Do you spend too much time preparing your presentation because otherwise, you would have to postpone the more important work? Never mind, the best presentations are those delivered spontaneously. This way you will appear authentic – for sure! No one will notice in case you skip important items anyway. If this is not your cup of tea, then of course you can also learn your speech by heart. You will never forget what you actually wanted to say.
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People attending my training and coaching sessions mostly want to learn the essentials of good speeches or reach the next presentation level. Their questions are frequently quite similar. Some people have picked up ideas from literature or the Internet that are not always well thought out or simply not true. Let‘s discuss some of these myths in this blog post.
How many Bullet Points per PowerPoint slide?
I observe two contradictory developments regarding PowerPoint presentations: On the one hand, the vast majority of people delivering speeches browse through a number of bullet points. Here, PowerPoint clearly serves as a cheat sheet. Anyone who spends even a little time on rhetoric and presentations will quickly learn that a high-quality talk requires a different approach. On the other hand, many young people are aware of the importance of reduced information on slides. Read more
Too many people are satisfied with mediocrity. Some people work on themselves becoming better than average. Only a few people take the chance to achieve outstanding and excellent results. This is why I repeatedly see speeches in which the potential for excellence is ignored or disregarded. This is where I will address ten of the […]
Confidence. I am confident about myself – or differently: I am aware of who I am, what I think, feel and do. This is my initial definition of self-confidence. Based on my personal background, I trust myself and my abilities, such as presenting a great speech in front of a group of people, no matter […]
Clear stage for your online presentation! What differences can you take into account to a live presentation to help your online presentation be well-remembered?
When presenting from home, you have new possibilities to create your virtual stage. You can stage your performance independently and amplify it with your most important instruments, body language and voice. You can use external media such as PowerPoint in a different way than you are used to. What both types of presentation have in common: Your audience is more likely to listen when you engage them actively.
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
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.
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.
