The thought of answering a question at a meeting or having to speak at short notice is something that can cripple some – almost to the point of inability to speak. I’m not going to claim a simple structure will remove all the fear and doubt you may harbour when it comes to impromptu speaking [...]

The second in this series of speech structures that you may want to utilize from time to time is affectionately referred to as the PREP structure, or Point Reason Example Point. You’ll find the PREP structure is most useful to you when you are in the situation where you need to persuade your audience to [...]

One of the more common questions I receive is how should I organise my thoughts in my speech or presentation? Often this question comes from a basis of not understanding the basic speech structures than can be used. Following the established speech structures provides you with a solid framework that you know works – allowing [...]

“Look me in the eyes and tell me you didn’t hurt your sister!” I’m sure any parent or anyone who remembers their childhood will recall statements like that. It seems that we use the eyes of a person as the window to the truth. When you give your speeches or presentations what truth does your [...]

I was sad to see both England and Australia lose out on their bids to host the World cup in 2018 and 2022 respectively. I took the time to watch both their final presentations to the FIFA board. I enjoyed both the England and Australian presentations. Isn’t it curious, that in a bidding process that [...]

When you write a document do you take the time to review what you’ve written? Do you use the opportunity to rephrase some of your sentences so they become clearer to the reader? Do you do the same with your presentations? I’m not talking about the bullet points you have on your slides (although removing [...]

I spent Thursday last week as an audience member in presentations at a technical conference at Darling Harbour in Sydney. As is so often the case with these types of events the standard and effectiveness of the presentations varied greatly. One does sticks out in my mind because of the way the presenter dealt with [...]

Having sat through many technical presentations Ive seen plenty of instances where the speaker has shared way to much detail in his (or her) presentation. From PowerPoint presentations filled with line of programming code, to diagrams that contained every concievable detail, presenters who didnt know how to (or refused to) credit their audience with the [...]

In your next presentation, if you can only say one sentence – what will you say to your audience? Its no easy task to refine a presentation down to a single solitary sentence. When I challenge my clients often the reaction is “but, I want to say ‘this’, and I need to tell them about [...]

Developing technical presentations can be a daunting task. Trying to pitch your presentation to the right level depends entirely on how well you know the make up of your audience. More often than not you’ll find yourself presenting to a group who are either non technical, or not technically versed in what you will be [...]