Nov 142016
Jonathan Talbott
Oct 072015
There’s a huge oppressive black communications cloud hanging over many organizations.
Managers, employees, volunteers, even leaders are being smothered by this cloud.
It’s the communications cloud of
“I know I have to say something, but I have no idea how to say it!”
One of my clients gave me this metaphor of a black cloud when she was explaining how much stress she felt about ...
Mar 162015
The latest nearby TEDx conference happened a couple of days ago. I was fortunate to be a presentation coach for several of the speakers, so I watched a lot of the rehearsing as well as the main event.
TED-style talks are an immense challenge, both for the speaker and for the people who support that speaker. Many variables come into play, some of which may be unexpected for people who only know the ...
Sep 222014
A magazine recently quoted me saying, “I hate the term ‘elevator pitch.’”
That’s not entirely true. I actually hate elevator pitches themselves.
Here’s why.
One size fits all
Elevator pitches are based on the principle that, if you’ve worked out one 1-3 minute speech, you can tell it to everyone.
That’s just wrong.
I certainly hope that, when you talk to the person ...
Jul 312014
Jul 112014
An introduction to making professional PowerPoint slides.
It is well known that humans can only process around 5 to 7 pieces of information at a time. More than that and we start getting confused. (See, for example, Cowan, The magical number 4 in short-term memory)
Let me make one thing clear.
When it comes to presentations, we never ever want to make people confused.
Look at a typical business ...
Jun 172014
What do you say when someone asks you what you do?
What do you say when you need to sell something?
What do you say when you want to tell someone about your great idea?
Pitching and catching
We give business pitches for any number of reasons: to increase our network, to get new customers, to generate investment in our products and companies.
In baseball, every pitch is thrown to somebody: ...
May 192014
Apr 292014
Why are some presentations great and others horribly boring?
There are two presentation skills that separate great presenters from the rest of us:
They always have a goal.
They make certain that every presentation has a point.
The goal could be a company goal, like more sales, generating investment, or making the working environment better.
It could be personal, like being seen as ...
Mar 282014
The Function of Powerpoint Slides
When I give workshops on using slides in presentations, I bring two famous children’s books as examples of two kinds of illustration: literal and explanatory.
First, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, by Eric Carle. As you might imagine, it’s a book about food. The beautiful pictures are all very direct: when the text mentions cheese, there’s a picture of cheese, ...