Hands and, in particular, arms. Odd isn’t it? They go about their daily routine not bothering you a jot but the moment you drag them up onto the stage they take on an awkwardness, shyness and general incapacity to function that is often very disconcerting. So, what do we do with them? Short of lopping [...]
Of all the things that audiences value most their time has to be the most precious. We need to recognise it, we’re all time-poor; there’s just never enough, is there? Well it’s definitely true for your audience. You may know (it may even be in the day’s programme or up on screen behind you) that [...]
(Originally posted on November 5th) Today was a bit special. Today I got to assist a local school, in Suffolk here in the UK, with some presentation training for the Lower Sixth form – so, roughly 16 to 17 year olds. What an inspired idea on the part of the school. Well, so indeed it [...]
Under just about any circumstances we know, without needing to be told, that it’s important to maintain eye-contact. One-on-one or one-on-many, the same general principle applies. If you don’t look at me, occasionally at least, I’m going to get turned off pretty quickly. Leaving aside some interesting cultural variations on this theme, one question that [...]
One golden rule of presenting is that you are your most effective audio visual aid. Better still when supported by some finely crafted slides or other visual aids, no question. But the slides are there to do just that, support you, your argument, proposal, sale .. whatever it might be. When presenting the main arguments [...]
He lived through the Jazz-time heyday in New York and must have seen a few sights, and heard a few things too, along the way. He was George Jessel, actor and in particular comedic entertainer. Follow the link when you’ve got a moment and pay the man a minute or two’s homage. He certainly merits [...]
Here’s a short video introduction, by me, to Presentation Works – filmed in the Cambridgeshire barn that is my office. It is self-explanatory .. but I might just add that Monty, seen clambering off my lap a third of the way through, managed to wreck an otherwise ‘perfect’ 2 minute take by sneezing and shaking [...]
Those clever guys at Creativity Works have managed to come up with an imaginative and timely video, all about ‘Busting the Mehrabian Myth’ (see earlier post). It’s on their site, it’s on YouTube too, but here, to save you searching, is the 3-and-a-half minute ‘must see’ .. If you like it, tell everyone – there’s [...]
All the way back in the early 1970s there was some research undertaken that was to change communications thinking and teaching for more than 30 years. It was undertaken by Professor Albert Mehrabian amongst volunteer students at UCLA and was published in 1971. Together they attempted to clarify, in very defined circumstances, the relative importance [...]