9th August, 2010 - Posted by janebeard - 3 Comments
I just saw a video, part of the Washington Post’s good “On Leadership” series, featuring author Pamela Myer. Myer wrote the book, Lie Spotting. I bet it’s a good book, because her talking points are clear, memorable and useful. I even bet she’s smart and a confident authentic speaker – just not in this » Read More
20th July, 2010 - Posted by janebeard - No Comments
Business people – especially the ones in marketing and HR – looooove the word leverage. Their talks are full of how we’ll leverage assets, leverage people, leverage ideas, even how they’ll leverage the competition. Some of these speakers love the word leverage so much that, when I ask them what word they would use instead, if » Read More
17th June, 2010 - Posted by janebeard - No Comments
Forget about ‘em. Seriously. Because when your attention is on your hands, it’s not on us, out in the audience. And we matter more than your hands do. PLUS: Your hands are really smart. In almost all cases, they’ll do everything naturally and intelligently — IF you just let them do what they do. When you become » Read More
25th May, 2010 - Posted by janebeard - No Comments
“I pulled a few slides from a deck I gave last week to the Board.” Yikes. This speaker means one of three things, none of them good: – “I talk to the Board and you DON’T,” – “I prepared for them, but for you: leftovers. Deal » Read More
22nd May, 2010 - Posted by janebeard - No Comments
One of the interesting things about humans is that we’re wired is that our brains crave novelty. In fact, psychological anthropologists think it’s left over from our days as hunter-gatherers. It’s why some of us (ahem) have 10 pairs of black shoes in the closet but remain in the hunt for another pair. Searching for the » Read More
15th April, 2010 - Posted by janebeard - No Comments
Your mother was wrong: You don’t always have to say “thank you.” “Thank you for your attention.” “Thank you for taking time out of your day to be here with us.” How many presentations have you heard begin and end with, ”thank you”? How often have you actually felt thanked? From the audience perspective, it’s not like we » Read More
7th March, 2010 - Posted by janebeard - 1 Comment
Forget what your mother told you. Gossip is good. And it ought to be in your next presentation. Yeah, gossip can be dangerous. But it’s always riveting and often useful. If you haven’t learned something interesting at the water cooler (or on the water cooler replacements of facebook and Twitter), you aren’t paying attention. The fact is, » Read More
1st March, 2010 - Posted by janebeard - No Comments
Think again. We’ve found that most speakers – even the seriously, can’t-get-a-deep-breath-afraid-I-might-throw-up speakers – ALSO are looking forward to some aspect of the presentation. Mixed in with the anxiety, in other words, is anticipation. Sometimes eagerness. The thing is, anxiety and anticipation can show up in similar ways. Your heart beat picks up. Your hands can » Read More
17th February, 2010 - Posted by janebeard - No Comments
TED is a terrific series of conferences on “Big Idea” topics related to Technology, Entertainment and Design (hence, TED). They invite speakers from around the world to come talk about “ideas worth spreading.” And in twenty minutes or less, the audience gets to learn what they’re creating and why. After the conference, TED posts the talks » Read More
7th September, 2009 - Posted by janebeard - 2 Comments
Think back to when you’ve been in the audience for a live presentation — in the same room with the speaker, not watching on TV. What’s the first one that springs to mind? And what is about that presentation that was memorable? What did you like/not like about it? For Jane, the answer would be a eulogy » Read More
