Ask These 8 Questions To Artfully Analyze Your Audience

The success of your next presentation depends on your ability to connect with your audience. It’s all about them, not you. Before you script out what you are going to say, or decide which template to use for your slides, ask first who’s going to be listening to your message. Read more

How Can I Calm My Nerves Before a Presentation? Turn Panic into Poise

It’s no secret that public speaking tops many lists of the Top Ten Fears and Phobias. The mere thought of standing up and speaking to a group of people makes them break out in hives. Even seasoned professional presenters know as soon as you take the stage, so to speak, and as soon as the spotlight is on you, the anticipation of that presentation will manifest itself physically in some form or fashion—no matter how many years’ experience you have and no matter how much of a subject matter expert you are. Read more

Believe the Four B’s of No-Panic Presentations

For five years I served on the faculty of the American Management Association International, traveling and teaching one-day seminars. More specifically, I worked the five-cities-in-five-days circuit. For example, Monday might find me in Denver; Tuesday in Salt Lake City; Wednesday in Boise; Thursday in Seattle; and Friday in Portland, Oregon. Read more

Presentation Closing Clunker: How To Avoid Just Fizzling Out at the End

We’ve all seen it happen. A presenter hasn’t practiced closing statements, so he or she says something along the lines of, “Any questions?” Read more

Presentation Closing Clunker: Should You Save Q&A for the End?

At professional conferences, the question-and-answer session is an integral portion of many presentations. I’ve spoken at events where it was mandatory to save time for questions from the audience, and the allotted time can be anywhere from five minutes to sometimes 30 minutes. Read more