECEMBER 4, 2016
Recently, I worked with a client who was presenting to millennials. He wanted the design to look modern. His designer told him that he should use thin fonts, meaning that the font stroke is thin. He asked me to consult with him on the overall impression of the slides. I thought I’d share with you 10 guidelines for making your presentation look modern that came out of this process.
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Matt Eventoff
AUGUST 24, 2016
Prepare: The more you prepare and the better handle you have on the material you are presenting, the better it will go. Practice: Once you have prepared, you MUST practice, early and often. Rumor has it that Churchill practiced for one hour per one minute of speech content he was delivering.
Craig Strachan - Keep Talking!
MAY 10, 2016
Communicating your presentation idea alone won’t be enough to convince your audience. You should also have the charismatic appeal to enhance your credibility and complement your central message. A likeable image is what leaves them swayed, in awe, and wanting more. It attracts people’s interest and engages them to listen, thus, helping business relationships to nourish. If you want to project credibility and win everyone’s trust, then work on boosting your likeability factor.
Professionally Speaking...
OCTOBER 25, 2016
Scary may be a good thing for Halloween decorations and theme park rides but certainly not for presentation slides. With all things scary taking center stage as we get ready to celebrate Halloween, it's a good time to ensure that we have some tools to engage our presentation audiences rather than scare them with our terrible PowerPoint slides.
Ian Griffin - Professionally Speaking
OCTOBER 11, 2016
I read the news today, oh boy About a lucky man who made the grade And though the news was rather sad Well, I just had to laugh. — The Beatles, A Day In The Life I’ve made a decision to avoid reading the news for the rest of 2016. This might strike some as […]. Deep End Book Review
Speak Schmeak
SEPTEMBER 24, 2016
I recently attended an event with a long lineup of speakers. I'm like a kid in a candy store at events with lots of speakers! As a speaking coach, I always learn something from watching others present, and of course, I analyze everything about their approach to see what I can pass along to my community. There's a lesson in every presentation, and this particular event had one overarching message that I must share. About 80% of the speakers looked like they had been over-coached.
Speaking Pro Central brings together the best content for professional speakers from the widest variety of industry thought leaders.
Speaking Freely
AUGUST 28, 2016
About Gravitas Gravitas is about using your personal power in service to others and giving up the pleasure of asserting your power with a sharp voice tone. contacted me and shared that he is strong technically, reports to the highest leaders in his company and gets great feedback that his expertise is valuable. He has […].
DeFinis Communications
NOVEMBER 29, 2016
Most presentations benefit from a question-and-answer session (Q&A). Audience members appreciate this time to get clarification, share comments or ideas, and get deeper information on key concepts. However, because the Q&A feels less formal than the main presentation, many speakers neglect to prepare for this time. In reality, the Q&A requires just as much preparation as any other section of your talk. Following are seven tips for a successful Q&A. Encourage questions.
Presentation Guru
DECEMBER 13, 2016
Presentation Guru is dedicated to helping professionals communicate with real impact in pursuit of whatever they do. We want designers to design, speakers to speak and teachers to teach to the absolute limit of their imagination. In this article Sandra Zimmer talks about her life’s work: her unending quest to help people held back by the fear of speaking out to share their message with the universe.
Manner of Speaking
OCTOBER 17, 2016
Robert Pirsig’s Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance was published in 1974. The book has sold more than 5 million copies and is widely considered a modern philosophical classic. In Zen, Pirsig discusses the metaphysics of quality. He explores the subject over the course of … Continue reading → Audience Preparation audience Presentation public speaking Robert Pirsig Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance
PowerPoint Tips
APRIL 25, 2016
Introduction. At SlideModel.com we create professional PowerPoint Templates to help our subscribers save time creating professional presentation decks. An important segment of our customers is interested in presenting business data and require professional visualizations for this task. Dashboard templates include several charts, cards and visual representations of data in a way that is easy present.
Matt Eventoff
AUGUST 24, 2016
Fry-day, Fry-day: Is pop music frying our vocal cords?
Craig Strachan - Keep Talking!
MAY 3, 2016
Haruki Murakami is best known as the author of “Norwegian Wood”, and the “The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle” – and many other books. If you haven’t read his books I highly recommend you check them out. But recently I discovered that he is a long-distance runner as well and has written about his running. I have just finished “What I talk about when I talk about running”, and It is excellent.
Professionally Speaking...
MARCH 11, 2016
There would be people who'd disagree with the premise of Michael Parker's new book, It's Not What You Say. I would not be one of them. Parker, a former vice chairman of the global communications and advertising agency Saatchi & Saatchi London, certainly has a wealth of experience with speeches, presentations and pitches -- making them; evaluating them; coaching others to give them. His key message is that, ".most
Ian Griffin - Professionally Speaking
SEPTEMBER 23, 2016
On Thursday September 1, members of the Silicon Valley Speechwriters Roundtable hosted a conference call with with renowned author, speechwriter and professor Bob Lehrman. Robert A.
Speak Schmeak
OCTOBER 15, 2016
Ten years ago this week, I started blogging. My first post was published on October 9, 2006. Since that time, I've published 1,475 posts, I've saved 86 drafts that are still waiting to be finished and published, and I'm turning about 60 of them into a book to be published by the end of this year. I've repurposed those posts into audios, teleseminars, webinars and trainings, and many of them are finding new life in LinkedIn and other places I never considered!
Kate's Voice
DECEMBER 31, 2016
Many of us start the New Year with goals and promises to improve our lives. Of course, old habits die hard, and new ones may not stick. It takes anywhere from 21-254 days to form a new behavior, depending on the complexity of the behavior and the amount of time spent working on the change. […]. Miscellaneous Vocal Health practicing public speaking tips vocal power
Speaking Freely
MARCH 7, 2016
Obstacles to exuding the quality of gravitas are some of the greatest psychological barriers that leaders and emerging leaders must conquer. Briefly, I’ll mention what leadership presence or gravitas means. It is giving weight or importance to anything you say or do. Gravitas is the highest octave of self-confidence. Once a leader has enough self-confidence, […].
DeFinis Communications
NOVEMBER 23, 2016
Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. Having grown up in the restaurant business I love bringing people together for a traditional Thanksgiving feast. It is a time to celebrate community and share our gratitude for our close-knit family and wonderful friends. Yet even with our mild mannered guests, conversations can get awkward. And while we don’t have “family feuds” per se, tensions can mount when we talk about such topics as politics, social issues or world affairs.
Presentation Zen
DECEMBER 7, 2016
Edward Tufte is a leading expert in the data analysis and data visualization space. His books are classics and required reading for anyone interested in understanding how best to display quantitative information. I read his books just after I left Apple in 2003 to become a college professor in Japan. His books are foundational. I've talked about Tufte in my own books and on this website going back to at least this post in 2005.
Manner of Speaking
NOVEMBER 7, 2016
While skimming through my Twitter feed the other day, a Tweet caught my eye. It contained the link to a post on Entrepreneur by Jonathan Li entitled 10 Mistakes Successful Speakers Never Make Again. I was intrigued. I thought, I make mistakes; I … Continue reading → Toastmasters John Zimmer practice presentations public speaking
PowerPoint Tips
JANUARY 8, 2016
More and more, presenters are presenting online, using webinar services. So I thought I’d share my experience and maybe comparing webinar services will help you make a choice. I’ve switched to Zoom! I’ve used GoToWebinar for many years but a friend (thanks, Sheila Finkelstein!) introduced me to Zoom. I tested it for several months and a few months ago I took the plunge — I cancelled my GoToWebinar/Meeting account. I was looking for ways to engage more with my audience.
Matt Eventoff
AUGUST 24, 2016
Few have the resources to be Renaissance men today, experts say. Jonnelle Marte. "…Jay-Z,
Craig Strachan - Keep Talking!
APRIL 25, 2016
Would you use a soap containing drain cleaner as a key ingredient? If you won’t, then you probably won’t use any soap. One of the best drain cleaners is sodium hydroxide. The reason it is so good at cleaning drains is that it dissolves fat. But what happens when the fat dissolves? It turns into soap!
Professionally Speaking...
FEBRUARY 19, 2016
Research on how our brain works and how it responds to information gives us a better understanding of human behavior. What is becoming increasingly agreed upon is that images (a.k.a. visual cues) used instead of, or in addition to, words make information clearer, easier to access and more memorable. You see, the part of our brain that processes visual images is much larger than the part that processes words so we have a built-in bias for using images to enhance our understanding.
Ian Griffin - Professionally Speaking
NOVEMBER 1, 2016
An interesting post in OZY explains why the next hot job in Silicon Valley is speechwriting. Leslie Nguyen-Okwu does a great job interviewing David Murray, head of the Professional Speechwriters Association, who comments that When twentysomethings get “spit out of the administration after working 23 hours a day and [making] s**t money,” they’re “interested in […]. Speechwriting OZY
Speak Schmeak
APRIL 26, 2016
At last month's Shake Up Your Speaking retreat, I gave the attendees an exercise that involve picking a temporary tattoo out of a bag, applying it to their arm, and then applying the message on the tattoo to where they were in their speaking journey. The messages included "Do it now," "Focus," "Courage," "Breathe," "Stand up," "I am powerful," and more. As we went around the room, each woman expressed a clear vision of how her tattoo related to her speaking challenges and goals.
Kate's Voice
SEPTEMBER 12, 2016
If you are over 50, you may have noticed your voice growing weaker, or phlegmier, or sounding more tired than it used to. Sorry to say, but the process that makes your knees sag also makes your vocal folds get thinner and lose strength and tone. Without sufficient bulk, the cords’ opposing tissues can’t meet […]. Vocal Health aging voice ENT exercises otolaryngology Speech Language Pathologist tired voice vocal power
Presentation Guru
NOVEMBER 21, 2016
RHETORIC–The Public Speaking Game™. Public speaking. The mere thought of it can set hearts pounding! And yet, being able to communicate one’s ideas in public is an important and sought-after skill. That’s one of the reasons why we created Presentation Guru: to have a forum where people can share ideas and insights that will make the public speaking experience better for speakers and audiences everywhere.… … Build Your Skills Resources Practice Public Speaking Rhetoric
DeFinis Communications
MARCH 8, 2016
I’m delighted to announce the launch of the new DeFinis Communications website! Much has changed in the world of web design since our last site was created in 2007, and it was definitely time for an upgrade. You may be wondering what took us so long. I have been meaning to upgrade our website for several years. In fact, I’ve had the best intentions and grandest plans, but just never got around to it. The timing never seemed right.
Presentation Zen
SEPTEMBER 29, 2016
Shortly after he returned to Apple in 1997, Steve Jobs gave an internal presentation to employees from the Town Hall building on the Apple campus (YouTube link below). This was an important presentation to let employees know where the company stood and where it was heading. A typical CEO may have put together a slide deck and run through a kind of SWOT analysis.
Manner of Speaking
DECEMBER 6, 2016
“Don’t use a five-dollar word when a fifty-cent word will do.” — Mark Twain. Quotes for Public Speakers Humour language Mark Twain public speaking quotes quotes Samuel Clemens
PowerPoint Tips
NOVEMBER 12, 2016
This is a review of a blog post by Craig Hadden , who blogs about presenting at Remote Possibilities. Craig is an instructional designer living in Sydney, Australia. Currently, the main tool he uses at work is Articulate Storyline. He loves “the way presenting is both a science and an art.” ” Craig has a Graduate Diploma in Computer-Based Learning. * * * * *.
Matt Eventoff
AUGUST 24, 2016
“…Clay created a speaking style, unlike any I’ve experienced before,” explains Matt Eventoff, whose company, Princeton Public Speaking, works with professional athletes to help them improve their verbal impact and style. Read More. Originally posted 2014-02-24 18:35:22. » » Read more.
Craig Strachan - Keep Talking!
APRIL 20, 2016
A few days ago, I listened to David Grier giving a speech. David does crazy runs that make my marathons look like a walk around the block. He ran across the entire Great Wall of China (4200km), across Cuba (1800km), and a bunch of other crazy runs. He is one of the authors of the Real Meal Revolution ! He is a wonderful man with some great advise. Here are some lessons that I learned from him: You need the self-belief to dig deep. No man achieves anything on his own.
Professionally Speaking...
JANUARY 5, 2016
I recently read an updated statistic about people’s attention span. According to research done at Kaiser Permanente, humans have an average attention span of 8 seconds [one second shorter than a goldfish!]. As presenters, this should be very worrisome. We’ve known for some time that we need to capture our audience’s attention quickly and work hard to keep it by presenting our information in an engaging manner. Now it looks like that’s more important than ever.
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