Help! How do I handle questions in my presentation?

  Good question! Seriously, if you’re giving some thought to your audience’s likely questions, you’re way ahead of many other presenters. Whilst it’s essential to prepare your material and yourself, there’s much more to a successful presentation than the ‘ME show’. Failing to prepare for your audience – and their questions – is preparing to… Read more

Presenters: what’s your most important visual aid?

Q: Is it…that funny video? Your pointer that lights up? Maybe it’s slide #1? Or your last slide? The ‘killer infographic’? Could it be the amazing way you’ve got the room all set up? Or the whizzy interactive app? A: None of the above. It’s YOU, [your name goes here]. Yes, great visuals can help…. Read more

10 reasons why you need to rehearse your presentation

  Just because you wrote your presentation – (OK, most of it. Or your bit if it’s a team effort) – don’t think you needn’t rehearse. Creating your content and delivering your presentation are two very different things. Ask anyone who’s ever overlooked that point – like the social media bigwig who flew in to… Read more

Presentation tips: lessons from the ancients

“What, presentation tips from my Gran?!” No. Not quite. Presentation tips from the ancient Greeks: specifically for this post, from Aristotle (384 – 322 B.C.). The philosopher has some handy presentation tips for us that have survived remarkably well down the years. To influence and persuade an audience, he said, we need to achieve the… Read more

Creating a presentation? 3 things you must do first

“When you’re creating a presentation, what’s the first thing you do? Do you fire up your last presentation?” Whenever I put this question to the participants in Zoomly’s ‘How to write presentations’ workshop, there are a few expressions of ‘yup, that’s me’. And right there is a tip to take away and apply. There’s a… Read more