During a presentation, the Presenter View can be a real help! You get to read your notes and see what slides are coming up next, while the audience sees only the slides. Usually, if you're presenting off a laptop or desktop computer, you can make the Presenter View visible on your screen while … [Read more...] about Weird room setup kills Presenter View
Fascinating impeachment wordplay
The 2019 impeachment inquiry has been dominating the US news lately. It's been very dramatic, with closed sessions, bombshell public hearings, recanting of depositions, and hours of riveting testimony. As interesting as the insight to the impeachment process is to me, perhaps more fascinating was … [Read more...] about Fascinating impeachment wordplay
Think your presentation’s awesome? Get some feedback.
At the last minute, I signed up to be a speaker for a recent meeting of my Toastmasters club. To make it easy on myself, I decided to present an excerpt from a tried-and-true presentation I’d given many times before. What I didn’t expect was to receive feedback that would make my speech even … [Read more...] about Think your presentation’s awesome? Get some feedback.
How to make amazingly useful PPT handouts
PowerPoint handouts help people to remember a presentation. But too often, presenters distribute handouts that are totally useless. Here's how not to do that. You might have seen handouts that look like this: How useless is this handout? If the presenter is lazy and exports every slide, even … [Read more...] about How to make amazingly useful PPT handouts
Bad at public speaking? Not a problem!
On September 28, Elon Musk contradicted everything I've ever learned about public speaking. He stuttered, looked nervous, went off on tangents, and forgot where his slides were. But guess what? He gave a great presentation! Mr. Musk spoke at an event that was being held at a SpaceX launch site in … [Read more...] about Bad at public speaking? Not a problem!
What upspeak says about you?
I attended a women-only technical conference in the spring and was extremely distracted by a speaker who used upspeak during her presentation. What is upspeak, and why might somebody want to minimize that tendency during a tech talk? What is upspeak? A rising inflection is when the pitch of … [Read more...] about What upspeak says about you?
Who’s the real star of your presentation?
Giving a presentation in front of an audience, especially a large one, can be a real rush! There you are, center stage, performing and being the center of attention. But should you take advantage of the spotlight by talking about yourself and your achievements? The audience is the … [Read more...] about Who’s the real star of your presentation?
Clickers are slicker
When you're presenting, do you use a clicker or do you advance your slides by tapping on a keyboard? If you're tied to your computer, then you may not be effectively using the stage. Natural presenting When people tell stories onstage, they tend not to root themselves in one place. They walk … [Read more...] about Clickers are slicker