“_______, we have a problem.”

Should the name of your organization fill in the blank? On April 14th, 1970 during the Apollo 13 mission, astronaut Jack Swigert uttered the famous words “Houston, we’ve had a problem”.  In the movie Apollo 13 (1995) it was changed to “Houston we have a problem”.  Either way you word it, I think that many organizations may have a presentation problem. This was highlighted to me earlier this summer.  I had the opportunity to give a presentation skills workshop to a group of corporate communications professionals.   Before the session I sent out a pre-workshop questionnaire (see my previous post). The response rate was excellent – 21 of 35 people responded.… Read More

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On your mark, get set…

Not many people know that London won the bid for the 2012 Olympic Games on the last day of voting at the International Olympic Committee (IOC) meeting in Singapore in 2005. In fact, they were almost the Paris games. The story of how London won the games, basically with their final presentation, is beautifully told in Jon Steele’s book The Perfect Pitch (see my previous post , The Perfect Pitch and the You Factor). One of their keys to winning with that final presentation (their final pitch) was that they studied their audience and designed a presentation experience that would resonate specifically with them. I always remember that story, and… Read More

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Is this thing on?

Have you ever been to a presentation in which the presenter struggled with using a microphone?  Maybe their voice faded in and out, or there was background noise, or maybe you were distracted by the presenter’s own discomfort? Here is some helpful tips so that you can avoid some of the mic pitfalls. As a presenter there are generally three microphone (mic) types that you may encounter: the podium mic, the handheld mic, and the wireless lapel mic (sometimes referred to a lavalier mic). The least favorable type from an audience engagement perspective is the podium (lectern) mic.  The podium is a visual/physiological barrier between you and your audience and… Read More

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