2-Minute Tip: 3-Fer This week’s tip comes from our special guest, Pradeepa Narayanaswamy and is a 3-pack of tips. Wear comfortable clothes. That doesn’t necessarily mean loose. It means clothes in which you feel comfortable and powerful. Practice power poses and do vocal warm ups before going on stage. You can check out Amy Cuddy’s work for more details on poses. For vocal exercises, go ahead and…
2-Minute Tip: Raise Your Energy One of the most powerful things you can do to conduct an effective presentation is to raise your energy and dominate your stage. There are a lot of ways you can do that. You can channel your inner Lady Gaga or try running in place. Regardless of how you do it, a high energy level will put you in a position to let your…
2-Minute Tip: Poll the Audience A simple way to increase audience engagement and inter action is to poll the audience. Ask them if they’ve had some sort of experience, like dealing with a tough customer or a misunderstanding with a boss. You already know the answer (probably) so you can use that to lead right in to your next point. When you poll the audience be sure to…
2-Minute Tip: Practice in the Shower The shower can be a great place to practice your talk. It’s a comfortable, warm environment. You don’t need to pay too much attention to your other activities. You are less likely to be distracted by other folks and tasks. In general, the environment really helps you shift your mindset in a way that allows you to mentally prepare and visualize yourself…
2-Minute Tip: Close to Open In retail, management coaches employees to Close to Open. That means to get the store clean, stocked and signed at closing time so it’s ready to open up the next day and get right to business. If you are doing a series of presentations, you can do “Future You” a big favor by taking the same approach. Close to open. That…
2-Minute Tip: Prepare Talking Points It’s one thing to plan your presentation when you are leading the discussion. It’s another when you’re not. During informal presentations like interviews and panel discussions you may not be driving the whole discussion. That’s why you need to prepare talking points ahead of time and review them before the talk. Pick 2-3 key points you want to make during your limited time….
2-Minute Tip: Use PowerPoint Online Photos PowerPoint has some great tools for sourcing images online. In the version for Windows that comes as part of Office 365 (and possibly other versions), PowerPoint content layout frames include an option to insert online images. If you are working without layouts, you can reach this same function through the Insert menu. …
2-Minute Tip: Tell a Story to Add Value When presenting, we are often selling something. It may be a product, a service, or an idea. To be effective, though, don’t just go through a barrage of features or details. It’s the story that you can connect with your topic that gives it value. It’s the story you tell that your audience will respond to and remember. It’s the…
2-Minute Tip: Prewire your big meetings I first learned about the idea of Prewiring a meeting from the folks at Manager Tool. Check out their podcast for a deeper discussion. I also talked about it in the early days of this 2-Minute Talk Tips in Episode 7 (Empty Your Pockets and Prepare Your Audience). Basically, to prewire your audience before a big proposal, meet with your stakeholders…
2-Minute Tip: Always Assume Your Screen is Showing I think we’ve all been in that meeting at one point where someone’s PC is connected to the projector and suddenly an embarrassing IM pops up. Or the meeting gets derailed by a 5-minute discussion about they’re wallpaper. There are lots of notifications that popup on our devices — meeting reminders, email previews, Skype notices, Windows 10 Action Center updates,…