Tag Archives: Presentation Skills

Hand It To Your Audience

By Phil Stella | Published: January 4, 2016

My executive coaching clients often ask what they should do with their hands when presenting. Short answer – use them effectively to add value to their message and audience. Presenters have two wonderful visual aids – and what they do, and don’t do, with them also says a lot about their confidence and credibility as a presenter. Read More »

The Eyes Have It!

By Phil Stella | Published: October 6, 2015

If I only had time to teach my executive coaching clients one presentation delivery skill, it would be to maximize their eye contact. Properly done, it produces several positive results for both audiences and presenters. Nothing says more about credibility, power and confidence than what presenters do – and don’t do – with their eyes. Everything else is a ‘B’ priority. So, here’s your quick overview of why The Eyes Have it! Read More »

Start Strong with a Power Intro

By Phil Stella | Published: September 9, 2015

We all learned about the three parts of a speech in high school: the introduction, body and conclusion. You remember … ‘Tell ‘em what you’re gonna say, say it and tell ‘em what you said.’ Nothing new here. Read More »

Good Slides Make Bad Handouts

By Phil Stella | Published: September 4, 2015

A client recently engaged me to create and deliver a workshop for an employee group. During our planning discussion, I recommend not using slides, given the audience, content and objective to create a more lively and engaging discussion. Slides tend to create the opposite impression. Read More »

More on Confidence

By Phil Stella | Published: August 10, 2015

‘Present with Confidence – Fear No More’ by Micki Holliday, National Press Publications, 2000.

A quick refresher of basic presentation tactics and strategies.

Slay the Impromptu Dragon

By Phil Stella | Published: August 8, 2015

Has this ever happened to you? Emma arrived at work early, got a cup of coffee and settled into tackling her highest priority task of the day. When, out of nowhere, her boss Bob approached her cubicle and asked the question that strikes fear in the hearts most employees, ‘Hi Emma … you busy?’ Read More »

Speak with Confidence!

By Phil Stella | Published: August 7, 2015

Presenting with confidence is critical to your career and business success. It’s that simple. And these contemporary expert professional speakers and authors really get the importance of confidence:

  • ‘Your ability to speak confidently on your feet will impress people and open more doors than you can imagine.’  Brian Tracy, author of ‘The Psychology of Selling’.
  • ‘Not being able to communicate with confidence and skill can barricade the door to success.’ Susan RoAne, author of ‘How to Work the Room’’.
  • ‘Speaking before a group stresses many otherwise capable people, and as a result their anxiety cripples their careers.’ Dianna Booher, author of’ ‘Speak with Confidence’.
  • ‘If you can’t speak confidently before groups, you’re going nowhere.’ Sherron Bienvenu, Ph.D., author of ‘The Presentation Skills Workshop’.

Start Strong with a Power Intro

By Phil Stella | Published: August 6, 2015

We all learned about the three parts of a speech in high school: the Introduction, Body and Conclusion. You remember … ‘Tell ‘em what you’re gonna say, say it and tell ‘em what you said.’ Nothing new here. Read More »

Just Say ‘No’ to Note Cards

By Phil Stella | Published: July 8, 2015

Given my commitment to Life Long Learning, I regularly review presentation skill-oriented books to keep what I share with my clients current and relevant. I recently encountered two different authors who recommended using 3×5 inch note cards for preparing speaker notes. Whoa! Couldn’t disagree more. So, please allow me to respectfully disagree and rerun one of my favorite rants. Read More »

Presentation Anxiety Revisited

By Phil Stella | Published: July 4, 2015

My colleague Steve Petti runs New Image Media here in Cleveland, specializing in effective video for the web. As part of his content marketing strategy, he’s inviting local experts to create two-minute video bites on interesting and useful business-related content to post on his website under ‘Grow Your Business/Cleveland’. Read More »