To be a great public speaker, you and what you say need to be remembered. People should leave your presentation with three things: one message, one experience, and one visual that they will remember. Besides making you memorable, these three things can serve a triggers that help your audience recall other parts of your presentation.
Here are our 10 favorite resources for improving your public speaking skills (none of which involve imagining everyone in their underwear).
Lots of things can go wrong when designing PowerPoints. Let’s talk about how to make PowerPoints right.
In the government, we circulate thousands of documents each year. The purposes of these documents vary from helping people apply for services to informing the public about new regulations. But, let’s be honest. The government is not known for disseminating easy to read documents. Fortunately, that is quickly changing as agencies are realizing that to… Read more »
As if giving a compelling presentation isn’t challenge enough, what do you do in a situation that makes it even harder for your presentation to be a success? You might have to present first thing in the morning or at the end of a long day. You unexpectedly have a lot less time than you plannedRead… Read more »
Did your last presentation leave your colleagues rubbing their eyes and chugging coffee? During your time at the front of the room, did your voice sound a lot like when an adult talked in the old Peanuts cartoons? Then your presentations are putting your audience to sleep—and your professional reputation is taking a hit in the process. The ability to communicate verbally,Read… Read more »
You want your presentations to show others that you’re credible, confident, and engaging. Using disfluencies such as um, uh, ah, eh, er, etc. erodes your speech. They bore audiences and make them question if you know what you’re talking about. Think you don’t use disfluencies? Use your Smartphone to record yourself; you may be surprised by the results.Read… Read more »
You need to rethink your PowerPoint presentations. We’ve all had the experience of being lured into a drowsy stupor by a lackluster presentation, but it doesn’t have to be that way. A great PowerPoint can harness the power of visual aids, becoming a phenomenal recall aid to expand the impact of your presentation. Ready toRead… Read more »
Are your workplace interactions motivating and engaging? Or stiff and stale? Other than email, in which format do most of your professional interactions take place? Presentations? Status reports? Discussions? Brainstorming sessions? Whatever your answer, ask yourself if the primary formats are particularly engaging or effective. If not, consider the contributions of “liberating structures,” an innovation broughtRead… Read more »
During your career, you might have the opportunity – or chore – of putting together a workshop, seminar or training session. It may be for work or be a committee task you’re assigned while a member of a professional association. You might be responsible for the content or just be the person in charge ofRead… Read more »