Speaking tips blog
Communication matters. What are you saying?
Nothing here for you to see
Been a long time. I'll get back to it. Promise.Did have the thrill of attending Edward Tufte's last week. I'll have more about the seminar later, but I snapped this picture in the lobby. I was left wondering what message I should take away from this.When I went in to...
Set the expections up front
Have had two experiences in the last week that left me wondering if I'd lost 'it'. Neither was directly my fault and in both cases I already knew better.First, I gave a talk where The Big Cheese (the one who signs the check) and some other Big Shots were in...
Just tell it
This has multiple variations. Presenter opens talk/sentence/paragraph with "I'd like to tell you a story." Or it might sound like "Did you hear the joke that begins...?" Message to audience? You can snooze all you want, but I'll be getting to some content soon....
You ought to know
Watched a presenter give a live demo. It was marginally fascinating to his audience. But in switching between two PowerPoint presentations, one video, a live program demo, and a canned program demo, he never did pull off a clean transition. Several times there were...
No public dating
Most of us have multiple versions of our speeches, training programs, presentations, and notes. It's hard to keep them straight. Frequently, the easiest and best way is to date them. I do this myself. I have my own naming convention for any date-related materials,...
Back from the abyss
I'm amazed at how quickly time flies. Been on the road speaking, teaching, vacationing, and working. I've not quit. Just been busy.As usual, when a habit and routine is broken, it's hard to get back in it. It takes a lot to stay on top of anything. Blogging is...
Wonder what THAT was about?
Flying earlier in the week and heard over the PA in an airport:"American Airlines paging pilots Captain Susie Queue and John Doe. Please report to Gate 7 regarding your flight."Now, my fantasy is to be in an airport or airline where the pilots don't show up and they...
Great customer service
While this isn't a customer service blog, per se, good communication is often a part of good service, and I wanted to call out an example I experienced today.I was leaving for a trip and found out at the last minute that I lacked a piece of equipment. A call to a...
No cost rental
Sitting in a hotel reading the instructions for "complimentary high-speed wireless internet service".Seven steps, easy enough. Then there's another step listed after an asterisk (even though there is no asterisk anywhere else on the page). The step says: "If you do...
Drowning out the applause
A common mistake of those making introductions is to hit the 'punchline' too quickly. When the "heeeeere's Johnny" (did I just date myself?) gets uttered, the audience goes into applause mode, and the introducer's job is over. Or at least it should be.A common...
You&I
Tom Antion suggests104 a ration of 10 "you's" to every "I" that is used in a speaking engagement. I'm against this on two levels. First, when we get to counting metrics in a speech, we're forgetting the most important issue at stake -- did we reach the audience and...
What not to say
Interesting post at the Instigator Blog about things you don't want to hear in a presentation. I could add hundreds, most of which I've heard with my own ears, but I get readers sending them to me as well now. Probably the biggest opening gaff and a TTPP (Top Ten Pet...
