Have you ever seen a bad PowerPoint presentation? (Have you ever made one?!) Think about how you use PowerPoint. It can be used to engage, to annoy, to inform or put people to sleep. Many argue that to use PowerPoint itself is bad and should be avoided. But if there is a problem with a PowerPoint More…
Prezi versus PowerPoint for presentation visuals
Have you heard of Prezi? Sometimes called the ‘zooming’ presentation software, Prezi is an online program you can use to create presentations that are considered more dynamic than PowerPoint because of its Zooming User Interface. What does that mean? The presentation or story is laid out on a virtual canvas and the scale of the viewed area More…
The Power of the Pause in public speaking
I paused to speak with a friend this week, a legend in radio, who shared with me what Graham Kennedy believed was his secret to success in connecting with an audience. The pause. Now, some of you will be asking; ‘Who the hell is Graham Kennedy? He was a pioneer – an award-winning entertainer, movie More…
My chat with Bill Clinton about Public Speaking
Bill Clinton talked about public speaking mistakes Al Gore made during the 2000 election when I spoke to him at the Global Business Forum in Feb 2006. Victorian Premier Steve Bracks introduced him as the World’s Greatest Communicator, and his speech on the day was compelling, but I was more interested in asking him questions about speaking style. In particular, More…
How to END a speech with power and impact
The universe has no end. Doesn’t that blow your mind a little? When you look up in the sky, it doesn’t end. Ever. This is difficult for humans to fathom. Our brain can’t process things that don’t end. It causes overwhelm, which shuts down our processing and recall faculties. This, however, creates a unique opportunity. More…
Crazy over public speaking gestures for 70 years
Found this old film from the 1940s that runs through the ‘basics’ of effective public speaking. It’s absolute rubbish, but very funny, with an over-emphasis on body posture and forced gestures. There’s some hilarious footage here; especially in the scene demonstrating how not to make public speaking gestures. And in the final “live” speech the speaker’s motions are More…
Jeff’s final speech as Hawks President
I was lucky enough to be invited to the President’s Lunch for the Hawks game against the Western Bulldogs last week. Jeff Kennett spoke for the last time at this event as Hawks President. His stint ends at the club’s AGM on December 14, when Andrew Newbold takes over. The room was full with 600 More…
Groundbreaking new app – VividOutline for iPad
Is this app really groundbreaking? Well, if you want a quick, easy way to prepare a speech or presentation – and then rehearse the structure and key messages in just a few minutes, then it is groundbreaking. There’s been nothing like this before. Most software innovation in the area of public speaking and presentations is around More…
Quick tip: Ask (rhetorical) questions of your audience
Why ask questions? (like this one). Because they provoke the mind of your listener. Asking questions during a presentation forces the audience to mentally participate. We use the term ‘rhetorical question’ to mean that you don’t expect a reply. Even though the audience doesn’t answer, their minds are more active when they hear the question format. What’s More…
‘We can face the confidence with future’: A media lesson from Julia Gillard
Slips of the tongue happen all the time. They’re not a problem. What matters is how we handle them. When speaking in public (or televised from Parliament), the best way to handle them is to pause, smile, and correct yourself. A minor blip. The worst way to handle them is to ‘power on’ and pretend it More…
