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Posts Tagged presentations
Google vs. Microsoft in Presentation Software Wars
Posted by TJ Walker in Audio/Video Technology, PowerPoint, Public Speaking Skills on January 5, 2008
Google is trying to compete with Microsoft in every arena, including presentation software. Google recently launched a competitor to PowerPoint. Many pundits gave Google’s version low markets in a point by point comparison to PowerPoint. Now, Google is making updates and revisions to its presentation software. Here is an analysis of the recent Google changes. I think the so-called inadequacies of Google’s presentation software are overstated, primarily because I think that most of the gizmos in presentation software hurt rather than help audiences. But most speakers can help themselves by knowing how to work with any of the major presentation software applications.
New Year’s Speaking Resolutions
Posted by TJ Walker in Public Speaking Skills on January 1, 2008
If you are resolving to improve your health in the New Year by losing 5-10 pounds, why not resolve to improve the health of your presentations?
Here is a speaker’s New Year’s Resolution:
1. I resolve to focus on the needs and interests of my audience, rather than myself.
2. I resolve to not bore.
3. I resolve not to “wing it.â€
4. I resolve to rehearse.
5. I resolve to treat every audience as important.
6. I resolve to come up with fresh stories and material for my audiences.
7. I resolve to try to make each speech a little better than the last one.
8. I resolve to communicate 3 important messages with each audience.
9. I resolve not to associate with anyone who reads bullet points off of a PowerPoint slide.
10. I resolve to watch and learn from other great speakers.
Take the 120-90-60 PowerPoint Pledge
Posted by TJ Walker in Audio/Video Technology, CEOs/Financial, PowerPoint, Sales and Marketing, Workplace on December 29, 2007
Let’s face it; you are an enabler—and so am I. When you and I sit through someone’s awful, boring, bullet-point filled PowerPoint Presentation and pretend to pay attention and listen, we are enabling another lousy speaker—and we are encouraging him or her to do the same thing again and again.
This has got to stop!
Great Speakers Never Keep Their Audience Waiting
Posted by TJ Walker in Uncategorized on December 28, 2007
Edwards Gets Demerits for Tardiness on the Trail –Headline from NY TimesÂ
 John Edwards may be a compelling speaker (I think so), but he does himself a tremendous disservice by showing up late to most of his audiences. Here is an article from last week’s New York Times lambasting Edwards for showing up, on average, 45 minutes late to every speaking appearance in
Iowa. Great speakers understand and respect the psychological mood of their audiences. And keeping an audience waiting for more than 5 minutes is a great way to put an audience in a lousy mood. My advice: do WHATEVER it takes to start and end your speeches on time. This is one skill that George Bush (whatever you think of his modest speaking skills) learned to master a long time ago.
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