We all need to be persuasive. We need a vivid message to convey the true value of our idea or it will be lost to the world. I coached a scientist who’s pitch for funding wasn’t getting anywhere. His newly developed technology was groundbreaking. He was a likeable and energetic presenter, but explained his technology…
Sunday night was the first Election debate with Kevin Rudd and Tony Abbott. There’s plenty of commentary on who won and why. My view is below. However, I thought I’d use this opportunity to address a side story: Kevin Rudd’s use of speaker notes. The first headline I saw on Monday morning was: CAUGHT RUDD…
The message in his story is expertly placed. When you read the article “Russell Brand: my life without drugs” in the Guardian you’ll notice 2 things: It’s a fast-paced read by a good writer (Brand) with a compelling story to tell. He uses STORY to achieve his real goal of embedding a vivid message in the reader’s…
One of the most enjoyable marketing messages I’ve worked on focused on a huge, old wooden hot tub, high on the snow covered mountains of Falls Creek.I love to ski. And there’s nothing more enjoyable than soothing aching muscles in a hot tub at the end of the day. Particularly if it’s outside where you…
Public speaking is your core opportunity to demonstrate leadership qualities. There were some great speeches in the recent leadership challenge, and some not so great speeches. Overall, they tell a fascinating story. They explain a lot about leadership communication and public speaking. I’m not going to address who’s right or wrong, who lied or betrayed, etc….
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…
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…
Team building can be achieved by developing focused, inspirational messages. It’s amazing how much impact these words can have on team motivation. I’ve written before about the importance of strong leadership messages when speaking a in corporate or presentation environment, and great leaders know that effective team building happens when your team is driven by a…
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,…
The sports media industry is growing rapidly and sports jobs are increasing in this area. Are you ready to transition from the field to the microphone? Picture the scene for the sportsperson… Microphone in hand, you stand… waiting. The sound guy and cameraperson is milling around while another guy fiddles with cables and lighting. What do you…