There are such huge dangers in following a formula and sounding the same as everyone else!!
In a hilarious talk capping off a day of new ideas at TEDxNewYork, professional funny person Will Stephen shows foolproof presentation skills to make you sound brilliant — even if you are literally saying nothing. (Full disclosure: This talk is brought to you by two TED staffers, who have watched a LOT of TED Talks.)
Try watching it a second time with the sound off!!
I suspect this was well-rehearsed and yet seemed so natural, so conversational.
Do you want to speak to inspire?
We could all do well to learn from this man and the presentation –
repetition,
a mantra,
storytelling skills,
timing,
structure …
The emotionally charged story recounted at the beginning Dr. Paul Zak’s film—of a terminally ill two-year-old named Ben and his father—offers a simple yet remarkable case study in how the human brain responds to effective storytelling.
As part of his study, Dr. Zak, a founding pioneer in the emerging field of neuroeconomics, closely monitored the neural activity of hundreds of people who viewed Ben’s story.
What he discovered is that even the simplest narrative, if it is highly engaging and follows the classic dramatic arc outlined by the German playwright Gustav Freytag, can evoke powerful empathic responses associated with specific neurochemicals, namely cortisol and oxytocin. Those brain responses, in turn, can translate readily into concrete action—in the case of Dr. Zak’s study subjects, generous donations to charity and even monetary gifts to fellow participants.
By contrast, stories that fail to follow the dramatic arc of rising action/climax/denouement—no matter how outwardly happy or pleasant those stories may be—elicit little if any emotional or chemical response, and correspond to a similar absence of action. Dr. Zak’s conclusions hold profound implications for the role of storytelling in a vast range of professional and public milieus.
Learn how to turn your anxiety into a great public speech with this free video lesson from a professional public speaker.
Tim Minchin, the former UWA arts student described as “sublimely talented, witty, smart and unabashedly offensive” in a musical career that has taken the world by storm, is awarded an honorary doctorate by The University of Western Australia.
He speaks our language!!
I just loved this presentation, this speech – not just his style, but his content, based around our culture and our language – so wise and so hilarious.
Persuasion/inspiration/information/entertainment at its best!
This is a valedictory speech by a student who feared public speaking.
“I’d literally have sweaty palms and a pit in my stomach at the thought of being called on to answer a question in class. The worst part was that I thought I’d always feel that way but thank goodness I finally figured out how to get rid of it and I’ve never felt better about speaking publicly.”
Watch him as he waits through his introduction. It is still evident. Watch, though, as he makes his speech and know that this is one inspirational human being.
He still has a way to go with his speaking, but with an attitude like that, he should go far.
I would love your comments on this speaker and his presentation in the comments below. Especially I would like to hear what advice you would give him on his speaking. I think he would appreciate it.
Tired of death by PowerPoint? Guy and Lisa share 5 essential tips to make your business presentations more enchanting.
The One Presentation Skills secret you need to make your next presentation easier to prepare and deliver
This is a guest post from Jonathan Li.
He shares a simple technique to make ourselves more confident and natural.
Jonathan’s main target audience is youth, so this technique is especially useful and pertinent. I like his humour and enthusiasm for sharing his ideas. You are very welcome to put your comments on his video at the bottom of this post if you want to.
Jonathan Li is a School Presentation Coach who helps college and university students overcome fear, transform presentation skills and create their dream career. For more information, go now to speechxpress
Are you still creating PowerPoint slides with lots of bullets and text? This 4-min. video will revolutionize how you create presentations. You’ll see a makeover, step-by-step, that gets rid of a distracting background and turns a boring, bulleted slide into a clear, image-rich presentation.
Apple CEO Steve Jobs was well known for his electrifying presentations. Communications coach Carmine Gallo discusses the various techniques Jobs uses to captivate and inspire his audience — techniques that can easily be applied to your next presentation.
In this cluttered marketplace it is more important than ever to keep your message simple. People just don’t have the attention span to work hard at understanding what you have to offer. Consider Google’s core message as they sought out venture capital years ago.
“Google provides access to the world’s information in one click”.
Can you do that with your business?
Add personality to a public speech by emphasizing vocal inflections.
Avoid speaking in a monotone voice with tips from a communications specialist in this video.
Dan Heath, co-author of Made to Stick, speaks with Fast Company on how to avoid “that dreaded bullet-drenched PowerPoint that everybody hates”.
Lost for ideas for your next presentation? …
… a wonderful example of using a visual aid – Who needs PowerPoint?!! Watch the language he uses, and the use of pause
Did you see this when it went viral on Facebook? It really is a powerful reminder that every word we use has an impact – in our sales presentations, our speeches, whatever their desired outcomes and our marketing – not to mention any communication that we use.
Lizzie O’Leary, Bloomberg TV’s Washington correspondent, gives her tips on how to effectively tell a story using data.
Storytelling is the most underrated thing when it comes to business, it is everything when trying to convey emotion and attachment to your brand and in today’s world a Press Release is JUST not gonna CUT IT!
Just magic!! What an inspiring speech this was! Even if you watch only the beginning, you can learn from her technique. She had them laughing with her from the start.
Excellent video from the master Power pointer and comedian, Don Macmillan
Hans Rosling’s famous lectures combine enormous quantities of public data with a sport’s commentator’s style to reveal the story of the world’s past, present and future development. Now he explores stats in a way he has never done before – using augmented reality animation. In this spectacular section of ‘The Joy of Stats’ he tells the story of the world in 200 countries over 200 years using 120,000 numbers – in just four minutes. Plotting life expectancy against income for every country since 1810, Hans shows how the world we live in is radically different from the world most of us imagine.
In a brilliantly tongue-in-cheek analysis, Sebastian Wernicke turns the tools of statistical analysis on TEDTalks, to come up with a metric for creating “the optimum TEDTalk” based on user ratings. How do you rate it? “Jaw-dropping”? “Unconvincing”? Or just plain “Funny”?
Can words really account for only 7 percent of the meaning of a spoken message? This short video animation puts ‘Mehrabian’s rule’ under the magnifying glass and shows why it can’t be true
This is a video produced by a presentation training company as an example of how NOT to make a PowerPoint presentation.
Click on the picture to watch this clever little video …
- Overcome the fear of public speaking
Click on the picture
Presentation designer and internationally acclaimed communications expert Garr Reynolds, creator of the most popular Web site on presentation design and delivery on the net — presentationzen.com — shares his experience in a provocative mix of illumination, inspiration, education, and guidance that will change the way you think about making presentations with PowerPoint or Keynote.
Presentation Zen challenges the conventional wisdom of making “slide presentations” in today’s world and encourages you to think differently and more creatively about the preparation, design, and delivery of your presentations. Garr shares lessons and perspectives that draw upon practical advice from the fields of communication and business. Combining solid principles of design with the tenets of Zen simplicity, this book will help you along the path to simpler, more effective presentations.
This is a quick and easy way to embed a YouTube video into a PowerPoint presentation on a PC.
This film is pure nostalgia! Great for training in the office as an ice-breaker. It takes us through the basics of effective public speaking, with its focus on body posture and gestures. 
Via Lisa’s blog (who can embed videos – a skill I keep putting off, so I’ve put a link to the page on my website) – a video of a nine-year old from whom many or us could learn the value of self-possession, dignity, naturalness; oh and the value of a smile and excellent body-language ….
Especially when you’re trying to rob a bank.
Watch the video here.