Donald Trump has developed a reputation as the most controversial and divisive US president America has ever seen. The former businessman and Apprentice host has shown the world how to make more headlines than practically anybody else. In this post I present four communication lessons you can learn from “The Donald”. Sure he’s not as gifted a speaker as his […]
Watching his performances in later years, it’s easy to forget that former US president Bill Clinton was almost booed off the stage early in his speaking career. At the Democratic Convention of 1988 the relatively unknown Clinton was scheduled to speak for 15 minutes, but droned on for over a half-hour. His biggest applause line came at […]
The following is a guest post from Priscilla Morris who runs Loud & Clear Voice Coaching based in the UK. Her goal is to make the business sector more aware of the importance of the voice in persuading clients to buy, managing teams and influencing others positively. Have you thought how often you and your staff use your voice […]
I’m delighted to introduce an interview with Nancy Duarte. Nancy is an American writer, speaker, and CEO of Duarte Design, the largest design firm in Silicon Valley and a global leader behind some of the most influential visual messages in business and culture. She is a communications expert who has been featured in Fortune, Forbes, Wired, Wall […]
There’s no doubt about it – comedians are master public speakers. But why? Let’s try and figure it out. In this blog post I am assessing some of the most common techniques used by comedians to make their shows memorable. The simple five-step formula in this article can help any speaker to transform their presentation. Let’s jump straight in […]
You aced the presentation — don’t let the Q&A session take you down! Whether it’s a room full of people or just a few team members, properly handling the question and answer section of a presentation will either enforce your message — or undermine it. In this post I share 10 tips and techniques for handling the […]
When you boil it down, the ultimate purpose of any presentation, especially in business, is to persuade. Even if you are not looking to make a sale, gain a contract or change audience members’ minds, you are still attempting to persuade them to listen to you, and to accept your point of view. It’s a task […]
The late Apple CEO Steve Jobs (1955-2011) was well known for his electrifying, inspiring and entertaining presentations. It was Jobs’ unique presentation style — which fans referred to as a “Stevenote” — that helped make his keynotes so impressive. He was equally impressive when he delivered his Stanford commencement speech. The aim of this blog post is to examine […]
Let’s get one thing straight at the outset of this post. Everyone needs feedback. The reality is that no matter how compelling, good and effective you think your speech or presentation is, there is a huge advantage in getting someone to assess it and give you feedback. But there’s a slight problem. Many people find it hard to accept feedback. They […]
TED is a nonprofit organisation devoted to spreading ideas, in the form of short, powerful talks. TED began in 1984, where Technology, Entertainment and Design converged, and today covers almost all topics, from science to business to global issues, in more than 100 languages. Meanwhile, independently run TEDx events help share ideas in communities all […]