The last blog reveals why presentations are nowadays different compared to the last century: speeches have become more vivid with anecdotes and stories; furthermore, the interaction between speaker and audience gained a stronger emphasis. In this blog, I will highlight why we do not have to take every common advice from rhetoric trainers at face value. Furthermore, I will deepen the topic of “storytelling”.

 

Good content provides the basis for good presentations

The majority of speech trainers – even those with many years of professional experience – misinterpret one of the most well-known figures on the impact of speeches. The myth, which has been widely spread since 1971, is the mistaken formula: 7 % content – 38 % verbal signals – 55 % body language. Read more

Presentations are nowadays different from those of the past. To convince and inspire your audience, you have to meet completely different expectations today than 20 years ago. Nowadays, personality is key, as is combining numbers, data and facts with short stories and anecdotes that provide new context for the audience. By the way: Instead of frontal lectures in which information is hammered into our audience, the focus today is on infotainment. Information comes along with entertainment. This is what makes presentations much more effective. The use of new media adds to this. We should never underestimate one thing: The personality of the speaker decides whether his message actually reaches the audience. Read more