That bad presentation is your fault. You sabotaged it. Screwed it up. All of us sabotage our own presentations more often than we imagine. And we do it through self-defeating behaviors. These self-defeating behaviors come in many forms, but negative self-talk is one of the chief culprits. We tell ourselves repeatedly that we’ll fail. We … The post Bad Presentation? appeared first on Business School Presentations ..read more

When asked if the university stifles writers, Flannery O’Conner quipped that the university unfortunately doesn’t stifle enough of them. Indeed. My naturally autocratic tendencies, which have held me back in the literary world for years, compel me constantly to cast a pall on the enthusiasms of my young charges. To stifle the urge to ponderous … The post Christmas Scrooge? Not Here! appeared first on Business School Presentations ..read more

The verbal up-tic is a ubiquitous speech pathology afflicting folks under thirty.  Its most common manifestation is Uptalk. Once it grips you, Uptalk won’t let go . . . It’s maddening. Everyone who is exposed to this voice experiences doubt, unease, and irritation, many of those persons not cognizant of where this unease originates. It screams amateur … The post The Addled World of Uptalk appeared first on Business School Presentations ..read more

Apply the Rule of Three to the middle section of your presentation. You have delivered your introduction, and you know your conclusion will properly mimic this introduction. Now . . . use the Rule of Three to build your talk in stages.  In this,, the middle, you argue the case for your recommendation. Through all … The post Rule of Three appeared first on Business School Presentations ..read more

Most presenters don’t know how to stop talking. Why? Because they don’t know that it’s a technique that must be practiced.  Needless to say, they’ve never practiced it. Do you practice stopping? Have you even thought of it? And yet the solution is so simple.  And it is incredibly satisfying to an audience. How to … The post How to Stop Talking appeared first on Business School Presentations ..read more

Too often, we can find ourselves rambling or roaming in a presentation, and this usually means we’ve strayed from the hoary principle of audience focus. Yes, focus on your audience. Roaming aimlessly means that we haven’t established a tightly focused subject, and we’ve not linked it to a tightly focused conception of your audience. Without tight focus … The post Audience Focus appeared first on Business School Presentations ..read more

Everyone knows about the atrocious speech pathology called Uptalk, but there’s another speech pattern that sounds much like uptalk and can be a more insidious bad presentation habit. Let’s call it List-Talk. Both pathologies must be fixed to lift your presentation skill to a professional level. Here’s the difference between the two pathologies, both of … The post Stop List-Talk Right Now! appeared first on Business School Presentations ..read more

In business school, you will espy classmates who demonstrate a pathology of unpreparedness – they “wing it.” People do this for a variety of reasons. Many students tend to approach presentations with either fear or faux nonchalance. No preparation, no practice, no self-respect . . . just embarrassment. Almost a defiant contempt for the assignment … The post I’m Going to “Wing It!” appeared first on Business School Presentations ..read more

For public speakers, one of the most insidious destroyers of confidence is the silent room, a room flooded with ambient silence. A room full of expectant faces, furrowed brows, and imagined hostility. All wrapped in a cocoon of intimidating quietude. A room filled with intimidating silence that is almost tangible, suffocating. This ambient silence can … The post Explode Ambient Silence! appeared first on Business School Presentations ..read more