**Begin your Amazon Holiday shopping at the 2-Minute Talk Tips recommendation page.** 2-Minute Tip: Skip the Gimmicks Original ideas in a presentation are fun, but don’t confuse originality with gimmickry. A gimmick is often more about the ego of the presenter who wants to show off how clever they are. It becomes more about the speaker’s ego and less about the message or the audience. Post-Tip Discussion:…
[podcast src=”https://html5-player.libsyn.com/embed/episode/id/5986912/height/0/width/0/theme/standard/autonext/no/thumbnail/yes/autoplay/no/preload/no/no_addthis/no/direction/forward/” height=”” width=”” placement=”bottom” theme=””] 2-Minute Tip: Watch for Keystone No matter how pretty your slides, they won’t look good if your projector isn’t set up properly. One common issue with data projectors is keystoning. When instead of a rectangle on your screen, you find a trapezoid, you have a keystone issue. The bottom of the image is narrower than the top. This shape is called a keystone…
[podcast src=”https://html5-player.libsyn.com/embed/episode/id/5966693/height/0/width/0/theme/standard/autonext/no/thumbnail/yes/autoplay/no/preload/no/no_addthis/no/direction/forward/” height=”” width=”” placement=”bottom” theme=””] 2-Minute Tip: Be Thankful As we begin Thanksgiving week here in the US, it’s a good time to think about being thankful as speakers. And not just to the universe or deity(ies) of your choice. While speaki9ng may seem like a solitary activity where we are on stage or at the front of a conference room by ourselves, there are a lot of…
[podcast src=”https://html5-player.libsyn.com/embed/episode/id/5943493/height/0/width/0/theme/standard/autonext/no/thumbnail/yes/autoplay/no/preload/no/no_addthis/no/direction/forward/” height=”” width=”” placement=”bottom” theme=””] 2-Minute Tip: Let it Go When things start to go wrong, our instinct is often to panic and make a split second decision to stop whatever is falling, crashing, or coming apart at the seams. Often this is the wrong instinct. Instead, let it go, take a moment to assess the situation, and then recover. When you can do this with confidence both…
2-Minute Tip: Let the Audience Respond When you tell a joke, make a humorous aside, show an entertaining picture, or land a heavy or emotional point, it’s important to give your audience a chance to experience the emotions you’ve just inspired in them. That means that while you plan your presentation, and your timing, you need to allow time to respect your audience’s reaction….
[podcast src=”https://html5-player.libsyn.com/embed/episode/id/5894452/height/0/width/0/theme/standard/autonext/no/thumbnail/yes/autoplay/no/preload/no/no_addthis/no/direction/forward/” height=”” width=””] 2-Minute Tip: Don’t Trust the Internet There are many times it seems like a good idea to use the Internet in a presentation, but if you do, make sure you have a plan B. All sorts of things can go wrong. Your audience might take up all the bandwidth. Your presentation space may have poor coverage. You could encounter too much radio interference. These problems…
[podcast src=”https://html5-player.libsyn.com/embed/episode/id/5871310/height/0/width/0/theme/standard/autonext/no/thumbnail/yes/autoplay/no/preload/no/no_addthis/no/direction/forward/” height=”” width=””] 2-Minute Tip: Dim the Lights The data projector/projector screen combo has been a mainstay of the AV setup in conference rooms for years, but it can still be hard to see the visuals. Data projectors have gotten brighter over the years, yet they still benefit from less ambient light. They tend to have a long lifecycle which means there are a lot of…
[podcast src=”https://html5-player.libsyn.com/embed/episode/id/5848678/height/0/width/0/theme/standard/autonext/no/thumbnail/yes/autoplay/no/preload/no/no_addthis/no/direction/forward/” height=”” width=””] 2-Minute Tip: Use Silence Everything we do as speakers communicates something to the audience — how we move, how we dress, how we gesture, how we speak, and how we don’t speak. Silence is a powerful tool. A speaker can use silence to: Emphasize a point Let your audience soak up information Give your audience a break Let the audience take notes Get…
[podcast src=”https://html5-player.libsyn.com/embed/episode/id/5824981/height/0/width/0/theme/standard/autonext/no/thumbnail/yes/autoplay/no/preload/no/no_addthis/no/direction/forward/” height=”” width=””] 2-Minute Tip: Prepare 5 Questions We all want an engaged audience. Sometimes that doesn’t happen. To deal with it, have a plan before you start. Instead of scrambling for ways to engage your crowd on the fly, choose 5 questions before you start that you know you can ask. It gives you a chance to engage a quiet group in a more confident way. …
[podcast src=”https://html5-player.libsyn.com/embed/episode/id/5802583/height/0/width/0/theme/standard/autonext/no/thumbnail/yes/autoplay/no/preload/no/no_addthis/no/direction/forward/” height=”” width=””] 2 Minute Tip: Say Thanks When we conduct a successful presentation, audience members will often give us a compliment. When they do that, say, “Thanks. I appreciate that.” Don’t tell them they’re wrong, and don’t deflect the compliment. Simply accept it with grace and thank them for their kind words. Program Notes 2-Minute Talk Tips now has a Facebook Page. You can…