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
Elevator Pitch in your Job Interview
The invitation “Tell something about yourself” is one of the classic openings in a job interview. For you, this is about sharing a few highlights from your career. Instead of telling any arbitrary experiences, you share exactly those that illustrate your professional successes and directly relate them to your future job. In addition, you will share one or two aspects that distinguish you and tell something about you as a personality. Read more
Stage your presentation to attract the audience
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
Excellent Presentations in the 21. Century
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
What we can learn from TED Talks
With a single speech today, I can reach millions of people. An enormous potential for those who have something to say, who can present authentically and with a certain competence.
Chris Anderson, curator of the TED Talks, names the number of over 1 000 speakers who have already succeeded in doing so by 2016. The 25 most popular TED Talks alone generate a reach of 16 to 56 million clicks each. On YouTube, TED and TEDx Talks now have 30 million subscribers with 4.4 billion clicks.
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How to moderate confidently in science and in public
Do you have the impression that your audience is following your moderation? Can you build tension with short stories and anecdotes so that the group listens to you with enthusiasm? How do you as a presenter manage to provide special added value? And what can you do while moderating workshops or debates, leading a project […]
Criteria for successful international presentations
Do you present your project in English for an international audience? Do you adapt your presentations to people with different cultural backgrounds? Are you ready to take the next step delivering even more professional speeches? Here are some highlights on how you will succeed with your presentation.
Connect with your audience
The German way of thinking is said to be very precise. In short, their highly functional language can be traced back to numerous wars and subsequent reconstruction efforts. UN interpreter and author Susanne Kilian attributes this to Germany’s central geographic location in Europe. In fact, many German presenters introduce technical concepts full of details while also including numerous technical terms.
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Unusual places for presentations
What do 18 students, three supervisors and two organizers from eleven countries and four continents do when they get to know water use in Iran on site within nine days? The answer is clear: they present their own knowledge to each other and draw on the practical experience of local experts. They discuss scientific facts and their practical implementation with the experts. They exchange open questions on historical and current water management, desertification and energy use in Iran. For the practical demonstration on site, they charter a friendly local bus driver who will reliably steer them 1 200 kilometers through villages and metropolises, the dry steppe and to salt lakes. A challenge that everyone is happy to accept.
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Prepare your presentation equipment
Just now, while you are performing on stage, the beamer breaks down! How can you save the presentation so that your audience will remember you well? I will get to that in a moment.
Are you familiar with your equipment? Have you considered all eventualities? Are you well prepared and equipped for your performance? Then you can deal more confidently with situations such as a broken beamer, power outage or other unexpected disturbances. You can avoid a large part of these problems through targeted preparation.
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