There are a great many body language tips we can offer presenters. This article shares 5 of the simple ones. If there’s a mismatch between what we are saying and how we are saying it, the impact of the words we use is significantly diminished. People won’t trust what you say In other words,[…]
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Maurice Decastro
5 simple body language tips for presenters
Advice, Presentation Skills, Presentation Tips, Public Speaking May 01, 2015
Your voice speaks volumes, how do you use yours?
Communication Skills, Presentation Skills, Public Speaking Apr 23, 2015
How do you use your public speaking voice? You’ve done everything you can to understand your audience, craft the conversation you wish to have, you know your story inside out and have envisioned what success looks like. Effective communication involves both verbal and non-verbal interaction The words we use in delivering our message are critical[…]
We’ve talked a lot so far in this series ‘The Art and Science of Presenting’ about creating and having a meaningful conversation as opposed to simply presenting your thoughts and ideas. When you reflect on the conversations you’ve enjoyed and remembered the most it’s likely you’ll find that it’s those conversations in which you felt[…]
A few tips to manage presentation nerves
Anxiety, Communication Skills, Presentation Skills, Public Speaking Apr 09, 2015
Would you like to learn how to manage presentation nerves? “I was a tiger, a good fighter, in good shape, but I was always nervous before boxing matches.” George Foreman Even the twice heavy weight boxing champion of the world got nervous before a fight and he didn’t have to say a word. When you[…]
How to rehearse for a presentation
Advice, Presentation Skills, Presentation Tips, Public Speaking Apr 02, 2015
Do you practice and rehearse for a presentation? Knowing your material well is one of the fundamental keys to success. The more you know your story, the more ready and able you are to adapt and improvise at a moment’s notice. Rehearsing and memorizing are two entirely different things When you rehearse for a[…]
The envisioning process is the key to a successful presentation. The process begins by visualising the presentation as a whole. The presenter envisions in advance what success looks and feels like long before they enter the room. Visualisation is simply the process of creating images in your mind The subconscious mind cannot distinguish between[…]
Turning a presentation into a story
Advice, Presentation Skills, Public Speaking, Storytelling Mar 13, 2015
Turning a presentation into a meaningful story is every presenter’s greatest challenge. Why is it important to tell a story? That’s how we live and how we learn We’ve been telling stories to each other since the beginning of time. There really is no more powerful a way of communicating and connecting with each[…]
The best presentations are conversations Every great presentation starts with a question which leads the dialogue. What’s so important that you’ve chosen to call this group of busy people together? It may be: – A great idea which they haven’t heard before – One they have heard but don’t understand or buy into –[…]
There are a number of mindful ways to start a presentation, ‘Research from Princeton and the University of Glasgow suggests that we judge a stranger in just half a second. As harsh as that may sound, there is clearly something in it Researcher Dr Phil McAlee ,suggests that our ability to make rapid judgments[…]
Planning what you’re going to say in a presentation
Presentation Skills, Public Speaking Mar 01, 2015
Planning what you’re going to say in a presentation is vitally important. In today’s fast paced and highly competitive age of information, often the first thing a presenter will do when asked to speak is fire up their laptop. The second step is often filling slides with everything they know and want to say on[…]
Great Presenting and Public Speaking: 12 Pillars for Success
Advice, Presentating training, Presentation Skills, Presentation Tips Feb 26, 2015
Is great presenting and public speaking a skill you aspire to develop in your profession? History has provided us with a very clear premise on which all great speakers have made their name. Modeling the elements of excellence that we have consistently witnessed is the surest way to great presenting and public speaking. There[…]
10 tips for presenting at work successfully
Presentation Skills, Public Speaking, Storytelling Feb 20, 2015
If presenting at work or speaking in public is a source of anxiety for you then you are not alone. For some, the anticipation of presenting at work is akin to the anxiety you feel just before calling your telecoms provider to tell them that your broadband doesn’t work. Something inside you tells you[…]
5 Tips to Transform Your Business Meetings
Communication Skills, Leadership, Presentation Skills, Presentation Tips Feb 19, 2015
In today’s fast paced corporate environment, many business meetings can be complex and demanding decision making forums. If you spend time in business meetings today, you may have noticed a paradox. It’s likely that you will have to prepare exhaustively for every conceivable eventuality, whilst also being ready to improvise in a heartbeat when in[…]
12 Tactics for handling challenging public speaking situations
Advice, Presentation Tips, Public Speaking Feb 13, 2015
Have you ever found yourself in a challenging public speaking situation? Many of the most experienced and confident presenters have worked in very challenging public speaking settings and have lessons to share. I’ve had my fair share of them as well. This article sets out some of the key learnings I’ve taken from some[…]
How to make an impact in business presentations
Presentation Skills, Public Speaking, Storytelling Feb 08, 2015
The most powerful way to make a memorable impact in business presentations is to tell a story. Human beings have been telling tales from the first moment we developed the capacity to speak. In fact, we’ve been telling each other stories for thousands of years to help us to make sense of the world[…]
5 Presentation tips to connect with a tough audience
Advice, Presentating training, Presentation Skills, Presentation Tips Feb 05, 2015
Have you had to manage a tough audience in a business presentation? You may have considered them a tough audience because: – They have more experience than you do of the topic you are about to speak on – There are a number of dissenters in the room – Of a negative emotional charge in[…]
Even a powerful speech offers no promise of victory in politics, or at least that’s what the pundits thought right across the world 6 years ago. Many believe that Mr Obama’s oratory skills has been one the principal means of his ascent and success, and some, (myself included) would argue he is one of[…]
Presenting and public speaking inspiration from Hollywood
Presentation Skills, Public Speaking Jan 22, 2015
Presenting and public speaking inspiration from Hollywood: Nine People Wounded in Tel Aviv Bus Attack, IS Demands $200m Ransom For Japan Hostages, Shanghai Officials Feasted As Stampede Killed 36, Charlie Hebdo attack: Three days of terror These are just some of the world news headlines as I write this article from my office in London[…]
9 Powerful Steps to Storytelling in Business – Brought to Life
Advice, Presentation Skills, Presentation Tips, Public Speaking, Storytelling Jan 11, 2015
Storytelling has enormous value for professionals and leaders in business presentations. ‘Never be boring again’, written by Doug Stevenson is a valuable guide to storytelling. It sets out in a very compelling way the most effective means of constructing stories to connect with your audience. Many speakers have heard the term, ‘The Hero’s Journey’; a[…]
We are already rapidly approaching the end of the first week of 2015 and I wonder just how many of those New Year resolutions have been broken already. Research by the University of Scranton, Journal of Clinical Psychology suggests that last year the top 10 resolutions made were: 1. Lose weight 2. Getting organised 3. Spend less,[…]
Mindful Presenting is about developing the skill to place our attention on our audience and our objective without getting distracted by troublesome thoughts and external events. It’s about using the the potential of the mind to perform at the very highest level. Every presentation is a performance. That doesn’t mean it’s an act, it simply[…]
Are you presenting soon? – 6 things your audience really need from you
Leadership, Presentation Skills, Public Speaking Dec 31, 2014
Your audience really need 6 things from you each time you present. In 1943, Abraham Maslow released a psychology paper called, ‘A Theory of Human Motivation’. The theory suggests we each live by 6 fundamental human needs. Physiological: what we need for survival Safety: what we need to feel safe and secure Love and belonging:[…]
If you want a happy audience, avoid these 7 mistakes
Advice, Presentation Skills, Presentation Tips, Public Speaking Dec 14, 2014
If you want a happy audience it’s worth avoiding a number of key mistakes other presenters make. Your audience want you to help them. They want you to feel comfortable in their presence so that they may relax and feel the same. Avoid these 7 mistakes if you want a happy audience. 1. Lack of[…]
What type of public speaker or presenter are you really?
Advice, Presentating training, Presentation Skills, Public Speaking Dec 08, 2014
What type of public speaker or presenter are you really? Do you know? If you’d like to learn more, take our FREE STYLE REVIEW but just before you do, here are a few thoughts to consider. To understand what type of public speaker you are requires insight into: – You own personality – How you[…]
How to tell a story to bring your presentation to life
Presentation Skills, Public Speaking, Storytelling Dec 05, 2014
Every great presentation is really a story. At the age of 60 Diana Nyad began open water training for a 60-hour, 103-mile (166 km) swim from Cuba to Florida,. This was a task she had failed to finish thirty years previously. After 29 hours in the water, strong currents and winds pushed her miles off[…]
Watch out for the quiet ones – Presenting the introvert
Advice, nervous, Presentating training Nov 26, 2014
Is it possible that a self-confessed introvert could find the courage to speak for a whole 18 minutes on the highly prestigious platform of TED. That very same speech has been viewed over 14 million times on TED and over 3 million on YouTube? Susan Cain did exactly that She walked onto the coveted stage[…]
Presenters – Grab it like you mean it: Your audience’s attention
Presentation Skills, Public Speaking Nov 20, 2014
All presenters and public speakers face the same challenge; getting and keeping their audience’s attention. Psychologists at Princeton University suggest that people make judgments about the attractiveness, likeability, trustworthiness, and competence of other people after looking at their faces for just 100 milliseconds. No wonder so many presenters are anxious about the idea of speaking in[…]
As a producer, composer, music arranger, actor, singer, civil rights activist and humanitarian, Harry Belafonte is no stranger to speaking in public. Indeed many would say he’s always been outspoken. I’m sure you’ll agree that his performance on Saturday night was in a class of its own. His speech was a reminder to us all[…]
A tribute to my beautiful mum, Georgine DeCastro 19/03/35 – 19/10/14 ( read today 30/10/14 at her funeral) “I believe I was about 6 years old when mum and dad bought our very first dog into our home, it was only a puppy but I was terrified of it. If it even came into the[…]
Emma Watson – Presentation nerves
Anxiety, nervous, Presentating training, Presentation Skills Oct 07, 2014
Emma Watson, the heroine of the Harry Potter series was appointed as a U.N. Women Goodwill Ambassador earlier this year. She recently gave an impassioned speech on feminism and gender inequality at the U.N. headquarters in New York. When I first listened to her speech on YouTube I couldn’t help but be a little[…]
