A few months ago, on a trip out to the Bay Area, I met up with the one and only Nancy Duarte. Nancy is the principal of Duarte Design — an extraordinarily creative and successful communications firm specializing in presentation graphics, superb PowerPoint for presenters, presentation structure, and the crafting of a given corporation or …
Nancy Duarte Interviews Victoria Labalme – Presentation Skills Mastery Read More »
In the current issue of WIRED magazine (December 2011), there’s a piece by Penn Jillette (of the famed Penn & Teller team) about the power of Steve Jobs on stage. The piece is titled MASTER OF THE STAGE and in it, Penn talks about a few of the elements that made Jobs such a fabulous …
You Are Enough – The Transcendent Power of Honest Action on Stage Read More »
This was a week of many meetings and many conferences…from San Francisco to Santa Clara, Los Angeles to San Diego. I saw 21 presenters – many of them great – and along the way, I met a lot of exceptional people. On stage at the extraordinary Brendon Burchard event in Santa Clara, the one and …
One Size Does Not Fit All – Finding Your Own Speaking Style Read More »
I’m often asked by people who know I’ve seen their presentation if I might offer a few tips for how to make their presentation come to life. Here are 3 tips from my article, “20 Tips on Turning a Boring Presentation into A Slam-Dunk Performance.” ENJOY! V Re-Experience Your Stories: Every time you tell …
Turning a Boring Presentation into a Slam-Dunk Performance – 3 tips Read More »
As a presenter, there’s no question that you can learn a lot by studying those at the top of the game in your area of expertise, but there are hugely valuable insights to be gleaned from studying masters in related performing arts fields…those whose professions are (in essence) “cousins” to speaking. When I coach presentation …
Below are the 3 most common language errors presenters make. If you’re going to step up on the platform and stand in front of a microphone, you owe it to your audience (and to yourself) to use language properly. Mistake #1. Improper use of “I” where “me” would be correct. Example: “The real estate agent …
A number of years ago I read the book, STORY STRUCTURE, by Robert McKee. I also took his incredible 3-day seminar — an intensive course in which he teaches the principles of effective screenwriting. One of the components from McKee’s book and seminar that has stayed with me (among many) was the concept of what …
Amidst the dozens of obituaries, articles, and tributes I read about Steve Jobs, one particular characteristic stood out: Steve’s mistrust in focus groups and in going to the market first to ask what the consumer wanted. “It’s not the consumers’ job to know what they want,” he once said. What a staggeringly brilliant …
One Lesson from Steve Jobs – Trusting Your Own Voice & Vision Read More »
I’m here in Seattle to deliver the closing keynote presentation for the Association of School Business Officials (ASBO). The theme of this year’s conference: Go For The Experience. What a superb theme. The ASBO audience is comprised of people who have the noble (and often thankless) job of keeping schools on track with budgets, finances, …
When it comes to reducing nerves for a presentation, nothing quite beats preparation. Preparation–if done properly––will go a long way towards getting rid of the heebie-jeebie knee-knocking nerves that can overtake you before an event. Even when you’ve prepared, however, there’s that moment just before you go on when your insides are whipping around …
Curing Speaking Nerves – Reconnecting With Your Through Line Read More »
