Emails expose the real “you.” In an organizational setting, the communications you send to prospects, clients and partners usually pass through some kind of quality check—an editor, an administrative assistant or the guy in the next cube. But for the most part, we’re on our own with emails. We exchange email message with all our… [Read more…]
March 13, 2012
For business owners, few activities can match the stress levels prompted by the prospect of being interviewed by a journalist. Often, the anxiety develops for the same reason that some people become apprehensive as a passenger in an airliner—they feel they have no control over the direction of the event nor any way of ensuring… [Read more…]
November 1, 2011
For most of the past century, technology focused on making presentations ever larger. TV screens evolved from being measured in inches to being measured in feet. Stage shows transformed from intimate communication across the footlights to massive Las Vegas-style arena extravaganzas. And even audio presentation graduated from monaural to stereo to quadraphonic to 3D to Dolby… [Read more…]
September 20, 2011
Despite blaming the economy for slowdowns, it’s clear that these days we’re all busy—all the time. We don’t have many minutes left for meetings, even less for full-scale presentations. As a result, our ability to introduce our services and products to others relies more than ever on the elevator speech (a phrase that seems oddly… [Read more…]
August 24, 2011
Interviews may be the most nerve-racking type of presentation that business people of all ranks and sectors must endure. Unlike appearing before a large group, if the going gets tough during an interview, we can’t turn to another section of the audience to find a friendlier face. The close eye contact between questioner and interview… [Read more…]
April 7, 2011
Many of our presentation-training clients ask us to guide them through refresher sessions when, months later, they begin preparing for another big appearance before a conference, shareholders meeting or public event. Coming into these second-time-around sessions, I usually can anticipate the tips that most executives will have retained, along with the ones that they will… [Read more…]
March 23, 2011
Avoid turning phrases that rely on your tone of voice for their interpretation. My wife rarely appreciates my attempts to pun-tificate. I throw out a line like, “What do you call candies made by a rap star on the Arabian Peninsula? Eminem Yemeni M&Ms!” and I get “the look.” It must be excruciating for her, as… [Read more…]
January 24, 2011
If you acknowledge the impending demise of the conventional “presentation,” which admittedly is a daunting leap for veteran trainers and new-business teams, you will want to continue to develop your skills as an engagement master, rather than presenter. I offered half a dozen steps you might take in The Death of the Presentation, a number… [Read more…]
December 21, 2010
One of the looming byproducts of this era of 140-character attention spans and the socializing of business communications may be the demise of the “presentation.” I certainly hate to see it struggling and in such pain—after all, my blog is titled Present Perfect—but like the Old Year with his scythe yielding to Baby New Year,… [Read more…]
October 11, 2010
As online communication rapidly gravitates toward video–from YouTube to smart phones to video calls–executives are discovering they must use or develop a new set of communications skills. Delivering the spoken word in a motivating fashion–especially when your audience is nowhere in sight–often is much more difficult than punching up your writing. Here are six tips… [Read more…]
May 4, 2012
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