A comic by Rob Cottingham
Early in my career, I overslept an alarm and arrived minutes before the morning keynote was due to begin. I wasn’t speaking… but I was operating the digital projector for the slideshow I’d built. This was back in the days when a digital slideshow was jaw-dropping in and of itself, and I’d worked into the wee… Continue reading 6. Up and at ’em
There’s an aspect of public speaking that a lot of people find difficult — and that’s after they’ve gotten past the anxiety, the ums and uhs, and the little mannerisms and tics (for the love of god, put the pen down). On the stage, as you project yourself to the room emotions at all, you’re —… Continue reading 7. Eminence front
There’s a lot of attention these days on ROI. (I don’t mean “return on investment” in the accounting sense; I mean the you’d-think-it-would-go-without-saying-but-apparently-it-doesn’t sense that your communication activities should advance your organization toward some important goal in a measurable way.) People want to know if their communications channels and initiatives are earning their keep. But… Continue reading 8. Those three little words
The Q&A session: for many speakers, the part of a presentation they dread the most. It’s the part they can’t script, can’t control, can’t reduce to three terse bullet points and a cute photo of a baby using a computer. Me, I love questions and conversation, and I encourage them throughout my sessions. For one… Continue reading 9. The roster
Oh, that moment when you’ve said something you wish you hadn’t. In public. To a big audience. It’s doubly tricky because the adrenaline starts squirting into your bloodstream and your judgement is suddenly impaired. There are a lot of times when your instincts will serve you well, but this may not be one of them.… Continue reading 10. Gaffe