I found a true gem for presenters on the Harvard Business Review website: Lessons from Chris Anderson, curator of the TED conference series. Chris starts out with a story to demonstrate that giving a good talk is highly coachable. He recalls meeting Richard Turere, a 12-year old Masai boy, who came
When you search Amazon.com for presentation skills books, you will get almost 18,000 results. It is difficult to choose which one to read. Many of these presentations skills books are very good and will undoubtedly help you improve you presentations. A few of them, however, are absolute gems that should be in
Many experts agree: one of the best ways to capture the attention of your audience is by using props in presentations. Bill Gates released live mosquitoes in the auditorium when he talked about malaria in his famous TED Talk. And boy, did he get the attention of every single audience member! How
Winston Churchill humorously said: “A good speech should be like a woman’s skirt: long enough to cover the subject and short enough to create interest.” The former prime minister of the United Kingdom knew what he was talking about. Widely regarded as one of the greatest orators of the 20th century, he knew that
Many years ago, when I still lived in Switzerland, I attended a technology convention with a great line up of international speakers. My English was still very limited at that time. Yet the presenter I remember the most was an American presenting in English. He started his talk with a
We all want to be listened to, whether it is in a conversation with a friend, a co-worker, a customer…and especially when we give a speech. But can you make people listen to you? In this TED Talk, Julian Treasure covers what not to do (he calls it the Seven Deadly Sins of Speaking), foundations
Could it be that some of the most memorable speeches have a common structure? They most definitely do according to Nancy Duarte. She uncovers a secret structure of great talks that move the audience repetitively from “what is” to “what could be” states of awareness. Duarte compares Martin Luther King’s “I
Apple’s former chief evangelist, Guy Kawasaki, recently published his 10th book: Enchantment. In the book, Kawasaki shares his insight about the art of changing hearts, minds, and actions. This book is all about influencing others. Kind of a modern day version of Dale Carnegie’s “How to Win Friends and Influence People“. Because
Carmine Gallo, communication coach extraordinaire, recently gave a fascinating presentation to faculty and students at Stanford’s Graduate School of Business. Watch it below to see Carmine Gallo in action and see him demonstrate what he teaches. Pay close attention to how he uses body language (eye contact, open posture, and hand
I’m quite a fan of the TED website and often find videos that are relevant to presenters and product demonstrators. Either because these videos are first class examples of great presentations, or they provide insight that is relevant to improving your own presentation skills. In the video below, Tim Ferris, author of The 4-Hour