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Archive for ‘Communication’

How to Improve Gestures While Presenting

By Natalie Gallagher

One of the best scenes from an otherwise mediocre movie was when Will Farrell’s character in “Talladega Nights” couldn’t figure out what to do with his hands while he was speaking in front of a large crowd. While he spoke, his arms slowly kept rising next to him, as if possessed by their own will. The humor stems from the commonality of this issue. All presenters have wondered at one time or another, “What on earth do I do with my hands?” The uncertainty often leads to awkward, distracting, or …

Monday, November 26th, 2018 Tags: hand gestures, presenter, speaking techniques
Category: Annoying Public Speaking Habits, Communication, Presentation Coaching No Comments

The Great Deception: Only 7% of Your Message is Words.

By Mark Kretschmar

How often have you heard the following ubiquitous citation from Albert Mehrabian’s research? “Only 7% of your message is from your words; 93% is from your nonverbals.”

It’s just not true.

Mehrabian’s experiment dealt with what people will believe when your words and your nonverbals don’t match — they will believe the nonverbals. Unless, as a communicator, you plan to be inauthentic most of the time, this number, 93%, does not apply to you.

Mehrabian himself has urged others to stop citing his findings in this inaccurate way.

It’s …

Monday, November 12th, 2018 Tags: Authentic, communication, compelling, nonverbal
Category: Communication, Presentation Tools, Presentation Voice No Comments

How To Be More Persuasive

By Natalie Gallagher

One day the Sun and Wind got into an argument over who was stronger. The Wind spotted a man walking down the road, wearing a jacket. They decided that whoever could get the jacket off the man must surely be the strongest. The Wind went first; he blew and blew in an attempt to remove the jacket. But the harder the Wind blew, the tighter the man held on to his jacket. Next, it was the Sun’s turn. The Sun gradually warmed the man, until he was so warm …

Monday, October 22nd, 2018 Tags: benefit for others, decisions made with emotions., persuasion, win-win situation
Category: Audience Interaction, Communication, Sway, Uncategorized No Comments

Bringing Your “Be Game” as a Speaker

by Bob Goodyear

As speakers we often hear that we need to bring our “A Game” whenever we speak. This infers that we should always be the best whenever we speak. I want to suggest, however, that perhaps we should concern ourselves more with our “B game” instead, but not in the way you might think. Let’s change the B to “Be”. Let’s talk about some characteristics that we should be in order to be a more successful speaker.
Be Yourself
This is a well-worn cliché but it’s still applicable to us as speakers. I …

Monday, August 20th, 2018 Tags: authenticity, be knowledgeable, be yourself, know your audience, public speaking, speech preparation
Category: Audience, Business Presentations, Communication, Presentation Coaching No Comments

How to Plan a Group Presentation that Doesn’t Suck

By Natalie Gallagher

Several years ago I was teaching an art history class that had a group presentation component: each group had to present on a 20th century art movement. Back then I was relatively new to teaching and didn’t realize that group work – and the corresponding presentation – was one of the most dreaded types of assignments a student could encounter. As I described the assignment I could see the look of horror and dread cross even the most optimistic students’ faces. Despite years of indoctrination about how marvelous teamwork …

Monday, July 30th, 2018 Tags: group presentation, leadership, presenting, public speaking, speech, teamwork, training
Category: Audience, Communication, Leadership in Presentations, Presentation Coaching No Comments

Use a quote to extend your brilliance

By Tom Nixon

This is an effective quote slide that speaks to the constant struggle that many feel when challenging their boundaries. The evocative quote is coupled with a subtle image that offers the viewer an opportunity to read their own experiences and thoughts into the scene.

Tom Nixon has over 3 decades of experience assisting clients with meaningful business communications. Contact Tom to see how he can work with your business leaders and subject matter experts to create stunning visual presentations (PowerPoint, Keynote, etc.) and enhance their on-stage delivery.

Monday, July 2nd, 2018 Tags: effective PowerPoint slides, graphics in PowerPoint, quotes in PowerPoint
Category: Communication, Graphics in Presentations, PowerPoint Slides No Comments

The One Thing That Makes You a Better Communicator

by Mark Kretschmar
What are you trying to accomplish?
When every communication starts with an answer to the above question, the odds of success are much higher. Think about it. Without an answer to that question, how would you know if the communication was successful or not? This is the difference between “responding” and “reacting.” That flame-mail you sent was a reaction. If you had asked yourself, “What do I want to accomplish with this e-mail?” you likely would have done it differently.
A classic example
I was recently working with a great non-profit with a …

Monday, June 4th, 2018 Tags: call to action, communication, content aligned to motivations, desired outcome, motivation, what are you trying to accomplish
Category: Articles, Communication No Comments

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Archive for ‘Communication’

Top 5 Blog Posts of 2018

How to Improve Gestures While Presenting

The Great Deception: Only 7% of Your Message is Words.

How To Be More Persuasive

Bringing Your “Be Game” as a Speaker

Use a quote to extend your brilliance

The One Thing That Makes You a Better Communicator

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