A regular reader enjoyed the ‘End Strong’ feature piece last month and it prompted him to ask a question. ‘Do you have an opinion on opening or closing a presentation with quotes from other people? I heard long ago that you want the audience’s first and last impressions to be of your own words, not those of someone else.’
Presentations Skills
End Strong
Audience-Centric presentations should end, not just stop. And they should end strong. Introductions are critically important because you’re ‘Telling ‘em what you’re gonna say.’ Now, we focus on the equally important summary or conclusion, where you’re ‘Telling ‘em what you said.’
Speaker Intros
A reader asked about the logic of having the event host or moderator introduce a speaker. My comments should have value if you ever need to speak at a professional or industry group event. They even apply if you speak to another department or team at work where most of the audience doesn’t know you or your background.
Don’t Hand it to Your Audience
What do you do with your hands as you continue harnessing your physical power on the platform? I get that one a lot. Your maker endowed you with two wonderful visual aids – and what you do, and don’t do, with them says a lot about your confidence and credibility as a presenter.
This month, we’ll summarize ‘Gesturing ‘Worst Practices’ – it should be interesting and mildly amusing trip, unless it sounds like I’m talking about you. Next month, we’ll move on to ‘Best Practices’. Sound like a plan to you?