Content - Improve Your Public Speaking Presentation and Influence Skills Training Coaching Melbourne Australia

16Apr

Audience Connection: Your Truth or Universal Truth

Audience Connection - Your Truth or Universal Truth As audience members in a presentation or event of any kind, something we look for is a connection with the speaker. And one of the things that impacts that connection is when the presenter throws out a generalisation about a topic, and confidently asserts something that isn't true for us: either literally, or that doesn't fit with our values or beliefs. You could think of it like this, seen through the lens of audience connection: 'your truth' or 'universal truth'. Whether the speaker's assertion is a 'literal' or 'beliefs' trigger for us, it can cause...

By Sarah DenholmContent, Persuasion, Public Speaking and Presentation Skills Blogaudience connection, audience values and beliefs, Cuban proverb Every Head is a World, eye contact public speaking, high audience engagement, Lifehack.org, Mandy Kloppers1 CommentRead more...

15Nov

Balancing Certainty with Curiosity As a Speaker

In this video, I discuss balancing certainty with curiosity as a speaker. There's so much opinionated certainty nowadays - particularly online. And I have strong opinions myself! So my thoughts are around the 'dance' of how we come across to an audience when we present. Of course we need to be certain about our data, facts and figures, and our key messages. But too much certainty and we can seem arrogant, dismissive, inflexible. The perfect antidote to this: balancing certainty with curiosity as a speaker. Being open to the topic as you prepare, and the audience in the moment, and considering...

By Sarah DenholmContent, Mindset, Persuasionaudience needs, Barack Obama cancel culture, curiosity as a speaker, idea-based talk, too much certainty1 CommentRead more...

13Jun

Are Stories in Presentations Always Persuasive?

Using stories in presentations In today's video, I briefly discuss using stories in presentations to be more persuasive. The idea of using a story to help get your audience across the 'persuasion and influence' line is very common. Whether we're aiming to change people's mood, change their mind or get them to take real action. And when I talk about a story, I don't mean a cosy, fluffy tale, like someone reading to us in primary school or before we go to sleep! I simply mean using what I call 'humanity' to balance out facts, data, statistics. Most great presentations have a...

By Sarah DenholmAudience Management, business meetings, Content, Persuasion, Selling, StructureChip and Dan Heath, Influence and Persuade your Audience, Made to Stick, persuasion techniques, stories in business presentations2 CommentsRead more...

09May

To Be More Persuasive, Think About Power

Persuasion is a crucial part of our everyday communication, whether at work or socially. And have you ever considered that to be more persuasive, you need to think about power dynamics? How does feeling powerful play out, both for speaker and audience? To Persuade, Think about Power To uncover more about this, let's look at persuasion and power and how these interact with another key factor in our communication style: warmth and competence. Psychologists consider warmth and competence to be universal principles. In social perception terms, they're key ways we evaluate people, particularly when we first meet them. So how does considering power alongside...

By Sarah DenholmContent, Delivery, Persuasion, Public Speaking and Presentation Skills Blog, SellingKellogg School of Management Northwestern, persuasion, power, warmth and competence1 CommentRead more...

18Apr

How to Make Great Transitions in your Presentations

In this video, I discuss some ways you can make great transitions in your presentations. This can make a big difference to: how professional you seem how easily the audience can follow you [Video is below.] And without them, your talks can seem clunky and disjointed, as you move from one section to the next. I've found that many people aren't even aware of transitions as a professional tool. Yet good links - whether they're words, phrases or sentences - between your ideas will make your public speaking content flow smoothly and easily. They'll allow audience members to tune back in to you...

By Sarah DenholmContent, Delivery, Public Speaking and Presentation Skills BlogBrains comparing ideas, Kellogg School of Management Northwestern, Persuasion and power, polished public speaking, professional public speaking using transitions, public speaking flow, stories and persuasion0 CommentsRead more...

28Mar

Presentation Content Mistakes: Too Much Information

One of the most common presentation content mistakes I see is to give too much information. Depending on your perspective you might also call it too much value! It's very easy - even for experienced speakers - to equate information with value. And we can do this in every day interactions and meetings too – this sometimes urgent need we have, to show or share what we know. When we'd be better to step back and shut up! To allow space for the information to breathe and be absorbed...and maybe to let other people's voices be heard instead of ours. A presentation...

By Sarah Denholmbusiness meetings, Content, Delivery, Public Speaking and Presentation Skills Blog, Sellingaudience overwhelm, audience recall in public speaking, common presentation content mistakes, content overload, good presentations, good public speaking, persuasion techniques, rule of three points1 CommentRead more...

07Mar

5 Ways To Ask Questions That Your Audience Responds To

Do you give presentations, and worry about how to ask questions that your audience responds to? Have you ever sweated through silence, while a lot of faces stared blankly at you? It's probably happened at some point - it certainly has to me! Here are 5 ways to ask questions that your audience responds to: The opening of your talk I often encourage my clients to ask a question in their opening few sentences – because it is a good engagement technique. Some people nowadays say that it's cliched, but it's a cliche for a reason. So long as it's a relevant...

By Sarah DenholmContent, Delivery, Public Speaking and Presentation Skills Blog, Rehearsal, SellingAsking good questions in your presentation, dealing with silent audience during questions, Directing audience, introverts and asking questions during presentations, using rhetorical questions as a speaker0 CommentsRead more...

14Nov

How to Use Few or No Notes when Presenting

Do you use a full script or feel like you have to read your presentation? Is one of your goals to learn how to use few – or no – notes when presenting? It can be important for many people, particularly in certain industries, to show their expertise in this way. I personally see notes – whether they’re bullet points jotted on a cue card or an A4 sheet of paper – as a safety net. Something that allows you to get back on track if you get distracted or thrown. Or if you have a mind blank or brain freeze..the kind of horrible...

By Sarah DenholmContent, Delivery, Overcoming Nerves, Public Speaking and Presentation Skills Blog, Rehearsalbullets on cue cards presentation, keywords and cue cards, scripted presentation, Written out presentation0 CommentsRead more...

15Sep

Two Great Ways to Use a Presentation Slide Title Box

Have you ever thought about how you could leverage the presentation slide title box at the top of each slide? (If you use it, of course. You may prefer to start with a blank master slide, which is what I do - although I often use titles that I add to the blank slide myself.) It's the first thing your audience sees on each slide - and probably the first thing you type onto the slide as you create it. But it's often generic, redundant or plain dull (for example, "2019 Sales Budget"). Two ways to use a presentation slide title box Here...

By Sarah DenholmContentblank master slide, leverage slide title box0 CommentsRead more...

13Jul

How Many Slides Should I Use?

I was working with a new executive client yesterday who had a list of questions for me including a burning one "how many slides should I use? I've got 62 at this point." He has an hour-long 5 year business plan presentation to give to his entire company in a couple of weeks. I'm often asked this question and obviously clients would love a definitive answer… however the true answer is "it depends". (But probably not 62!) How Many Slides Should I Use? A big point to remember around this whole 'slide' topic: you are the presentation, not your slides! Firstly: do you need slides...

By Sarah DenholmAudience Management, business meetings, Content, Delivery, Public Speaking and Presentation Skills Blogaudience understanding and engagement, business plan presentation, communicate a message, do I need slides?, interpret slides for audience, using too many slides1 CommentRead more...