Blaise Pascal was a 17th century French mathematical genius who spelled out the laws of probability more clearly than anyone before him. This was a watershed moment, because for the first time humanity had a systematic way of thinking about… Read More »Pascal’s Wager and Public Speaking
Blaise Pascal was a 17th century French mathematical genius who spelled out the laws of probability more clearly than anyone before him. This was a watershed moment, because for the first time humanity had a systematic way of thinking about… Read More »Pascal’s Wager and Public Speaking
Ford Harding has lifted his pen to engage with me on a subject of profound importance to sales professionals, leaders, and anyone who seeks to influence others. That subject is the emotional sea on which all decisions float. FUD (fear,… Read More »Presentation Training: FUD, GOG, Ethics and Rhetoric
FUD is Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt. I first heard the term when consulting at Gartner. I was working with the analysts in preparing for a Gartner Symposium, and several of them used FUD at the start of their talks to… Read More »FUD in Public Speaking and Persuasion
Effective speaking has many enemies. A partial list would include a speaker’s lack of experience, stage fright, lack of training, no clear point, too much information, and finally, no clear flow, or structure. We could go on. But the items… Read More »Public Speaking Training: The Dreaded just-after-lunch Slot on the Program
I just returned from an engagement during which I was asked to give partners in a professional service firm 10 minutes to pitch the firm to a brand new prospect, played by another partner sitting across the table. Most partner/presenters… Read More »Presentation Tips: Listener-centric Messaging