When you're speaking to a group of enthusiasts, it's easy to assume that your audience already knows certain things. That's a mistake. A great presentation Last weekend, I went to a presentation about floral design. This is a skill I don't think too much about...that is until I bring a bouquet … [Read more...] about Never assume things about your audience
Simplifying PowerPoint collaboration
Anybody who's ever collaborated on a presentation knows the joy of the edit cycle. You create the presentation, submit it for review, receive an edited presentation with an explanatory email, repeat. There is built-in tool that simplifies this process. Unfortunately, it has a major flaw. The … [Read more...] about Simplifying PowerPoint collaboration
Scribbles can sometimes make the best PowerPoint illustrations!
One of the most prevalent visual trends these days is flat design. This is characterized by bold color blocks, thick lines and the virtual elimination of 3D effects such as bevels and shading. You've seen it a million times; here is an example of flat icons: Flat design is very clean and … [Read more...] about Scribbles can sometimes make the best PowerPoint illustrations!
How to eliminate distracting gestures and movements
When you're speaking in front of an audience, your actions can speak louder than your words. Swaying, hand clasping, pacing, and other unconscious movements can distract people from your main message and communicate quite a different one, such as "I'm unprepared," "I'm nervous," or "I'd rather be … [Read more...] about How to eliminate distracting gestures and movements
The three worst PowerPoint training mistakes
The best way to learn something is to do it. So it makes sense that people learning how to use PowerPoint will do better at it if they're being taught on a computer rather than being lectured to. But there are three mistakes you can make as an instructor that will seriously derail the lesson. … [Read more...] about The three worst PowerPoint training mistakes
Speed up your work with keyboard shortcuts
It doesn't take forever to click on the screen in PowerPoint to execute commands. But what if you didn't have to? How quickly you're able to navigate in PowerPoint can have a lot to do with how many keyboard shortcuts you know. Let's start with the basics: Basic PowerPoint keyboard … [Read more...] about Speed up your work with keyboard shortcuts
Simplicity is hard!
What's the toughest presentation in the world? A short, simple one. It’s easy to talk for a long time about things that interest you. The difficult thing is conveying important information in a limited amount of time. How is it done? You’ve got 5 minutes I’ve been working with a group of … [Read more...] about Simplicity is hard!
How to break four bad speaker habits
I'm sure you've seen some public speakers who really inspired you with their confidence and their messages. I'm equally sure you've seen some cringeworthy performances. Often, it's the speakers' body language and the deliberate way they speak that make all the difference. Bad speaker habit #1: … [Read more...] about How to break four bad speaker habits