Life is too short to listen to BORING Presentations …

Presentation Skills Coaching – Choose engaging & entertaining stories and your audience will put away their devices It’s an old joke, but a good one concerning public speaking – “If you have not struck oil after ten minutes, stop boring.” Recently I sat through one of the most boring speeches I’ve heard in a long, […]
Stories get ‘YES’ vote!

Storytelling for Business If your business was put to a referendum would your prospects vote YES? Read on and learn how story telling will help your business win sales and investment. I listened to Charlie Bird being interviewed about his new book on the radio recently. ‘A Day in May’ The book is a […]
Stories Top Business Jargon Every Time

How Irish Start-Ups Improved Their Business Opportunities Here are some very brief, yet highly engaging, stories explaining how Irish start-ups I worked with recently got attention and improved their business opportunities. Elder Home Share – Founder Saoirse Sheridan “Elderhomeshare.ie is Dublin’s first home share service and provides peace of mind for elderly citizens to […]
STORIES – Win Sales & Investment

Pitching For Investment https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4LZe3vbENz0
Good Communications are not soft skills – they are Critical skills

I regularly talk to organisations, and when I say that I have looked at, and studied, their website, to get a feel for the organisation before attending the meeting, the usual response I get from the management is, do not pay attention to the website, it’s out of date and does not really represent who […]
Tide is turning against the bullies

The Traits of Great Team Leaders Recently I read a great article in the Sunday Independent by Eamonn Sweeney, one of my favourite sports journalists and philosophers. His headline: “Tide is turning against the bullies”. In his article he addressed the topic “Nice Guys […]
Do you want Customers and/or Funders to beat a path to your door?

What Makes a Successful Business? In a recent conversation with Gene Murphy (Entrepreneur in Residence in the Bank of Ireland) a discussion arose over lunch about what I believe are the three requirements for a successful business. Here is what I believe distinguishes successful businesses from […]
Tips to Improve Your Handicap When Speaking in Public (Become a Winner)

I remember, as a young man, visiting a manufacturing company in Wales which employed hundreds of people, in what would now be described as heavy engineering. I was visiting in order to get training and become familiar with their products. I was in my 20s, in […]
4 Steps to a Successful Pitch Presentation

I recently received a slide deck from a prospective client who wishes to have more success when pitching for business and was seeking my help. On reviewing their deck, I made the following observations. Like the majority of decks I receive, it started by telling all about themselves and then preceded to tell all about […]
Pitch like a Big Time Movie Producer/Director!

A High Concept Pitch to a movie mogul (If such a person still exists?) is where you are given one sentence to pitch your idea. Let me give you some examples: Chicken Run – It’s “The Great Escape” with chickens Alien – It’s “Jaws” on a spaceship Speed – It’s “Die Hard” on a bus What you are hoping […]

