I have learned a great amount about public speaking and presentations from the articles of my fellow bloggers. I’ve created the ‘Blog Profile’ series as a way of saying thanks.

Blog Profile: Public Speaking Wire

Linda Kundell’s website is full of presentation tips to help you in your next public speaking engagement. Kundell is a public speaking coach, public relations executive and classically-trained singer who believes that each of us has the potential to be a good speaker. What I like the most about this content is that it is short and to the point. Below is a selection of my favourite posts.

What We Can Learn From President Obama

In this post Linda Kundell takes some time to reflect on Obama’s 2012 State of the Union Address. She delivers excellent analysis on the good public speaking attributes from the president’s speech.

President Obama acknowledged all sides of the room, alternately facing centre and then to one or the other side of the room. His voice was expressive, as he used a palette of tone, colour, dynamics (loud and soft), and rhythm in his delivery. He paused after sentences so the audience could digest what he had to say.

He conveyed a sense of urgency, not only in his remarks, but in his voice, and stressed important words. He sounded confident, decisive and authoritative.

The president used easy-to-understand language that resonates with most people. He backed up and illustrated his points with specific examples and anecdotal examples of real people benefitting from government programs. The presentation itself was well crafted, and segued smoothly from one subject to the next.

The Speaking Style of Bill Gates

This post shares some of the techniques that Bill Gates applies to his public speaking.

Among the takeaways to help you “grab attention”and “persuade”:

Use the “Rule of Three,” and keep your presentation to three major points.

Use visuals.  You don’t have to employ fancy graphics; a simple line drawing or chart can do the trick.

Use a creative attention-grabber that will surprise the audience.

Preparing a Powerpoint Presentation

This post highlights some of the simple ways we can make engaging and informative presentations when presenting the results of projects.

Build suspense. Rather than start at the beginning of the project report, use an excerpt and say, “We’ll tell you more about it later.” This creates a sense of anticipation.

Spice up the slides with visuals and colourful charts. There are usually a lot of statistics to report. To add interest, use visuals and colourful charts.

Minimise slide content. To keep the pace moving, limit the text on each page.