2-Minute Tip: Keep Tissues Handy Sneezing in the middle of a presentation can be either mildly annoying or quite embarrassing. It all depends on whether or not you have tissues readily accessible during your talk. Tissues are also great for dealing with perspiration while you speak. Dripping on the carpet isn’t a good look for anyone. Everything thing from a cold to allergies to hot…
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: Know Your Gear Whether its a projector, TV, laptop, audio hookup, or slide clicker, get to know your gear before you conduct your presentation. Figure out in advance how everything works so you’re not scrambling at the last minute to figure out why something doesn’t work the way you thought it would. If there is a problem making something work, you want to know about…
2-Minute Tip: Party AFTER Your Talk At the Hollywood Foreign Press Golden Globes Award Show, the alcohol flows freely. Many award recipients reach the podium under the influence, and that makes many of the speeches more entertaining. Of course we’re not laughing with the recipients; we’re laughing at them. That’s in stark contrast to the powerful speech delivered by a seemingly sober Oprah Winfrey. Alcohol at evening…
2-Minute Tip: Acknowledge Your Elephants An elephant in the room is a topic no one wants to talk about, but probably everyone should. They include: Equipment failure Fire alarm Falling flowers Folks who walk out Medical emergency Loud neighbors A blown lamp Major news event Major corporate news And more As a speaker, it’s important to acknowledge them in an appropriate manner. If you don’t acknowledge them, the…