Never, Never Attempt To Memorise a Pitch!
Why do presenters always attempt to memorise presentations? You can learn to recite a poem or the lyrics to a song over days or weeks. Yet, if you are uncomfortable in front of your audience, you may still struggle to remember the words; I know I do! So here is my best advice on preparing […]
A Picture Paints a 1,000 Words
Presentation Tip I acquired a new corporate client recently, and by way of getting underway, I asked them to send me a sample of a typical presentation deck. Imagine my lack of surprise when I received a deck full of bland slides, each slide populated with seven to eight bullet points. This is not a […]
Let’s BAN the words Presentation, Pitch, Lecture, Sermon!
During the pandemic, I decided to educate myself on online presenting as technology is not my strong suit. Using various platforms such as Zoom, Meet, Teams, etc., screen sharing became very popular during the pandemic. They’re all different in subtle ways and each has its peculiarities. I needed to familiarize myself with them all, as […]
Tips to Improve your Online Presentation Skills
I always emphasise to my clients that if they wish to be good presenters, they critically need to take Ernest Hemingway’s advice. “When writing a book, start by writing down the truest thing you know and then write down the second truest thing you know”. The same applies to creating a presentation; unless you believe […]
Planning a Car Journey &Steps to a great pitch – The Similarities
In the past, if you were planning a car journey, you would look at the map and plan your route. Now sat-nav does this for you and often offers you a couple of choices: The most direct, quickest and probably the most expensive, as you are likely to travel further and pay several tolls. Or the more traditional route, more scenic and more […]
Send Me Your Deck!
Executive Coaching Skills This is your wish; you want to send your Deck to a potential investor or prospective partner or customer, yet you have that sinking feeling in the pit of your stomach as you know, deep down, it’s not good enough! When I engage with a prospective client, it’s usually the first thing I ask them, to send me their existing slide deck; I also […]
Turn your Interview into a Conversation and get the Job
Job Interview Tips & Techniques Recently I was asked by a former client and now a friend to help her prepare for a very important job interview. My friend told me that this position was her dream job. The first interview required her to deliver a ten-minute presentation plus a fifteen-minute ‘Question and Answer’ session […]
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 […]
Tips on How to Engage an Audience
How to create an engaging and persuasive Presentation Please do not start with slides if you wish to create an engaging and persuasive conversation (presentation) that leads to success for you and your organisation. One of the world’s leading and most successful companies engaged me recently to coach a large number of their technical team […]
The EYES Have It!
Having spent a couple of hours walking around the National Gallery of Ireland, I found myself in the hall of portraits. This is a collection of paintings of famous Irish people, both living and dead, by famous Irish artists, also both living […]