My Advice – Stop Selling, Let People Buy
How to Pitch & Win More Business When strangers come to our door, we are often reluctant to open the door; why? Mostly because we suspect they are going to try and sell us something, e.g. switch energy supplies, sign up for some new local service, change Wi-Fi providers. The fact is nobody wants to […]
Do slides add or detract from your presentation?
Harvard University says they detract! “Harvard just discovered that PowerPoint is worse than useless”, article by Geoffrey James, Contributing Editor, INC.com “PowerPoint was rated (by online audience) as no better than verbal presentation with no visual aids (ouch)” Let me give you my view, based on twenty years as both presenter and coaching presenters to […]
Speak Up and Earn More (Eat the Frog)
Improve Your Communication Skills I was recently in a conversation with a prospective new client, who was interested in engaging me to speak to his team. During the meeting, he asked me to answer the following question. How do I describe to my colleagues what you do in a sentence? My answer was as […]
The #1 Rule for a Successful Life and Business – Build Strong Relationships
Strong relationships are what make life enjoyable This sage piece of advice appeared on my screen thanks to INC.com – A Study of Adult Development at Harvard Medical School, which tracked 724 men – 268 Harvard graduates and 456 less-privileged men who grew up in Boston at the same time – for roughly eight decades. […]
The Presentation Advice that helped elect Bill Clinton
“It’s About Relationships – Stupid”, is the title of one of my favourite presentation workshops. I creatively swiped the message that Bill Clintons campaign manager James Carville wrote on the campaign headquarters whiteboard every morning, when Bill was running for the office of the President of America. “It’s about the economy” If you want to […]
Three Great Pieces of Advice from Obama’s Speechwriter
I love the lead up to Christmas; am I the first to mention the C word this year? Please forgive me but my granddaughter, the wonderful Heidi, arrived yesterday all excited and telling me what she wanted for Christmas – a fish tank, she has given up all hope of getting her first choice, a […]
The THREE NOs to Avoid When Presenting
Presentation Skills & The Three Nos to Avoid! First No: Do not start with “Hello, it’s a lovely day, and I am delighted to have the opportunity to speak with you!” BORING! Also, it’s not necessary to start with your name and your business name. I am sure someone has already introduced you, or it’s […]
Presenting is much more about Confidence than Content
What do I mean by this statement? Have you ever gone to the movies and sat through ninety minutes of content, where you never engaged or rooted for the characters? I read some research recently that said, in the majority of books sold, that the reader never progressed beyond page eighteen! Both of these examples […]
The perfect pitch – podcast
Pitching Skill Workshop: How to Create the Perfect Pitch to Win Sales & Investment Here is a podcast packed with advice and tips on how to create the perfect pitch. I also provide a pitch template which will help you win sales or investment. The basics of creating a successful pitch are the same […]
Talk Worm not Cake and Grow your Business
I am contacted regularly by organisations, be they large or small, who have pitched and failed to have successful outcomes, be it to win sales or investment. I explain to my clients that the pitch is in lots of ways similar to a ‘First Date’. On the ‘First Date’, if you keep talking about how […]