Let’s think of the mind of an audience as having two basic types of material–old impressions and memories of events actually experienced, and imaginative rearrangements of parts of these actual experiences which never really existed. For instance, remembering how your uncle looked when he… Read More »Presentation skills as personal development
In a recent op-ed piece in the New York Times, Stanley Fish, a professor at Florida International University, grabbed readers by the collar with the importance of first sentences. Here’s the situation he posits. You’re at the mystery section of an… Read More »Effective Presentation Skills: The First Sentence
On Tuesday, April 24th, The Wall Street Journal ran an article on men’s health. A key indicator of a healthy man, it turns out, is a waist size under 40 inches. One of the doctors quoted said that men don’t… Read More »Presentation Coaching: Presentation Pants
On our honeymoon in Nova Scotia more than 25 years ago, my wife and I were amazed to see an albino crow rubbing shoulders with his black brothers, who showed not a shred of colorism. I’ve never seen another. Now along comes… Read More »Presentation Training: White Crow, Black Swan
One of my consulting firm clients came to me with a problem that surprised me. Although they hire the most accomplished students from the most competitive colleges and B-schools, the firm is concerned about their unwillingness to speak up at… Read More »Speaking Anxiety: The Conference Room Comment
When I heard Daniel Shore on NPR blame the listeners for the implosion of the Don Imus show, I felt a little ashamed, because I tuned in, I listened, and I laughed at Imus. I liked how he insulted his colleagues and… Read More »Speech Training: Don Imus and Insult Humor