Webinar on Storytelling

Jim Harvey and I are two of the three founders of Presentation Guru. Given the current state of affairs in the world, we have decided to experiment with webinars. We are creating a series of four webinars for anyone interested in delivering better speeches and presentations. The first webinar covered some of the secrets of […]
What questions do you have for me?

Questions from the audience. They are an important part of any presentation because they give members of the audience a chance to let the speaker know what is on their mind. Sometimes, however, audience members might be reluctant to ask a question — after all, it requires them to speak in public — so I […]
How to handle public speaking nerves

On 3 June 2017, professional rock climber Alex Honnold accomplished something that few people thought could be done. He climbed the 3,000-foot granite wall of Yosemite Park’s famous El Capitan, the vertical wall in the photo above. Alone. Without ropes or any other safety apparatus. (Yes, you read that correctly.)This achievement has been celebrated as […]
When you speak, break the pattern

If you want your ideas to be stickier, you’ve got to break someone’s guessing machine and then fix it. You have to break their pattern of thinking in a way that creates surprise and interest. However, you must do so in a way that is relevant and thoughtful.
A fashion tip for women speakers

A fashion tip for women. When it comes to giving fashion advice, I am on thin ice. When it comes to giving fashion advice to women, I have fallen through the ice. But on one point, I stand firmly on solid ground. If a woman is going to speak and she knows that she will […]
6 tips for handling a remote when presenting

If you use slides in your presentations, whether PowerPoint, Keynote or some other software, you must become comfortable using a remote to advance those slides. The alternatives are not great: 1. Standing by the computer the entire presentation and advancing the slides using the keyboard. 2. Walking back and forth between the computer and the […]
Don't make the same mistake as Donald Trump

You’d be forgiven if, after reading the title of this post, you asked, “Which one?” Don’t worry, we’re going to leave politics aside, so that narrows it down, at least somewhat. Instead, I want to discuss a mistake that the President made during his 2018 address to the United Nations. Many speakers make the same mistake, […]
Simplicity is the key to brilliance

Simplicity is the key to brilliance. Don’t take my word for it. Just ask anyone who has succeeded in his or her field. For example, see what the following people—who are associated with widely different fields—all said about simplicity. Aristotle Frédéric Chopin Chip and Dan Heath Steve Jobs Bruce Lee Charles Mingus Pablo Picasso Dieter […]
Something more: A lesson from Chef's Table

Chef’s Table My wife, Julie and I recently happened upon the Netflix series, Chef’s Table. Each episode features one of the world’s most successful chefs, digging into the background story and finding out what drives the person. We are late to the game. We watched the last episode of Season 2, but as of the date of […]
1,000 downloads!

Very pleased to share with you that Florian Mueck and I have hit 1,000 downloads of the app version of Rhetoric – The Public Speaking Game™. RHETORIC it is the world’s first public speaking board game. Florian and I created it a few years back. The game began as a physical board game. We then went digital with launch […]
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