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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Maximize the Benefits and Reduce the Snags of Team Projects and Presentations In the first of a two-part series on team collaboration, we discuss the importance of having a framing strategy. When you were in school, you probably heard the words “group project” and groaned internally. You anticipated days or weeks of miscommunication, differing...
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Congratulations! Your conference speaker proposal has been accepted. Now what? Beyond getting the information you’ll be delivering together, timing its delivery to stay within your time limit, and creating slides that will be easily understood and easy for you to deliver. Four Best Practices for Delivering a Great Conference Presentation 1. Don’t...
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One way to make your presentations more clear and easier to listen to is to avoid burying the lead. “Burying the lead” (sometimes spelled “lede”) is a journalism expression that refers to the failure to mention the most important part of a story first, in effect burying it in the details. This principle applies to...
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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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The Foundation for What Comes Next Every presentation needs to take place within a solid frame. When you begin to speak, listeners need to know what you’ll be talking about, what you want to achieve, and why it’s important to them. Doing so will give them confidence in you as a presenter because you’ve assured...
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If you’re a leader or an aspiring leader, emotional intelligence (EQ) is essential for your success. It helps you build relationships and communicate more effectively with the people you work with. In many ways, your reputation as a leader is built and maintained through meetings. Meetings may be, after all, the only time some people...
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A crucial but often neglected part of successful business communication is making it easy for your audience to understand what you are communicating. The use of jargon or acronyms with no explanation is a frequent error that really works against the idea of making it easy. Too often, we assume people will understand us because...
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We recently had a multi-phase engagement with a client during which we got to know their culture quite well. As is sometimes the case, the bit of wisdom our learners needed to hear most came from one of their own. “If there isn’t an agenda, it’s not a meeting; it’s a conversation.” I wholeheartedly agree....
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When people participate in Turpin workshops, individual members and teams enjoy a host of secondary benefits beyond greater comfort with their own communication skills. Managers and leaders are often pleasantly surprised by how team meetings become more efficient, leadership skills start to emerge, relationships blossom, and so on. We often hear that teams “Turpinize” their...
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