poseyblog is all about TED Talks: The Official TED Guide to Public Speaking this month. This book is the essential evangelist’s field guide – full of detailed, useful advice for speakers. This week let’s look at who and how to be on stage. “The … [Read more...] about You are not a game show host
We need to hear from YOU!
TED Curator Chris Anderson’s TED Talks: The Official TED Guide to Public Speaking is both lofty and pragmatic. If your job/your idea requires any kind of evangelism, this book is your field guide. I loved it so much we’re spending the whole month on … [Read more...] about We need to hear from YOU!
The Clueless Narcissist
Reading your slides is about the worst thing you can do in a presentation. Being a clueless narcissist is almost as bad – look what happened to Erlich Bachman. This arrogant person thinks it is simply amazing to be on stage, and he thinks it is … [Read more...] about The Clueless Narcissist
“This bozo is reading his slides”
What’s the worst thing you can do in a presentation? Read your slides. Guy Kawasaki is hilarious on this topic. This is what he says your audience is thinking, “This bozo is reading his slides. I can read silently to myself faster than this bozo … [Read more...] about “This bozo is reading his slides”
Are they listening to your keynote? Kinda.
In the tech industry, being on the keynote stage is a critical rite of passage – whether you’re presenting at a big industry conference or your own company’s annual user conference. (A TED talk is another animal. Different audience, different … [Read more...] about Are they listening to your keynote? Kinda.
Find your crescendo
In last week’s post we talked about the danger of artificially choreographed presentation technique. Your audience hopes to connect to and learn from the real you. You hope you’ll convert them to your big idea when you’re on stage. What we’re after … [Read more...] about Find your crescendo
Too much technique?
Lots of presentation coaches focus on things like assertive hand gestures, frequency of eye contact, commanding tone of voice, etc., as if learning a choreographed routine will make you a brilliant communicator. How much you do or don’t extend … [Read more...] about Too much technique?
Say it better!
The most important part of being a great communicator is your message. So shouldn’t that be where most of your energy goes when you’re planning to communicate? Whether it’s for a huge keynote or a senior staff meeting, spend the lion’s share of your … [Read more...] about Say it better!
Learning from a master presenter
Nancy Duarte is one of the great experts on creating and delivering persuasive presentations. Her HBR Guide to Persuasive Presentations is essential reading whether you’re preparing a TED talk or a quarterly update presentation for your boss. She … [Read more...] about Learning from a master presenter
Practice = confidence = fluency
Why is it worth actually practicing your communications skills? Why is it worth investing energy to learn techniques, to sharpen your messages, to spend time on the stage before the speech? If you aren’t prepared you can appear pre-occupied and … [Read more...] about Practice = confidence = fluency
