How to dress for credibility, while remaining true to yourself.
What to wear for a perfect presentation? As you design and polish your speech, developing visual aids and handouts, this question may fall into the background until dangerously close to the presentation. Suddenly, you look up: “Yikes! ...
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Perfect Presentations: What Not to Wear
3 Words to Weaken Your Presentation
I’m here with some good news for most presenters—along with some cautions you’ve probably never thought about.
The Good News: “Ums” Won’t Kill You
Speakers, don't worry so much about using fillers like “um” and “uh. ” These only become problematic when other distracting factors ...
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Wild Classroom: How to Prevent the Chaos
Have you ever worried about your participants going wild, tuning out, or exhibiting other potentially disruptive behaviors? The concept of "classroom management" will help.
Good classroom management is the ability to run your training sessions smoothly. Research shows that good classroom management ...
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How to Keep Meetings Active and Productive
1. Playback.
Reiterate what a participant has said as closely as you can. Try not to infer meaning.“Greg, I’m hearing you say that you want this to go a little more slowly. Did I get that right?”
2. Consolidate.
Pull together ideas, showing their relationship to each other. “As you can ...
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3 Tips to Deal With Audiences From Hell
Resistant dynamics can be found in any audience. Here are three essential techniques to stay sane as a presenter.
1. Check Yourself.
Ask yourself: What am I feeling about this audience? Why? What’s the worst that could happen?
Prepare yourself emotionally and physically ...
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Avoid Audience Overload: Less Is More
Picture it: You’re a student in a classroom. The instructor is throwing out fact after fact. At first, you listen intently, trying to grasp everything that’s going on. After about 15 minutes, your attention drifts. After trying to focus a few more times, you feel so overwhelmed ...
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What Separates Great Trainers From the Merely “OK?”
Many training participants would respond,"Great trainers make the learning easy and fun.” If probed further, they might mention the use of engaging training activities, or the trainer’s personal style.
But most won’t be able to identify an important action that differentiates expert trainers ...
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Can You Hear Me Now? Three Tips to Rise Above the Crowd
1. Do your homework.
What are your audience’s needs, wants, anxieties, biases, "personality?" What history do people bring into the room? What do you need to know to ensure that your message fits this audience?
Presenters who don’t ask these questions are like basketball players trying to ...
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The “Intensified You:” Key to Giving a Great Presentation
When people describe the best speaker they’ve ever seen, the word “energy” always comes up. What are the secrets of exuding energy, vitality, the life force, as a speaker? Be Big Regardless of what size you are, take up more room. Become the "Intensified You." Practice in front of a mirror: Stand ... Read more about The “Intensified You:” Key to Giving a Great Presentation
Here’s a simple, often-overlooked tool that hugely impacts your success as a trainer. It’s essential for individual, group, or on-line training.
Learning Objectives Are Not Enough
You know the definition of learning objectives: They are statements of what the learner will be able to do by the ...
