My favorite Oscar talk from last night was by Lupita Nyongo’o. Not because I saw her movie yet (I’m behind on the Oscar movies from 2013), but because her speech was so authentic. Sure, she probably rehearsed it a few times. Well, likely a lot of times because it still felt authentic. Really authentic. It’s […]
Tag Archives | presentation delivery
Credibility killers to avoid
There are some things speakers do that absolutely kill their credibility. Some of those things are content oriented, some of those things are not. This post is about bringing awareness to some things we do to kill our credibility when presenting. Too many filler words. Filler words are those words we utter when we’re trying […]
1-on-1 meetings
An old college friend of mine recently asked me for some advice for a 1-on-1 meeting he was about to have with his boss about a possible promotion. (Let’s all cross our fingers that he gets it!) My advice to him was that the process for preparing for a 1-on-1 meeting is the same: Do […]
Lessons from Occupy Atlanta
I just watched this clip of Occupy Atlanta, where the group decides that booked speaker, John Lewis, known for being instrumental in the Civil Rights Movement is not allowed to speak. The group couldn’t come to a consensus about whether they wanted to hear him speak, namely because someone spoke up and said that he […]
If you only take 2 things away from this blog, #2
I feel a compulsion when I see new speakers to walk up to them, put my finger in the center of their back and push their other shoulder back. Why? Because I want to correct their posture. As a presentation creation and coaching professional, it’s probably the second gospel I want to spread to the […]
Friday Fun Idea: Karaoke!
Have a speaking gig coming up? Are you super nervous? Having trouble maintaining your voice throughout your talk? Having trouble with your stage presence? Then grab your fellow speakers/team mates and go out to karaoke! Karaoke isn’t about speaking, it’s about stage presence, having fun, and being part of a group. I’m not advocating alcohol (especially […]
Best Practices for Rapid Fire presentations
On March 28, 2012, I will be introducing 6 amazing speakers at The Economist Ideas Economy: Innovation conference in Berkeley, California, that I had the pleasure of curating, coaching and assisting in the design of their presentations as appropriate. Their topic: The demonstration of some of the facets of being an innovation practitioner, as I […]
What TED tips should you use for your presentation?
I’m deeply involved in TEDxHarlem as their speaker coach, which will be happening the week after this post. In that role, it’s critical that I push speakers to abide the TED Speaker Commandments. For your reference, they are here: TEDx SPEAKERS: THE TED COMMANDMENTS These 10 tips are the heart of a great TEDTalk. Dream […]
Tips for Panelists
A journalist recently asked for some tips for SXSW panelists, here is the list that I gave him. Hopefully it’ll be useful to you, too! Tips for Panelists: Find out what questions you will be asked ahead of time. This way you can practice your responses to ensure that you avoid too many “ums” and […]
Goals when running a rehearsal
A big part of what I do when coaching events is run rehearsals. This is when everyone meets each other, participants frequently get to give their talk for their first time, and the real meat of presentation coaching happens. When presentations are short, I like to run these as a workshop. I’m sure some […]