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: Believe Them When your audience members tell you that you did a good job, believe them. In our zeal to be the best we can be, many speakers have an inaccurate and often negative view of our own performances. Often we see how it could have been better. Or we notice a mistake no one in the audience did. We can obsess over those…
2-Minute Tip: Create a Folder Many of us have thousands of files on our computers, in our clod drives, and attached to email messages. Getting to the right one can take some work. That’s fine when we are by ourselves and have a few moments to spare. During a presentation, or between presentations, it can be more challenging. Sometimes we may need to drop out of…
2-Minute Tip: Use an Event Form I used to travel from Seattle to Irvine, CA, quite a bit. It got to the point where I thought I knew where I was going down there. That was a false confidence. I began making wrong turns because I didn’t think I needed a map to help me. As we do more public speaking, we can easily make that same mistake. It’s…
2-Minute Tip: Play Your Videos Full Screen Including short videos in your presentation can be a great way to illustrate your points. They can be videos you shot of people, stock video, animations, or illustrations. If it’s valuable enough to include, make sure your audience can see it. Play it in full screen. The default for PowerPoint when you embed a video is for it to appear…
2-Minute Tip: Listen Actively Speaking is about more than just giving a speech. It’s about meeting the needs of the event organizer, getting the logistics right, and helping to put everyone at ease. One way to do that is with active listening. When meeting with your event organizer, customer, colleague or SME, there are some things you can do to help everything run smoothly. Look…
2-Minute Tip: Practice in Real Shoes When we have a big presentation on the calendar, we may be tempted to pick up a new outfit and new shoes to feel all shiny and new, and to imbue us with more confidence. And that’s great. It’s also important, though, to practice in that new outfit. If half way through the presentation, you discover those new shoes are…
**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/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…