The Power of Gestures
For a great example of how gestures can be used to increase the effectiveness of a presentation, watch the fascinating TED Talk below by Bonnie Bassler. She is a molecular biologist at Princeton University. In the video, she is speaking about a very exciting discovery in the field of bacteriology. Effective speakers understand the power […]
Analysis of a Speech by Philip K. Howard
Philip K. Howard is a lawyer from New York and author of the books The Death of Common Sense, The Collapse of the Common Good and Life Without Lawyers. One of his great concerns is the manner in which his country, the United States, has become paralyzed by the proliferation of laws and lawsuits, and by the pervasive threat of litigation. […]
PowerPoint Math: Happy Birthday!
We celebrated a birthday last year. Perhaps you missed it, but it was a milestone. Yes, in 2009 we celebrated the 25th birthday of PowerPoint. Happy Birthday! To put this into perspective, the top Hollywood movies of 1984, the year PowerPoint was born, included Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Amadeus, The Terminator, Ghostbusters […]
Excellent Interview with Chris Anderson of TED
Those of you who have been reading this blog for some time will know that I consider watching TED Talks to be one of the best ways to spend time on the Internet. The curator of TED is Chris Anderson. In an interview with Bizmore, a business website, Anderson offered some insights into the workings of […]
Make no apologies
“It is a good rule in life never to apologize. The right sort of people do not want apologies, and the wrong sort take a mean advantage of them.” – P. G. Wodehouse In a previous post, I wrote about apologies and thanks. Now I am saying “Make no apologies” – what’s going on? The Parker […]
Why Too Much Data Can Be Bad
Seth Godin is the author of ten books about marketing, change and work that have been bestsellers around the world. His blog is one of my favourites. The post below appeared on his blog on 21 January 2010. In a previous post, I quoted Margaret Thatcher who said that a statistic should tell a story. The problem with […]
Quotes for Public Speakers (No. 9) – Winston Churchill
“It’s quite simple. Say what you have to say and when you come to a sentence with a grammatical ending, sit down.” Winston Churchill
Speaking with Passion
As Garth Reynolds says, when delivering a speech, being passionate about your topic is one of the most important things you can do.
Making it Stick: Be Concrete
This is Part 4 of a seven-part series on making speeches and presentations memorable. It is based on the book Made to Stick by Chip and Dan Heath. Today I want to talk to you about planned initiatives to streamline functionalities in inter-departmental communications, thereby capitalizing on synergies and maximizing shareholder value. Wait a minute. […]
Tagged BusinessChip HeathconcretenessDan HeathDaniel KraftErnest HemingwayMade to StickpresentationsTEDWilliam Faulkner