I recently delivered a workshop for eight very nervous presenters. They were a great group and talked very frankly about their worries and concerns about presenting. Their nervousness stemmed from different things. For example, One of the presenters hated being the center of attention, so speaking to groups increased her anxiety. One was a non-native...
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You may have heard the adage that people fear public speaking more than death. In their 2012 study,¹ Karen Kangas Dwyer and Marlina M. Davidson proved that this is true. More than sickness, financial problems, or, yes, even death, we really don’t want to get up in front of our peers to speak. Nervous speakers...
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A myth we thought was long debunked came back around a few weeks ago. In talking about how to do demonstration presentations, an experienced presenter (not a Turpin trainer) said that real eye contact isn’t necessary, “Just look at the back wall, and people will think you’re looking at them,” she said. Even if that...
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Comedian Karen Morgan nailed it with this joke about icebreakers. What she says about an introvert’s reaction to icebreakers (and no doubt most extrovert’s as well) is true. My goal with this article is to focus on the dangers of icebreakers in a business meeting, what people actually need to hear from facilitators as meetings...
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Learners come into our workshops absolutely certain of one hard-and-fast rule: never ever read from your slides. They look pretty bewildered when we respond with, “Well, it’s complicated,” rather than emphatic agreement. The problem with “never read from your slides” is that it often ends up meaning presenters glance at the slide as it comes...
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In all of our workshops, a certain amount of unlearning has always taken place. Over time, we realized that everything we were helping presenters unlearn came from the world of speechmaking. Although presenters knew they were not delivering formal speeches, the assumptions they made and the strategies they used didn’t reflect that. They were simply...
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Josh Bersin wrote an interesting article on LinkedIn about the mismatch between academic education and job skills. What jumped out at me was research showing that while 72% of educational institutions believe newly educated workers are ready for work, only 42% of employers think the same. That’s a pretty big disconnect, but it’s one that I’m...
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There’s no debate about the power of storytelling. Stories persuade and inspire. They paint a compelling picture in the mind’s eye. They bring complex data to life. They build trust and understanding between storyteller and listener. The need for better business storytelling comes up in nearly every sales conversation we have with clients and prospects....
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One of the most important things for business communicators to understand is the distinction between a speech and a presentation. They are not the same. The problem is not that people struggle to articulate the difference between the two or have a hard time distinguishing one from the other as an audience member. The problem...
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People often ask us about the rules for PowerPoint. Some examples include, “What’s the rule for … the number of bullets on a slide?” the number of words per bullet?” the number of slides a presentation should have?” the right size font to use?” the right font to use?” We also hear apologies like these:...
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