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Bert Decker, communications expert and author of several presentation-related books (including this updated version of You've Got to Be Believed to Be Heard), has published his annual Top Ten Best (and Worst) Communicators for the year 2008. This is a very interesting read. Bert's list focuses primarily on famous speakers or news makers in the US; I think you could add many to the list — famous and not so famous — from around the world as well. Feel free to share your favorite (or "best/worst") from other parts of the globe below.More great communicators (off the top of my head) I've…

There is a line of thinking that says if I tell you the meaning of the word Zen, then it wouldn't really be Zen. The same could be said concerning the meaning of Jazz as well. "What is Jazz?" in a sense is like saying "What is Zen?" Of course, we can talk about them and label them, and with our verbalization we get close (and the discussion may be interesting, even helpful, inspiring, etc.). But we never experience the thing itself by talking about it. Zen is concerned with the thing itself. Zen is about the now — right here, right now. The essence of jazz expression is like this too. It's…

One my favorite reads of 2008 was Moving to Higher Ground: How Jazz Can Change Your Life by Wynton Marsalis and Geoffrey Ward. The lessons found in jazz — its meaning, its history and its relevance for life, business, and education — run deep and wide. It's really quite amazing. Every student should have a good exposure to jazz (and classical music for that matter) in their education — music education is not a nicety, it's a necessity. Organizations and schools are always talking about the need to foster creativity and innovation, the need to encourage dedication and self-discipline,…

As long as we're talking about design, let me suggest another book. One of the books for 2009 (yes, already) that I highly recommend is called The Designful Company: How to build a culture of nonstop innovation by designer and branding guru Marty Neumeier. Marty understands that we're all very busy, so he designs his books to make a big impact in less than 200 pages. His previous best-sellers — Brand Gap and Zag — are provocative, informative, and inspirational books that I use every semester in my Marketing classes, etc. Like his previous books, The Designful Company is a lesson in…

Over the years I've read a lot of design books and I have recommended many of them here. But a lot of people have ask me if I would recommend just one book (proving again that the more choices you offer the harder it is to decide; the paradox of choice). It's difficult to recommend just one book for the non-designer interested in becoming more design mindful. But if you are looking to take a first step in learning about the fundamentals of graphic design with an eye toward becoming a better judge of what is effective visual communication and what is not, then I suggest The Non-Designer's…

This Annual List of Top Ten Communicators of 2008 highlights the best (and worst) from business, politics (big this year), entertainment, sports and the professions. Take a look to see how communication skills helped make or break these notable individuals:THE BEST 1.    Barack ObamaAs his star continues to rise, there’s just no contest for #1 Best Communicator.And it’s not just because he was elected President that he deserves #1, but that he was elected President BECAUSE of his communications ability. President Elect Obama is the first repeat at #1 (2006) and for the same reason. He…

 Not exactly sure how to introduce a new website, except to say it. NEW WEBSITE!Well, not yet, but Tuesday our new Decker Communications, Inc. website will be up. (The new blog look you see here is a prelude.) Although it's mostly of excitement to us at Decker, we hope it will be of much more use to our clients and associates as well, with finished video clips (here's a sample rough cut), Before and After film from workshops, tips, latest communicating concepts, and more. Tune in.And shortly after on this blog I hope you will be looking for my annual Top Ten Best and Worst Communicators of…

Caroline Kennedy wants a Senate seat, after years as a behind the scenes celebrity. But to succeed she must undergo a major change in her communication style if she is to become credible.This is not an election. Gov. Paterson of New York makes the sole appointment when Hillary Clinton likely gives up her seat in about a month. But the Governor of New York will rely on polls, popular opinion and credibility. So it might as well be an election since Caroline has claimed she WANTS the seat, and the media is all over the story. And right now Caroline does not have the "chops".Years ago I worked…

SlideShare is a great application most of you know about and use - it allows everyone to share PowerPoint presentations and decks easily and effectively. And among other things they have The World's Best Presentation Contest every year.Now the SlideShare folks have come up with another new function. They worked with Microsoft on the "SlideShare Ribbon" which lets you use the full functionality of SlideShare from within PowerPoint.  I think this is the first time a Web 2.0 property has been embedded so deeply into desktop productivity software.You can download to SlideShare, upload, search,…

Interesting communications in the Blagojevich scandal. Patrick Fitzgerald is the U.S Prosecuting Attorney who announced the charges, and he is good, and a solid communicator. On the other hand, likely soon to be ex-Gov. Blagojevich is not very believable in his first defense here. Why? First of all, when you have the truth (apparent) on your side, you would tend to speak with conviction and certainty. When you are lying, or uncomfortable with what you are saying, it tends to show in behavior. Here's how: Patrick Fitzgerald: Firm voice, solid eye communication with reporters, serious and calm…

You are probably already overwhelmed with all your upcoming presentations. Here are a few tips to keep your health and sanity this New Year.

People fear people. That’s the common reality that surrounds public speaking. So why do people fear people when it comes to public speaking or giving business presentations? You can spend hours listing the reasons – nervousness, rejection, lack of preparedness, etc. The list can go on and on, but the excuses need to stop here. It may surprise you, but your audience wants to see you succeed. They want you to win. Here’s why: People love the bright lights When individuals attend a concert, play, or even a movie they walk-in with the expectation to be entertained, to be moved and maybe…

Here are some goals everyone should have regarding their presentations for 2009.

This installment includes recommendations on presentation conferences/sessions for 2009. Enjoy!

Only five days in, and already 2009 has some wonderful things to offer! Each year, Bert Decker releases  a list of the Top Ten Best (and Worst) Communicators. The list has named some of the heaviest hitters to ever step on a podium, including the notoriously eloquent Barack Obama. This year, Nancy Duarte made the (good half of the) list, sharing a spot with visionaries Garr Reynolds, Guy Kawasaki, and Seth Godin. Now that you know she’s a great presenter, I’ll remind you that you have a chance to see Nancy present this Wednesday at Mac World! Nancy will be leading her very own…

The value of you, in your design… There’s nothing I love more  than a personal touch in a design project, when there’s a balance between the use of the computer and the creativity behind the person designing the piece. There are a lot of ways to do this. Whether it involves photos you’ve taken or art you’ve produced, there’s a sense of pride and investment when it comes from you. I see a lot of my peers doing this at Duarte. Recently, I discovered a site that really helps with this. www.yourfonts.com allows you to make a font in a matter of minutes.

Nancy Reunzel over at PeachPit sent me a sneak peek of Marty’s Neumeier’s new book The Designful Company. The book isn’t for design firms but is for any company that needs to solve complex business problems. I loved his other two books Brand Gap and Zag, so I knew I’d love this one. He writes and designs each of his books so you can read and apply them quickly (most often on an airplane). Marty states that a culture of innovation builds momentum with very small inputs called “levers.” He names a total of 16, and number 8 is about our beloved PowerPoint.

I recently read listened to The Making of a Chef by Michael Ruhlman, a fascinating and, ummmm… delicious journey into the world of the Culinary Institute of America. Ruhlman documented his experiences as a student at the Institute, and he brought those experiences to life with a richness I’ve rarely found in non-fiction. I loved the book, and I’ve been looking for a reason to blog about it ever since (other than the food-as-presentation connection, which Michael Moon already captured well). And I think I finally found my inspiration. Ruhlman writes about cooking as the…

I have two pieces of big news about MacWorld to share. Firstly, the upcoming January 2009 expo is the last time Apple will show up to their own party.  That’s kinda like Jim Jones not showing up for the Kool-Aid, but I guess there’s a time for all things to end. Secondly, yours truly will be presenting at the MacWorld on Wednesday the 7th. I’m speaking in the O’Reilly Media booth (#2210) at 11 AM to deliver a presentation called “Pimp my Slide”. (Gosh, I love my publisher.) Then, from 1 to 2:15 PM on Wednesday, I’m speaking at the Users Conference in…

The PowerPoint revolution has sparked the evolution of different styles of PowerPoint design.  I’ve identified seven different styles to inspire you  - do add others in the comments. If you’re just getting started with creating non-bullet point slides, I recommend the assertion-evidence or PresentationZen style. Then start mixing and matching between styles to provide variety for your audience. The assertion-evidence slide Professor Michael Alley is most often credited with this style. The slide is composed of two parts: A short sentence headline that states the main assertion…

The guru of multimedia learning Richard Mayer has just published a new paper that all presenters should take note of. The paper is called “Increased interestingness of extraneous details in a multimedia science presentation leads to decreased learning”. The research Students received one of two PowerPoint presentations about how a cold virus infects the human body. Both PowerPoint presentations included interesting but irrelevant details about viruses. In the first presentation the details were of high-interest eg: the role of viruses in sex and death. In the second presentation…

This is a big meaty post with 15 ways to improve your presentations.  These ideas are designed to challenge you to stretch yourself. With each idea I’ve pointed you to further resources from fellow presentation bloggers or from my own archives. Choose one or two to work on at a time. Bookmark this post, so that once you’ve implemented those, you can come back and work on some more during the year. 1. Customise your presentations for each audience Don’t be satisfied with rolling out the same presentation time and time again. Customising your presentation makes a difference.

I’ve invited a number of bloggers to write a post on their own blogs on the theme “What I’d like to see in PowerPoint slide design in 2009″. This is a Group Writing Project (see www.groupwritingprojects.com/about for more information) and you are welcome to contribute. Here’s how you can take part: If you’ve got a blog: Write a post on your own blog and publish it by 12th January. The post doesn’t have to have the title I’ve suggested - as long as it ties into the theme. Then send me an e-mail (olivia[at]effectivespeaking.co.nz) or write a…

Garr Reynolds’ slides from his recent webcast are now online. Garr has an innovative agenda slide. He’s transformed what is normally a boring bullet-point slide into something beautiful and effective. Check out slides 7 to 12 for the agenda slide sequence: Slides (in PDF) from Safari Webcast View SlideShare presentation or Upload your own. (tags: japan zen) Here’s what I like about it: It’s a visual representation of the presentation timeline. I can see how much time is going to be spent on each section of the presentation. It reinforces the main theme of the…

Just a quick note to let you know that a new Slide Makeover Video Podcast based on the ideas in "The Visual Slide Revolution" is available for your viewing through the iTunes Store, online or through my YouTube channel. When you are talking about date based events or information, don't use a simple list of the dates with no visual. This makeover shows a slide with a list of dates transformed into a clear visual that people will be able to understand and act on after the presentation.This slide was one I worked on when doing a slide makover consulting assignment for a client - someone just…

On New Year’s Eve we had some friends over for dinner and we made a recipe that included cracking peppercorns. In the instructions, it said to use a mortar and pestle. We don’t have one, so it offered an alternative – put the peppercorns in a plastic bag and crush them with a rolling pin. I set it up and asked our 10 year old daughter to complete the task. She struggled for about 10 minutes and asked me to take over because it was so difficult. I started and found that it was indeed a hard task. Then a simpler idea dawned on me. I went down to the work room and got my hammer. In short…

(From the December 23rd newsletter)We are about to celebrate Christmas at our house and many of you are celebrating this or other special occasions at your home during the holidays. One of the best loved parts of this time of year for our family is the light and holiday displays seen at so many houses and parks. We make it a tradition to drive down one particular road Christmas Eve on our way back from my parents' house because of the great displays they have.What do holiday lights have to do with your presentations? More than you may initially think. You see, holiday displays and your…

At our recent Canadian Association of Professional Speakers Convention, one of the keynote speakers, Darci Lang, shared an idea that has helped her improve. She is a great speaker and she said that one of the things she does after every presentation is to take a few minutes to note down in a journal what went well that presentation and what didn't work so well. This is an important practice for presenters to follow. I'll share how I would adapt it when thinking about your slides.When using visuals, take note of the expression you see on people's faces when they see the slide. If they are…

Yesterday I was proud to see my latest book, "The Visual Slide Revolution" named as one of the Top 10 Business Books of 2008 by Canada's leading national newspaper, The Globe and Mail. You can see the full article at http://www.ThinkOutsideTheSlide.com/VSRGMTop10.pdf . The publicity caused the book to reach the top 500 of all books sold at one point yesterday on Amazon.ca. If you'd like to learn more and order your own copy, go to http://www.VisualSlideRevolution.com .If you are looking for other book gift ideas for a professional on your gift list this year, I recommend the…

On Saturdays, we survey the best public speaking articles from throughout the public speaking blogosphere. This week’s review features topics including: the best communicator of 2008; public speaking resolutions for 2009; basics of sketching (at a whiteboard or flipchart); brevity in humor; and new public speaking books for January. Week in Review: Six Minutes 21 Questions: Is This The Year You Communicate Effectively? New Year’s Resolutions to become a more effective communicator in 2009. Why Pausch, not Obama, is Best Communicator of 2008 A response to Bert Decker’s…

Is this the year you become a more effective speaker? Is this the year you conquer your fear? Is this the year you customize every presentation for the audience who will receive it? Is this the year you worry less about ums and ahs, and worry more about connecting with the audience? Is this the year you realize its not the quantity of information conveyed, but the quality of how you convey it? Is this the year you eliminate the phrase “I don’t need to rehearse”? Is this the year you stop driving people to tap on their Blackberry and iPhone during your speech? Is this the…

I am a Bert Decker fan. I subscribe to his blog and learn from him often. I’ve got his books on my wishlist. But, after reading his “Top Ten Best (and Worst) Communicators of 2008” list, I’m confused — how did he get it wrong? Best Communicators of 2008 Barack Obama Tim Russert Randy Pausch Colin Powell Mike Huckabee John Chambers Sarah Palin Nancy Duarte, Garr Reynolds, Seth Godin, Guy Kawasaki Tina Fey Anderson Cooper Worst Communicators of 2008 George Bush Richard Fuld Rod Blagojevich Eliot Spitzer Roger Clemens Sarah Palin Dan Rather Al Davis Rosie…

On Saturdays, we survey the best public speaking articles from throughout the public speaking blogosphere. This week’s review features topics including: crafting memorable phrases; vocal exercises; presenting time-based information; and content staging. Week in Review: Public Speaking Blogosphere Resources for Speakers Slide design expert Garr Reynolds reviews Timothy Samara’s Design Elements: A Graphic Style Manual. Now, as Samara points out, rules are important to understand but it’s certainly permissible to break the rules (he even shows how later in the book). What is…

Six Minutes continues to grow, both in the number and breadth of articles as well as in the number of subscribed and unsubscribed readers. Just as a wise speaker must consider their audience when constructing a presentation, I think it is important to do the same for Six Minutes. Please help me plan the direction for Six Minutes into 2009 by taking 1 or 2 minutes to answer a short survey. For those reading this message in email or via RSS, you may not see the survey below. In that case, click through to the one-minute survey here (or the Google Docs version). Thank you in advance for your…

Inspired by Laura Bergells' recent PowerPoint propaganda post about changing fashions in PowerPoint, Olivia Mitchell pulled together a group of bloggers to participate in a group writing project about what we'd like to see in PowerPoint slide design this year. Check back at Olivia's blog next week (I'll remind you) for links to all the posts.I could go on and on about how to make PowerPoint presentations more effective, but I'll stick to my top three suggestions for how I'd like to see speakers using PowerPoint in 2009 (you'll notice that I've strayed from the topic of "design" a bit).1. More…

I had an interesting conversation with my doctor the other day about public speaking. Because one of the concerns of speakers is that they'll be judged by the audience members, she wondered if older people are less afraid of public speaking than younger people, due to the fact that older people "have gotten over themselves," in her words.What she's saying is that, the older we get, the less we care about what people think of us. The less we care about making a mistake or looking foolish. And if this is the case, how does this affect our feelings about public speaking?I thought this was a…

It's time again for Bert Decker's annual top ten lists of best and worst communicators. Barack Obama is at the top of the list of best communicators, while George Bush tops the list of the worst.The comments are as fascinating as the post itself, as readers make their cases for and against Bert's choices. Fellow speaker Andrew Dlugan has posted his disagreements on his Six Minutes blog.I applaud Bert's effort to narrow down his lists to only ten best and worst (some show up on both lists), when there are so many speakers and communicators to choose from, well known or obscure.Read the post,…

Do not miss the Q&A!Here's Doug Zongker's research paper on which the presentation was based.

Thought Trap #6: Fortune tellingYou predict that things will turn out badly, and you feel convinced that your prediction will be 100% correct.This seems to be an appropriate thought trap to address on this last day of 2008. Some of us are making resolutions, some are setting goals. Some have predicted that 2009 will be their best year ever and some, unfortunately, have predicted that things will never improve.Who's right? Who knows? We can't predict the future.Yet every day, people convince themselves that their presentations won't be any good, that they won't be able to keep the audience's…

In previous tutorials, we have covered solid, gradient, texture and pattern fills for AutoShapes in PowerPoint 2003 or earlier versions. In this tutorial, we finish this series by showing you how you can use picture fills.Learn more about pattern fills in this tutorial for PowerPoint 2003 and earlier versions...Categories: color, fills, powerpoint, shapes, tutorials

Patterns in PowerPoint are two-color designs comprising patterns like lines, dots, dashes and checks. PowerPoint includes 48 patterns such with names like plaid, weaves shingle and zig zag. We also show you a sample presentation showing pattern fills in PowerPoint.Learn more about pattern fills in this tutorial for PowerPoint 2003 and earlier versions...Categories: color, fills, powerpoint, shapes, tutorials

In previous tutorials of this series, I showed you how you can change or addsolid color and gradient fills to an AutoShape in PowerPoint 2003 or earlier. In this tutorial I'll show you how to add or change a texture fill for an AutoShape in PowerPoint 2003 or earlier. Also included is a sample presentation that includes a texture gallery.Learn more about texture fills in this tutorial for PowerPoint 2003 and earlier versions...Categories: color, fills, powerpoint, shapes, tutorials

In the previous tutorial of this series I showed you how you can change or add a solid color fill to an AutoShape in PowerPoint 2003 or earlier. In this tutorial I'll show you how to add or change gradient fill for an AutoShape in PowerPoint 2003 or earlier.Learn more here in this tutorial for PowerPoint 2003 and earlier versions...Categories: color, fills, powerpoint, shapes, tutorials

Whenever you add a new AutoShape to a PowerPoint slide, it is filled with a solid color by default. Most of the time, you may leave that unaltered, but it's easy to change that color or to even add another fill type altogether such as a gradient, pattern, texture, or picture. In this tutorial, I'll show you how you can change the default fill color to a color of your choice.Learn more here in this tutorial for PowerPoint 2003 and earlier versions...Categories: color, fills, powerpoint, shapes, tutorials

IF YOU WANT TO BE REALLY EFFECTIVE in influencing or persuading others, it's critical that you tune into their needs, issues, and goals. But sometimes it's not enough to ask them "What's your pain?" or "Tell me about your situation." Sometimes, that gets you too deep in the weeds toooo quickly. Sure, you're covering (or at least hearing about) what's affecting them, but you (and they) may be missing the bigger context.        This is a really easy trap to fall into. We've become so accustomed, as buyers of products and services, to slogging through mountains of details and features and…

LOGIC ALONE rarely persuades someone. And logic may also be out the window when we are preparing our presentation or pitch.        "Huh?" I hear you say.        That's right. All those cherished phrases we love to spout, like "We're the leader in" or "We've been recognized as" or even "We have offices in " — these can actually get in your way.        I'm not saying these aren't relevant, nor am I suggesting you shouldn't use them. In the right time and place, and with the right…

SO MUCH POTENTIAL — for good and bad — lurks in a typical Question & Answer period. But before I give you my thoughts, let me ask you how you handle these: · Do you finish your presentation with a slide that says "Questions & Answers" and just go from there? · Do you say, "Any questions?" · Do you consider in advance what kinds of questions you're likely to get? · How do you wrap things up when the Q&A session is over? · What's the reason for a Q&A session in the first place? Okay, that last question should be easy. It's to give your audience a…

AHH, THE AGE-OLD QUESTION: "Where do I put my hands?" Ever heard it? Ever said it or thought it? It's not a stupid question, but it's not the most important thing to think about when you're getting up in front of an audience.        The bigger question is: Do you have something to share with them that will get them at least interested, and perhaps even excited or inspired about what you have to say? If you've got that, all the rest is superfluous.        Think about magicians. Not the grandiose ones, but the ones who excel at…

SETH GODIN HAS AN INTRIGUING NEW POST today, entitled "Thinking Bigger". He covers a lot of territory in a few words, but what I like about it for presenters is this: What are you doing to go beyond the expectations of your audience?        Given that the vast majority of presentations are stale, boring, bullet-laden dirges, it doesn't take a lot. Even simplifying your visual presentation, as so well defined by Garr Reynolds and Nancy Duarte, is a major leap forward for most.        But what about changing the conversation — or,…

In just a matter of hours, 2009 will be upon us.  If you have not done so, please read my article on setting New Year’s Resolutions.  You may also be interested in some statistics about New Year’s Resolutions. Happy New Year!

It’s official.  Personality Poker® is now a registered trademark.  In 2009 we will be announcing some exciting developments with this brand.

A friend of mine is a fantastic freelance writer.  After telling her how great she is, she asked, “So if I’m that good, how come I’m not working now?  Tough market out there.” Yes, it is a tough market.  But I suspect that is not the reason she can’t find work.  She has fallen into [...]

Many of my recent posts discuss “Innovation and the Bell Curve.” One quick comment on this idea.  I often say that the left-hand side of the bell curve is about affordability and accessibility.  But sometimes it is just about accessibility - for a premium price. Two quick examples come to mind. The Nintendo Wii is one of the [...]

I hope that everyone will be taking time off to enjoy family and friends. See you in 2009.

I am happy to announce that Advanced Presentations by Design hit the Daily Top 5 Bestsellers list yesterday, January 5, 2009, at my favorite online business bookstore, 800CEO-READ.  I have aggregated some of the online reviews of the book at Book/Reviews on this site.  Thank you to everyone who has contributed to making this book a success.

The other day I noticed a couple of posts about Advanced Presentations by Design on a blog I hadn't seen before.  The two posts together provide an interesting case study of someone new to the Extreme Presentation method and the impact he achieved with it.The beginning of the story is rather uninspiring (from my own perspective as the book's author..!).  The blogger bought a copy of APbD, and... dismissed it initially as a pretty insignificant volume [ouch!] but dragged myself through it [double ouch!] this week as I have a presentation to make ... on Monday. So far…

I don't usually post personal material on this blog, but how could I resist:Our little Mary Clare was born on Saturday evening (November 29) at 6:23 p.m., after holding out until the last minute (she was 2 weeks overdue), and weighing in at 8 lbs. 2 oz. Wonderfully healthy and peaceful, and the delight of her brothers and sisters.

Source: University of AlabamaToday is Rene Magritte's 110th. birthday.  This pipe must be one of his most famous images, with its puzzling caption "Ceci n'est pas une pipe" (This is not a pipe.)  His point, of course, is that it is a picture of a pipe, not a real pipe.A lesson we can learn from Magritte is: This is not a presentation!It is not even a picture of a presentation: it is a picture of a report, projected onto a wall.  Projection does not magically turn a stack of information into a presentation.  If you want to turn your message into…

Advanced Presentations by Design is now available as an ebook and as an Amazon.com Kindle edition.  Gene Zelazny, McKinsey's presentations guru and author of Say It With Charts and Say It With Presentations, wrote: Advanced Presentations by Design is the best researched book on presentation design that I've ever had the privilege of reading. I recommend it for those of you who want the confidence of knowing how best to plan and design successful presentations.

Just when you think you're on top of the world . . . ZAP! The computer Gods bring you down a few notches. This past Friday while setting up for ButtCamp in Orlando, FL my new laptop that had just easily checked email for me in my hotel room would not boot up. I thought, "Gee this is a pain, but no big deal. I'll just get my trusty old backup computer which has been chugging along for a couple years. I got it out and OH NO! It wouldn't boot up either. I figured there must be anti "Butt Word" ghosts in the room. This just couldn't be . . . but it was. It wasn't apparent at the time, but it…

=> He always feels bad when he feels good for fear he'll feel worse when he feels better.=> A wise man once said that the best way to save face is to keep the bottom part of it closed.=> The reason ideas die quickly in some people's heads is because they can't stand solitary confinement.=> Gas prices are so high that when I pulled into a station and asked for a dollar's worth, the attendant dabbed some behind my ears.=> Consultation: A medical term meaning "share the wealth."=> Governmental machinery is the marvelous device which enables ten men to do the work of one.=> Our speaker always…

There will come a time when you will either be in front of a hostile audience or a hostile question will pop up during a relatively calm presentation. This is a tough situation at best and you have to handle it with kid gloves. Humor can save the day and maybe even help you become President.When a hostile situation arises, you have to be especially careful that you don't antagonize the questioner or group further by making a flippant response. You can use humor to distract the antagonism, but you should always make a serious reply to the question at hand.EXAMPLE: Let's say you are speaking at…

A true NO ZZZZZs presenter doesn't feel that he or she must jabber away constantly to keep the audience awake. Skilled presenters use silence to add to the effectiveness and polish of a program. Theatrical folks have identified a whole bunch of neat pauses which I'm sure they have a ball playing with. I'm only going to address some of the most obvious and important ones here.SHORT The shortest pauses, which last anywhere from one-half to two seconds, are for the simple purpose of separating your thoughts. All you have to remember is to slow down. Give the audience a fighting chance to absorb…

=> Don't signal your punch line. If the humor in your punch line depends upon the words "ruptured camel," don't say the following: Did you hear the one about the ruptured camel?=> Don't EVER repeat a punch line! Once the surprise is revealed, the joke is history. I'll repeat this, but I don't want to hear you repeating any punch lines. Let me repeat. Don't EVER repeat a punch line. Don't EVER repeat a punch line. NEVER repeat a punch line. You'll be shot by the humor firing squad if you repeat a punch line. OK. I'll let you repeat one, but only under certain circumstances. Here's the…

Remember Pareto’s Principle? Where 80% of the results comes from 20% of your effort. Or 80% of your revenue generated by 20% of your customers. This principle works here in public speaking as well. If you are tight for time, and you want to know what you can do minimally to cause maximum results, this is it. The 20% work that will make a huge positive difference in your upcoming speech or presentation. 1. One Powerful Message No point flooding your audience with too many messages as they won’t remember all of them anyway. Instead, you will have a better chance of impacting them if you…

Yup. I have unfortunately passed away, and it has taken a great deal of effort to reach out to my readers from the afterlife. I’ve managed to possess someone and am now typing this from an Internet café as we speak. (Metaphorically.) Okay, just kidding. That’s probably what some of you thought, though, given that I’ve not been writing at The Public Speaking Blog for quite a while now. I worried quite a few people, it seems – three concerned blogger friends even called me directly to find out whether I’d been run over or otherwise incapacitated. Thanks for your…

Here, John gives you the lowdown on observing and creating your own humor monologues. At the end of the article, you should come to a realization that…I’m not going to spoil it for you now! Read on *grins* Oh no!!! Not another observational humor monologue! I realize that few readers have an interest in writing observational humor monologues. And I also realize that because of the You-Had-To-Be-There factor, reading a transcript of a monologue from an event that you did not attend probably doesn’t make you laugh. So why do I publish them? Writing about creating and using humor…

Photo credits to Neville I finally finished reading a book written by a magician. No, I am not switching careers. More importantly, Steve Cohen who is famously known as the Millionaire’s Magician (for obvious reasons) writes about his secrets to a winning delivery of his magic performances in his book “Win The Crowd” Reading the book, I was pleasantly surprised that even as a magician and performer of his calibre, he still religiously practices the techniques that I have often shared with you in my earlier blog entries. The overlaps in techniques are especially evident in a…

The guy you see above is Jonathon Harris, an artist and computer scientist. In his TED presentation, he shared about his passion of collecting stories around the world. Leveraging on technology, he was able to scan the world’s blogs to capture snapshots of the writer’s feelings, through pictures and words. In one of his project, he even went to Butan to interview 113 people, capturing their stories, emotions and wishes through pictures. (from 11′36″ onwards) Check out some of the original pictures he took here. She wants to keep farming till she die. He wants to be…

A new year and new opportunities! You’ll make more money in 2009 — no matter what — when you apply these 3 important skills. 1. Love the phone. Picking up the phone to call happy customers and those who have become friends is never a problem. So, use the phone to make new friends. It’s easy! Answer their (unasked) question: How do I know this person? Don’t start with any variation of: “How are you today?” or “Is this a good time to talk?” Simply open by providing your name and company, and how you’re connected. Say: Hi Sophie, This is Buster…

Here are the only three things you need to do to guarantee that next year will be better than 2008: 1. Know it can be. People are buying what you offer so make sure they’re buying from you. 2. Make a list of the things that you personally can improve (your prospecting skills, your ability to write compelling sales letters, your skill at making presentations, your confidence in making cold calls, your skill at asking for referrals, etc) 3.  Master that skill. That’s it, folks. Stop reading google.news. Turn off the TV news. Stop wasting your time on the internet playing, shopping,…

The more things change, the more they stay the same. It’s back to the most basic tool in the kit. Stress ROI. Invite your customer to buy from you (instead of your competitors who look very similar to you) by helping them see that your focus is on their success (and make sure it is). Don’t fake it. Today, I received a call to wish me happy new year. Right. I send money monthly for this service and have been for years. No one has ever called to wish me anything. But today, just before they asked for an increase, they told me they were calling to wish me… Hugging your customer…

A total of eight years of studying French; three years in high school, three years in public school (which sounds ooh, la, la, but wasn’t; the grade school teacher rolled the TV into the classroom  for 15 minutes, three times a week and we’d learn French via our local PBS station), and seventh and eighth grade French classes equaled another year of high school French. Eight years and mostly I just remember how to curse. In French. But when I’m in France for a few days, I (foolishly) try to converse with my remembered basic words. After a wonderful meal, I said tres bien,…

I just realized how much power I give negative situations in my life and I’m about to stop. I’m sleepless in Bordeaux, France even though the sheets at Golf du Medoc Hotel and Spa are crisp and freshly ironed, the quilt is perfect, and my husband is right next to me. The time zones are playing havoc, but the delicious mushroom omelette, fresh green salad, the very special and worth-every-calorie gateau Basque, and amazing 2003 wine from the Margaux region, should have counteracted that. So, I got to thinking. Not about all the blessings in my life. Instead, I’m thinking of…

Telling it like it is Authenticity is a rare commodity, especially when people speak to an audience. Many speakers represent corporate or institutional interests. They are instructed to stay ‘on message’. Does anyone really expect the Chairman of the Federal Reserve or the CEO of a corporation to speak authentically? There’s too much at stake on [...]

Sometimes events catch up with executives who commit too much to print. Here’s a cautionary tale of a senior leader who was hoist by his own petard. The Madoff Ponzi scheme has led commentators to issue damning indictments of the S.E.C.’s failure to respond to repeated requests they investigate the fraud. Sunday’s New York Times has [...]

Blogging Basics is a September 2008 article I wrote for the National Speakers Association SPEAKER magazine that’s now online. Lots of links to blogging resources.

Two great articles in the Sunday New York Times explaining the origins of the current financial crisis in clear terms. The End of the Financial World As We Know It Michael (Liar’s Poker) Lewis and David Eindhorn lay bare the regulatory failings at the S.E.C. and Treasury Secretary Paulson’s secretive maneuvering with the $700B TARP fund [...]

Note from the International Federation for Professional Speakers Newsletter: “When the Economy is on a downswing, it is great to be a professional speaker. If your business drops 20%, you still have 80%. If you worked for a large corporation, you could go from a paycheck to zero and the unemployment line.” –Dan Poynter

I just watched this entertaining TED presentation by John Maeda, president of the Rhode Island School of Design, reflecting on his career as a designer (more information about him in the linked TED post). The most interesting bit comes mid-way in the presentation. John shows a video how he orchestrates an excercise where people need to get other people to draw things on white board using their "voice commands". After some miscommunications the groups starts designing a coordinate or grid system (similar to a PowerPoint canvas). The maximum output of the excercise was a completely boring,…

The 2 tiny people, and their 2 tiny shadows make the whole dam look huge. You probably remember your highschool physics teacher explain: "if the nucleus of an atom is a strawberry, its electrons would be flying around the football field".Something to think about when making your next slide composition. Image purchased from iStockPhoto. 

After graffiti, now the less permanent graphics of the chalk board. I scribbled some suggestions on a black board below (click image for a larger picture):Now that we are on the subject, check out my favorite Bart Simpson chalkboard generator as well.

PowerPoint effects, PhotoShop, and a bit of typography/fonts enable an amateur to create PowerPoint slides that start approaching the capabilities of a graphics professional. Not so fast.This ad for a financial services firm shows that good artwork cannot (yet) be matched by a PowerPoint slide.Taking someone like Dali as the inspiriation for a slideCreating the characters and the elaborate backgroundsInsert the detail and small "jokes"You immediately "get" this ad. Another one I took from Ads of the World (larger image here).

Circles are beautiful shapes to work with. Unfortunately, PowerPoint's standard settings make it hard to fit in text. To get a bit more space, got to "format shape"->"text box":Set the internal margin to zeroSwitch off automatic word wrap

When I was a sales manager I saw a number of potentially great communicators stall despite fantastic subject matter knowledge and great technique.   It was no surprise to me that sending them on a skills refresher course didn’t solve the problem as I instinctively knew that the problem lay at the level of identity and believe rather than skill or capability. On numerous occasions I fought with my colleagues in the training department because they said that you couldn’t do anything about those sort of problems and so they would resort to their comfort zone. Over the years I have…

Hello and a very merry Christmas from the picturesque village of Cazorla in Spain,home of the best olive oil on the planet!I hope you enjoy my Christmas video message. <span class=”mceItemObject” classid=”clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000″ id=”ooyalaPlayer_95ykj_fp5gjz1e” width=”496″ height=”370″ codebase=”http://fpdownload.macromedia.com/get/flashplayer/current/swflash.cab”><br /> <span name=”movie”…

As we leave for a few days of well earned R&R in Spain I just wanted to thank all of you fellow presenters and influencers, experienced and inexperienced, for your support and comments over the past year. Our skills are going to be even more important in 2009. Smart businesses, like the one I met with yesterday, understand that the best way to beat the economic situation is to refresh their skills and be even better at presenting and influencing in 2009. The year is packed full of amazing opportunities for the savvy and the courageous. I look forward to celebrating all our successes in…

Today I’d like to share with you some observations I made after being “caught” by a membership canvasser for GreenPeace. Now normally I must admit that I avoid such uninvited sales pitches but today I voluntarilly chose too listen to their pitch and I have to say I was impressed. So impress in fact that I thought I’d share some of my observations with you because we can all learn from good practice irrespective of the source. So here’s what I noticed: The pwer of a smile!  - The young lady in question engaged me witha warm smile and strong eye contact before she…

This may sound like a strange question but it is a vital one for presenters and public speakers.    Most of us take our voice for granted and yet  it is a such more powerful and complex  that we owe it to ourselves to develop our ability to make the most of it. In this post I’d like to explore just one aspect of the voice, that of resonance.  The human body is fully of hollow, air filled cavities that resonate when we speak.   The main resonanting chambers are Chest cavity Throat Nasal Cavities & Sinuses Some people  have learned to speak “normally” from one of…

So nobody likes bullet point presentations anymore. Really?Horse hockey.Then why do some of the most popular headlines today read:"25 ways to...""Ten Reasons Why...""Three Secrets of...""The Top 100..."and so forth?And then, after reading these headlines that promise us some hot bullet point action, what happens?Why, we read the bullet point articles! photo credit: dno1967We are seduced by this type of headline. We click on 'em. We pick up magazines with "magic number" headlines on the cover, knowing full well they will lead us to an article filled with bullet points or a numbered list!Bullet…

When was the last time you used an overhead projector and transparencies? photo credit: CappellmeisterWhen I posed this question at Twitter yesterday, I half expected scorn. Overheads and transparencies? Such old presentation technologies! I haven't seen an overhead projector since the 1900's.Turns out, I was only half right in expecting half scorn! It seems that overhead projectors are still in use today. Here are the replies from my Twitter pals:Note: when I post to Twitter, it automatically updates my status and publishes at FaceBook. Friends who follow at FaceBook had this to say:Audience…

This is Your Brain on PowerPoint. Our brains have 2 lobes. Loosely speaking, the left handles data, facts, and analysis. The right handles emotions, art, and intuition.When it comes to experiencing a PowerPoint presentation, there's only so much your brain can process. You can either listen to a presenter speak, or you can try to read what you seen on the screen. If you try to do both at the same time, you absorb less. And you become irritated with the presenter. That's why we’re experiencing something of a fashion backlash against overly complicated, bullet-laden slides. They aren't…

For three years straight, I have been Googling and tracking the term "Death by PowerPoint". I want to see how many pages the big G will deliver for this tired cliche.In 2006, Google delivered 55,000 pages that mentioned this oft-used phrase. In 2007, we saw "Death by PowerPoint" pages increase by almost 50% to 82,400.In 2008, we see the biggest increase: from 82,400 to 366,000. This is over 4 times as many mentions!Clearly, "Death by PowerPoint" (searched without quotes) is on the increase. In spite of a new and improved version of PowerPoint (2007) and the popularity of countless books and…

Author Ellen Finkelstein and I were collaborating on a PowerPoint presentation design and script the other day. Ellen was in Iowa. I was in Michigan. We needed to show each other our work as we talked through our concepts. What to do?We decided to give Dimdim a whirl. Dimdim is an open source webconferencing service that promises to host web meetings for up to 20 people -- for free. A number of other compelling features touted at the site convinced us to try Dimdim: we can share a desktop, show slides, collaborate, chat, talk, and even record our session. The site also promises that the…

One of the reasons I watch Wimbledon is that John McEnroe's commentary goes right to the heart of what's happening. When a big-time player in the finals or semis gets off his or her game, McEnroe blasts the player for letting the opponent define the game -- forcing the player into a defensive (read losing) position. When you speak, you need to define your game. Set the agenda early in your speech. The bigger your agenda, the more influential your speech can be. Nobody gets noticed (or respected) for a humdrum, laundry list speech numbed with copious PowerPoint, the Novocain of public…

We've all seen it happen. I'm talking about the speaker who opens like the start of a drag race. When the green light goes on, he or she jams the accelerator right to the floor. We get the equivalent of screeching tires and clouds of rubber smoke as the speaker overpowers us with a torrent of words, acronyms, org charts, definitions, ideas, and complex visuals. At two minutes into the talk, we're already a minute behind. To the speaker, all this may seem "energetic and dynamic." To the audience, it's a huge turnoff. Audience members who are out of the loop are in the early stages of "I don't…

The only thing that's sinking faster than the economy is the credibility of leadership at virtually every level. It seems that everyone with a microphone or keyboard -- including leaders, pundits, the media, and the blogosphere -- "knows" how to solve our problems. Our society is now operating under crushing levels of empty certitude. There is only one certainty. The global economy is in completely uncharted territory. We've sailed into a raging storm with no weather forecast, no barometer, no map, and no compass. Any leader or commentator who says they really know what's going on is pumping…

During big-time, gut-wrenching crises, organizations have a tendency to do one of two things. They jam their Florsheim's into their mouths to the ankle. Or they hunker down, duck their heads, and try to ride out rough weather. Babbling and clamming up are both huge mistakes. A textbook example of a leadership vacuum is the initial U.S. response to the global economic crisis. Congress fell back on what they do best: empty political theater. The presidential candidates began shooting at the sky -- hoping to hit a bird. Our president entered the witless protection program. And CEOs of financial…

This blog entry is not about the politics of recent Congressional actions and legislation to deal with our financial crisis. This is about how a simple speechwriting screw-up almost produced a global economic catastrophe. As Hank Paulson and Ben Bernanke prepared their remarks to the Senate Banking Committee on September 23, 2008, they both forgot to ask two fundamental questions. "Who is our real audience? And what do they want and need to hear?" Instead, they wrote their remarks for investment bankers and Ph.D. economists -- in other words, themselves. They completely missed the real…

Many presenters take questions from the audience and answer them, but fewer ask the audience questions. Asking the audience questions has many benefits, including: - Breaking the ice -- when you do it early in the presentation - Getting the audience involved - Giving the presenter crucial information about the audience, including what they're interested in, what they already know, and what their needs are Some of these benefits you obtain by taking questions from the audience -- if they ask the questions they have. But you'd be surprised how many people never ask questions.

Olivia Mitchell, who writes the Speaking about Presenting blog, has organized a group blogging event on what we'd like to see in PowerPoint design in 2009. (And "design" rhymes with "2009!") Her inspiration was a blog post by Laura Bergells, called "PowerPoint, Propaganda, and You," in which Laura talked about what she'd like to see in 2009, and challenged the current PowerPoint design fashion vogue as being "overly simplistic." I've been writing about effective presenting for quite a while but the chance to talk about what I'd like to see in 2009 is too tempting to pass up. So, without…

Attend the webinar where you'll learn how to design presentations that use no backgrounds or bullets! Join me and Laura Bergells (author of the Maniactive blog) for a lively, informative, and important lesson in preventing Death by PowerPoint! Wednesday, 12/3 at 3pm ET, 2pm CT, 1pm MT, 12N PT Even better, you can get $20 off the price by using this code: 20OFFDEC See you there, Ellen

A great way to emphasize and draw attention to an object on a slide is to circle it. Of course, the easy way is to insert a circle, and use the Appear or Fade entrance animation. Be sure to format the circle with no fill. I like to use a red outline and give it a weight of at least 2 pt. To format the circle...

Presentations are printed more often than we realize, but we rarely design for printing in mind. Although, I've had two clients who created presentations only for print: one was creating a brochure for sales reps and the other was presenting to potential investors at a meeting around a table. Even if you don't plan to print the presentation, you may send it to others who will print it. You certainly want to make sure that the results will be satisfactory.

Another year begins.  And with it comes New Year’s Resolutions.  As a public speaker, here are a few you may consider adding to your list to help you tune your humor radar and exercise your sense of humor. 1.  One of the challenges of a New Year’s Resolution is that sometimes the goal is so massive that you don’t know where to start.  As a result, you don’t start!  You can solve that problem by breaking the resolution down in to smaller parts.  What is the First Step toward achieving the desired goal? 2.  Enter our January humor contests.  Develop the habit of…

Happy New Year!  It’s time for our January Cartoon Caption Contest.  We feature a new cartoon on the first of every month. And our joke contests are announced mid-month. Here is this month’s cartoon and one possible caption. You should have joined the Marines before the budget cuts.  They used to give us rifles and uniforms. Now it’s time for you to write a few captions.  Edit and rewrite your captions to make them stronger.  Select your best ones and submit them to HumorPowerTips@HumorPower.com by January 14, 2009. Related Article:  19 Ideas For Writing Funny Cartoon…

Our December cartoon was very popular.  We had over 400 entries.  Our panel of 10 judges (improv players and speakers) picked the winners.  We had a tie for first place. Our cartoonist is Dan Rosandich.  Check out his web site for information on how he can create custom cartoons for your next special project, book, flyer, web site, T-shirt, and more. We announce a new Cartoon Caption Contest tomorrow. Our next Joke Writing Contest is announced on January 15. Here are this month’s top entries: ** FIRST PLACE ** (A Tie for Two Entries) When the Club said we’d get a bar code I…

How do we, as public speakers, know what’s funny? I was recently asked:  “What do you look for when searching for a funny punchline?”  Who is the best judge of what is funny?  Me?  You?  The audience?  There is no simple answer.  The art and science of humor is complex.  To figure out whether or not a line is funny…and how funny…you must look at the structure of the line, the word choice, the timing, the physical delivery, the common knowledge of the audience, and more.  I’m a pretty good judge of what’s funny.  But what might be funny when…

The workplace should not be all work and no play.  To have fun at the office we need to be able to laugh at our mistakes. Sixteen years ago my marketing director and good friend Connie handled all my speaking booking and correspondence.  We had a second office set up in her home and she handled the administrative end of my business. In preparing confirmation letters for upcoming engagements, we would include the closing sentence:  “Please sign a copy of this letter of agreement and return to us to confirm the engagement date.” Of course, Connie would always run the letter…

Geoff Burch at the Communicate with Clarity seminar, Barnet About a decade ago, I bought a book entitled Go It Alone: The Streetwise Secrets of Self Employment by Geoff Burch. I could see immediately that it was unlike other business guides in its humorous, no-nonsense approach.Some years later, it helped me out of a difficult situation when I was asked to deliver a speech at a civic function - but not in my home town. I had a few anecdotes but not enough for me to feel that I had a rounded speech. I was actually on my way to the venue when it occurred to me that the town had the word 'time'…

Jeremy Jacobs at the Communicate with Clarity seminar, BarnetThere were a number of reasons why I was delighted on 2 December to be able to attend one of the first of what I hope will be many Communicate with Clarity seminars run by Jeremy Jacobs. Firstly, it was an opportunity to finally get to meet and listen to Jeremy, who writes one of the most useful and regularly updated media and public speaking blogs, Corporate Presenter.Then there was the subject matter itself: cold calling. For some time now, I have been hearing and reading about firms drumming up new business cheaply - and quickly…

Reading East Probus ClubAfter so many repeat bookings, my last two engagements for November were for groups where I had never spoken before, the first of these being a talk after a luncheon at Reading East Probus Club on 24 November.Public Speaking Tip #268: Repeat bookings are gratifying because they demonstrate that an organisation wants you back  but they are less of a challenge than speaking to a group who have never  heard you before. First-time bookings also offer more scope for referrals and merchandising and they should, in turn, lead to repeat bookings for that group.There…

Highcliffe Evening WIMy second booking on 19 November saw me returning to the Highcliffe Evening Women's Institute in Dorset where I last spoke in June 2005. There were around 45 ladies there and my topic this time was the Power of Humour in Everyday Life. The talk went very well, helped by the fact that the annoying cough which had interrupted my presentation in Swanage a few hours earlier never came back. I was certainly expecting it to and I made sure that I was well-prepared with sweets and a glass of water - but it didn't happen.Public Speaking Tip #267: Many of the challenges we might…

Swanage Ladies Luncheon ClubMy fourth talk in Swanage this year was for the Ladies Luncheon Club on 19 November, two years after my last booking for them. The Sandbanks ferry was out of service due to maintenance work so the bus had to travel the whole distance from Bournemouth by land (hence the appalling punning title of this post!) but I arrived at the Grand Hotel in good time for my 11.15 start.There were about 45 ladies at the meeting and the talk this time was my most recent addition, I Must Write That Down! (A Commonplace Book). I was conscious of the fact that a few of them…

There was a funny letter in The Economist about the recession a couple of weeks ago:Sir, Lexington stated that Mr Obama faces "a mother-in-law of a recession". This is not a wholly accurate description. Unlike mother-in-laws, recessions rarely arrive unexpectedly on one's doorstep. Nor do they exhibit behavioural patterns that defy normal explanation. And although both share a capacity to inflict misery and despair on the innocent, the scars from a recession will eventually heal.Finbar O'KeefeStudio City, California

Boris Johnson, Mayor of London, quotes Colonel Kilgore from Apocalypse Now in his new year message. The format is half-video, half-speech. Boris's informal public school manner is much in evidence. Boris, as a politician, is a one-trick pony, he makes you laugh, and he wants everyone to do well, but he doesn't offer anything in the way of detail.Go to: http://www.london.gov.uk/mayor/videos/nearyearmessage2008.jsp

Speculation is hotting up about Barack Obama's inaugural speech, which will be on Tuesday 20 January 2009. The BBC's Broadcasting House did a good feature on the subject this morning (click here). They're asking for suggestions for what he should say for next week's programme. I shall be giving it some thought.

2009 is going to be all about penny-pinching for many businesses. But caution is required. A recession is caused by overvaluing things. To succeed as a business, you need to pay the right price for the right services. The credit crunch is the process of rebuilding on the rock rather than the sand. Over the past two years I have used Labrow Marketing. They have done my branding, including my website. They have managed my key words. I now have three mentions on the front page of Google, when you search for ‘speechwriter’. They also did a German and a French website for me this year.

Extracts from the finest inspirational speeches in 40 films - all encapsulated in two minutes. (Tip off from the Vital Speeches of the Day newsletter - click here to subscribe)

Gary writes : I’ve been doing my research, and I’ve identified several strategies that you and I can learn to enhance our delivery skills. It’ll probably take some getting used to, but it’s really simple to learn. All you have to do is focused is focused on ONE small word to create a BIG. http://adjix.com/m27r

Recently, I’ve become aware of some emerging trends regarding presentation styles and have recognized some individuals who seem to be at the forefront of these trends.  Stylistically, these trends often involve rapid, compact presentations spoken over carefully chosen words and imagery to punctuate the points being made. These ‘cut the crap’ style presentations can be surprisingly informational and quite entertaining if delivered well. It’s something that personally gets me motivated to attend events and makes me hopeful for the future of visual storytelling. As…

by Joanna C. Dunlap, CPT, PhD I attend numerous conferences, symposia, and workshops each year—both as a participant and a contributor. I am increasingly frustrated with my colleagues’ and my own performance. In general, the issue is our misuse and overuse of the standard presentation format: bulleted slide after bulleted slide. … more