The Presentation Coach

The Presentation Coach: Bare Knuckle Brilliance for Every Presenter by Graham Davies

“You probably hate giving presentations.  You probably hate listening to them too.  Why?  Because most business presentations are too long, too detailed, too boring… and submerged under a blizzard of PowerPoint.

But the single most important presentational tool known to man isn’t a slideshow.  It’s you.

Whether you’re speaking to one person across a table, 20 people in a boardroom or 1,000 people in a ballroom, it’s all about the words you say and how you say them.

The Presentation Coach shows you how to use what you’ve already got, to give you clarity, confidence and impact in every speaking challenge you will ever face.  You’ll learn the unique Bare Knuckle 5-step process to effective presenting, and how to apply it to all business speaking, from large-scale presentations to one-to-one client meetings.  Graham Davies has been coaching high-profile individuals from the worlds of business, politics and entertainment in exactly these techniques for the past 25 years.”

Chapter 1 – The Essentials

Chapter 2 – Know your Audience

Chapter 3 – Make the Statement

Chapter 4 – Hard-Core Content

Chapter 5 – Write it, Read it, Edit

Chapter 6 – From Famous First Words …

Chapter 7 – Nail it all Down

Chapter 8 – Show it … if you really must

Chapter 9 – Control Yourself

Chapter 10 – Control the Day

Chapter 11 – Control Q&A

Chapter 12 – Raise a Smile

Chapter 13 – Adapt to After Dinner

Chapter 14 – Should I Accept the Invitation

Chapter 15 – Challenging Business Situations

Chapter 16 – Challenging Personal Situations

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I really like the tone and style of The Presentation Coach and will be recommending it as an essential read for everyone who has to give presentations.  I particularly like the Action Steps at the end of each chapter which really make you focus on what you’ve read and focus on taking constructive action to implement the suggestions.  This book should be next to you whenever you next start thinking about delivering a presentation…

Here are some quotes from the first couple of chapters … to whet your appetite:

“You may well dread giving presentations.  But always bear in mind that audiences dread listening to them even more.”

“A presentation is real communication, with life and breath and flesh and blood.  Only a live presenter can provide information with inspiration and impact.”

“Knowledge and intellect are useless without the power to communicate.”

“A presentation that includes everything usually achieves nothing.”

“It is possible – and often highly desirable – to make a compelling formal business presentation without using PowerPoint.”

“A presentation is any spoken communication designed to change someone’s point of view.”

“The success of your presentation depends on how much what you say coincides with what they want and need to hear.”

 

To find out more about Graham Davies visit his website : http://www.grahamdavies.co.uk/

Outstanding Presentations Workshop Webinars

Learn from the Top Presentation Experts in the World!

Free 7-week webinar series!

Ellen Finklestein, PowerPoint MVP

“Would you like to ask questions and get answers from top presentation, PowerPoint, and speaking experts?

Join me [Ellen Finklestein] at the online Outstanding Presentations Workshop 2011, for free! Learn how to eliminate Death by PowerPoint and make your presentations come to life as you listen to guest experts share their best techniques and answer your questions!

During the Outstanding Presentations Workshop you’ll learn to:

• sharpen your skills
• more clearly communicate your message
• engage your audience
• maximize your results
• even bring your career to a new level

Each week, you’ll hear from an amazing lineup of guest speakers who will reveal their secrets and strategies on presenting and speaking effectively. You’ll be able to ask them any questions you have, such as:

• How do I write content that meets the needs and questions of my audience?
• How do I design high-impact slides even if I’m not a designer?
• How do I deliver so that I connect with my audience?

When: Wednesdays, starting September 7, 2011 at 11am PT, 12pm MT, 1pm CT, 2pm ET. Each webinar lasts 1 hour but may run
over slightly. Each webinar will be recorded so you can view it later (up to 2 weeks after the session).”

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I’ve signed up to attend these free webinars because all the speakers (and topics) look really interesting and useful including Cliff Atkinson, author of “Beyond Bullet Points”.

 

Find out more here:  http://www.outstandingpresentationsworkshop.com/

Visual Imagery as mental hooks

Why are visual images needed as mental hooks?

Yesterday, I discovered a great website resource from BizGraphics On Demand which is a great collection of professionally designed graphics that will help enhance the visual appearance of presentations.  See yesterday’s post for more details about BizGraphicsOnDemand.

What’s the purpose of a visual diagram?

I used one of their graphics to turn a list into a visual diagram which served the intended purpose.   The initial purpose was to make a boring list look more interesting because I am going to have to refer to that list of units for best part of a year so I’d rather look at something visually appealing than something boring.  I also needed to work out which order I will study the units following certain rules.  As you will see from the visual diagram, I have inserted two milestones (AWARD and CERTIFICATE) which are qualifications in their own right that I will be eligible for by obtaining Units 7001 and 7004 respectively.    As I read about each of the Units I made choices about the order of study and dragged and dropped the text from place to place  until I had everything in an order that suited me.

So, as I say, this original visual diagram served yesterday’s original purpose of turning a linear list into a visual map of study:-

However, when I looked at it again this morning, I started to contemplate the many books which I will need to read  so I have started to research books and websites and have begun the process of inserting pictures of those books/websites as “mental hooks” as reminders of what I need to do.  For example, I own some of the books but others need to be ordered.  No point buying them all up front so I will use the “mental hooks” as reminders to order the books as and when I need them.

The purpose of the visual has changed

When I first downloaded the graphic from BizGraphicsOnDemand it had contained icons to remind me that visual images help the brain to “see” key stages.

Keep reflecting on “the purpose of the visual” and amend it accordingly

This morning, as I say, I’ve started researching books and have started to include images of those books as my own “mental hooks”.  I have also inserted images to denote the milestones where I could stop studying and achieve a Level 7 AWARD and / or a Level 7 CERTIFICATE if I decide not to complete the entire DIPLOMA.

As you will see from the graphic below it now makes it very clear  that the DIPLOMA is vast in comparison to either the AWARD or the CERTIFICATE (even though the work is of the same level) simply by looking at the gap between the first and second Rosettes compared to the huge gap between the second and third Rosettes.

The next step will be to insert a hyperlink to my www.amazon.co.uk account behind each book image where I will save these books in my Shopping Basket.  That way, when the time is right, all I’ll have to do is to click the hyperlink and order the appropriate book.

So, yesterday it was a boring list of units to be studied.  By the end of today it will be a visual study plan, containing various “mental hooks“, with hyperlinks to books and websites of relevance.   There’s a lot of studying ahead of me to achieve this next qualification but I know that having a eye-pleasing visual, containing relevant hyperlinks, will enable me to stay the course and to not feel overwhelmed.  By knowing that the future is planned, my mind will be able to focus on simply tackling the current unit, one unit at a time.

Purpose and intended Audience

Whenever you create any visual diagram you must always keep reflecting on purpose and intended audience and by so doing you will create visuals which are “fit for purpose” and which help the intended audience to “see the bigger picture”, even if that audience is just yourself.   These are lessons which I learnt by reading Jamie Nast’s book Idea Mapping and they are valuable lessons for everyone to take on board.