Before your talk: plan properly. On the day itself: go with whatever happens. Great quote from Mike Tyson: ‘Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.’ Eisenhower: ‘I have always found planning to be essential, but plans to be useless.’ And another military quote: ‘A plan never survives first contact with the […]
Confident Speaking: Planning vs Go With the Flow Read More »
What does ‘professional’ really mean? I see a lot of people who give talks and they’re boring. They’re flat, they’re two-dimensional, and why? Because they’ve switched into ‘professional’ mode, during which they feel that showing any kind of personality and any authenticity would go against that, it would spoil things, it wouldn’t be respectful. That’s
What’s ‘Professional’, Anyway? Read More »
It’s unique. So it’s interesting. I talk a lot about stories and how you should have stories in your communication. But a couple of people have said to me: ‘But what if my story isn’t interesting?’ Here’s the thing: you believe that, because you are immersed in the middle of your story, you don’t have
Your Story is Interesting Read More »
Likeability is important. And so is credibility. Self-deprecation isn’t cool. I’ve seen lots of people give talks and I don’t know if it’s a British thing, but, they put themselves down. That first moment, that first impression could be good: you’ve smiled, made eye contact: fantastic. But if then the first words out of your
Self-Deprecation is Dangerous Read More »
They’re not the required medium for your presentation; you are. When you’re giving a presentation or pitch, please don’t confuse the slides with the substance of the thing that you are talking about. The slides are not the presentation. The presentation is a series of ideas and concepts, the place you want to take your
Do You Need Slides for Your Presentation? Read More »
