Ironically enough, the biggest challenge faced by people making scientific and technical presentations is their reluctance to follow the scientifically established principles of communication. What are those rules? One of them is that the human mind is drawn to problems,… Read More »Scientific and Technical Presentations
At the annual LP meetings I’ve been working on, I have noticed that the senior guy wants to give his views on the macro economic picture. He wants to do this for good reasons: To put the results his team… Read More »An Emerging Problem at Limited Partner Meetings
When she was a year old, I held my daughter Georgia at the closed window of our 30th floor New York City apartment so we could look out over Times Square. Across the street, stretching the full length of a… Read More »Public speaking as empathetic assertiveness
The current shouting match going in Washington is bad public speaking. Good public speaking begins– literally and figuratively– with civility. “May it please the court,” says the lawyer. “Madam Speaker, Vice President So-and-So, members of Congress, distinguished guests, and fellow… Read More »Public speaking begins with civility
You can’t make excuses for yourself when you’re in front of an audience. You have to do the best you can without divulging your aches and pains. There’s a tradition in show business: “The show must go on.” Actors and… Read More »No Excuses in Public Speaking
When preparing a talk, ask yourself if your audience wants to solve a problem or capitalize on an opportunity. Maybe they want to do both. Whatever the case, they’ll want to calculate the risks. Solving the wrong problem wastes time… Read More »Presentation Pointer: Second-guess everything