Heard about a great exercise used by the Second City improv troupe to teach communications skills.  The task is to have a conversation with a partner and always use the response “Yes, but…” After a time, try switching and using the response “Yes, and…”  Notice the difference in the flow of the conversation.
Now think about [...]

If you search out “Bobby Jindal” on YouTube, you may be surprised to find that Louisiana’s governor is a pretty good speaker. You’ll discover that his very poorly delivered response to President Obama back on February 24th was an anomaly. Sadly, when you’re that much in the spotlight and your delivery is that [...]

When you have to give a speech or a presentation, are you worried that you’ll be Jindalled? That is, do you worry you’ll suffer the fate that Louisiana governor Bobby Jindal suffered after delivering the Republican response to President Obama’s speech to Congress on February 24?
Here’s a quick sampling of reactions to Jindal’s delivery:

“Close [...]

I was at a presentation recently where the amount of material on the slides and the paucity of information in the presentation itself were such that the person was nothing more than a narrator for the slide show.
Slides and multimedia are there to enhance your information. If everything you have to say is up [...]

Report Card

Writing: C+
Clarity: C-
Efficiency: B
Elegance: C+

Delivery: A-
Pacing: C+
Intonation: B
Body Language: A-
Passion: A

The praise for Republican Vice-Presidential candidate Sarah Palin’s delivery of her speech has been nothing short of amazing – even MSNBC’s Keith Olbermann admitted that Palin “clearly gives a great speech.” Even the content drew praise from Democrats to the extent that they [...]

Dear Screaming Crowds:
You were at it again last night. When your speaker says “Thank you” a few times, that’s a clue they’re ready to begin; when they say it 14 times, that means “Shut up.”
Sincerely,
Your Speaker
Perhaps in an effort to try and best the Democratic crowd at the opening of Obama’s acceptance speech, Republicans [...]

Report Card

Writing: C+
Clarity: C
Efficiency: C+
Elegance: B-

Delivery: A-
Pacing: B-
Intonation: B+
Body Language: A
Passion: A

There’s been a lot of praise for Barack Obama’s acceptance speech at the 2008 Democratic Convention, with commentators like Andrew Sullivan calling it “a deeply substantive speech,” and celebrities like Oprah describing the night as “something that was transcendent.”
UPDATE: Gallup Poll of Aug. 30: [...]

Dear Screaming Crowds:
Please let your speaker get on with their speech.
Sincerely,
Your Speaker
Last night, it took 1:59 for the crowds at the Democratic Convention to let Barack Obama begin his speech. For those who were counting, he did 32 “thank yous” in an attempt to get them to stop. Adulation is one thing, but [...]

I was listening to a webinar with Nancy Duarte and she refers to a No Slide Zone during Oracle’s 2007 OpenWorld conference. The idea was that presentations within the zone had to be made without any PowerPoint or other slide materials. She called the experiment “interesting,” but a “completely Luddite approach.”
As a confirmed [...]