Be the opposite of AI. Have you seen these promos? "No more spending hours designing slides; create visually stunning presentations with AI in just seconds!" ? ?? If you care about accuracy and facts... ?? If you care about authenticity and human connection... ?? If you care about being known for your own thought leadership and unique perspective... Please be the opposite of AI. Natalia Sanyal wrote this last week as one of her two top marketing trends for humanity-first businesses in 2024: "With AI-generated content taking over our feeds, humanity-first businesses seemed more motivated than ..read more

?? Winging it ?? No visuals or images ?? No audience interaction ?? Bullet points in tiny tiny text ?? Reading straight from your notes ?? Reading your notes word for word ?? Not telling stories or using examples ?? No vocal variety or physical movement ?? Sharing content that's not relevant to your attendees ?? Sharing content that's not practical or useful to your participants ?? Straight lecture with no questions for or collaboration with the audience ?? Copying and pasting AI content without revising to sound like it came from you ?? Looking down at your paper instead of making eye contac ..read more

Inspiration and persuasion require emotional engagement, so why do presenters think they can bombard their audiences with information alone and expect that to lead to action and results? Throwing statistics, data and hypotheticals at people at the expense of reaching them "in the feels" will not motivate them to take the action you desire. So, what actions do you want your participants to take at the end of your presentation?  ? donate ? volunteer ? attend events ? make a major gift ? engage in research ? join fundraising efforts ? become mentors/mentees ? share stories about working wit ..read more

Sharing some soundbites and rough thoughts about making nonprofit messaging more clear, relevant and practical, from CalNonprofits annual policy conference. "'Democracy is at risk.' What does that even mean?" State Senator Anna Caballero  "Misinformation is free; digging into policy is behind a paywall." Jodi Hicks, Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California "Don't obey in advance." Anand Giridharadas, journalist and author The conference was sobering and exhilarating at the same time. I attended in order to gather intel on how upcoming policy changes will affect my nonprofit training c ..read more

Rachel Maddow gave an impassioned speech after the election last week. This is what I needed to hear and what many of use need to hear, internalize and act on. Let's go, pirate energy! "If you are an American citizen who does not want to ash can the American system of government, who doesn't want a strongman, authoritarian system where the whole government is one guy and everything else just exists to serve him—if that is not the kind of country that you want—then yesterday's election means you have more to do for your country than you have ever done before.  Because now is when the rubbe ..read more

Hey you! You're a windbag. ?‍? ?️?️?️ Sure, you're an esteemed expert and authority in your field. You're sought out for the value you bring to conferences. You have knowlege and experience that's not easy to find in a speaker. But... ? You looooove to hear yourself talk. ? Your ratio of lecture to engagement is wayyyy off. ? You're so verbose that your audience can't even breathe. ? Your language is anything but plain, and way over their heads. You've been doing this so long, that you've forgotten the most basic concepts about giving a presentation: ?You can't expect bored attendees ..read more

If you're not nervous, your presentation might suffer. It doesn't mean you have to be shaking in your boots to give a good performance (because that's not good for anyone), and it doesn't mean that you can't experience incredible energy and a sense of flow and connection during the performance. What it means is that, in order to do a good job, we have to *care.* We have to be committed to delivering our best AND delivering what the audience needs, wants, and cares about. And there is ALWAYS uncertainty when you're getting in front of a group for the first time. I'm giving my first significant ..read more

When we were in LA recently, I made my husband drive around the block into an alley with this blue wall, and then take about a hundred pictures of me so I could make graphics like this one. ? Do I feel foolish doing these poses in public while people walk and drive by? Maybe a little. ?? My husband is very patient with my requests; he knows that any time we go somewhere together, I might ask him to stop in a weird place and take some weird pictures. But taking silly pictures and videos in public is probably the LEAST embarrassing thing I do on a regular basis. I make a fool of myself practica ..read more

I was once reading a conversation started by a Black person about anti-Black hate crimes, and I thought it would be helpful to mention antisemitism and the hate crimes that Jews experience. Why did I think that would be helpful? ?? Maybe I thought Black people needed to know that Jews are also victims of violence? (Nope, they already know that.) Maybe I thought I was offering solidarity? (I wasn't. I was making it about myself.) Maybe I thought the conversation needed "different perspectives?" (It didn't. It was a conversation meant to educate and bring awareness about people's lived experien ..read more

Me: Introduces the Van Gogh of slides. Audience: So, about those quarterly reports. When you're using slides, you have to balance visual engagement and relevant information. ⚖️ A slide that's beautiful but doesn't advance your message is just as pointless as a slide with 12 bullets and a title that says, "Why Bother? No Choice Soon = Science (testing) Advances, Media 'Instant Messaging' Globally, Risk Management, Sustainability No Longer Altruistic." (Yes, a real slide from a conference I attended.) ? I'm a huge fan of slides, and I use them in most of my presentations. However, I don't use b ..read more