Black is back, but better – 3+ new ways to hide your slide while you speak

Imagine you’re presenting, and one of these situations comes up:

• You want to tell a story.
• Someone asks a great question, and it’s only loosely related to what’s on your slide.

In either case, you’re left with this glaring issue:

What do you do with your current slide?

Leaving it on your screen amounts to “blur” (that is, a visual distraction), so that’s not a good option.

You might be thinking:

“A-ha! I know about the PowerPoint shortcut
that lets me black out my current slide!”

Or:

“My remote clicker has a button for
blacking out my slide”

Well in this post, as well as the standard solution provided by PowerPoint (and many remotes), you’ll find at least 3 completely new and better ways to hide your slide.

Awesome opening lines: 20+ more examples for your speeches, from Patricia Fripp (Certified Speaking Professional)

For neat ideas for your next talk’s opening line, here’s a great free resource. It’s a 2-page PDF packed with almost 30 opening lines by Patricia Fripp, CSP – former president of the National Speakers’ Association in the US.

Make killer PowerPoint presentations in 7 clear steps (Free e-book by Olivia Mitchell)

Quick quiz: In a 7-step method for building killer PowerPoint presentations, at which step would you make the slides?

Step 1? …Step 2? …Step 3?

Any advance on step 3?

Well in this tried-and-tested method by presentation expert Olivia Mitchell, you may be staggered to hear you don’t make the slides until…

“Analog” presentation tips #2: Use a prop [Video to watch]

Want to connect more with your audience? And want your talk to stand out and be remembered, too? In this short series of posts, you’ll get many neat tips from expert presenters on using “analog” techniques – that is, without electronics – to help you reach those key goals.

That’s how I introduced the 1^st post in this series.

Make a point far more strongly…

In this post, you’ll see superb use of a prop to make a point far more strongly than a slide alone ever could. The presenter uses a few slides and video clips, certainly, but he doesn’t let them upstage him. That in itself’s a huge takeaway from this talk!

“Analog” presentation tips #1: Use a flipchart [Video to watch]

Consider these 2 questions for a moment:

Want to connect more with your audience?
And want your talk to stand out and be remembered, too? ^{Tweet this}

In this short series of posts, you’ll get many neat tips from expert presenters on using “analog” techniques (that is, without electronics). They’ll help you reach those key goals of:

• Connecting
• Standing out
• Being remembered

Grab attention – 5 great opening lines for your presentation stories [Video]

For lots more ideas, also see 20+ more opening lines from Patricia Fripp in a PDF

By giving you 5 specific examples of great opening lines, this post helps you cure three of your biggest presentation headaches. Namely, how to:

• Rivet people’s attention as soon as you speak.
• Make your message memorable, so it forms a lasting impression.
• And most of all, actually motivate people,
  so your talk makes a difference!

Giving a sales presentation? Turn the process on its head to win the deal [Video]

Are you selling in a tough environment? This 2½-minute video shows you how to stand out from the crowd, by being the person who uniquely matches your prospect’s reason for buying.

Free 80-page e-book on boardroom-style presentations, by Andrew Abela

Here’s a thought-provoking yet quick read for when you’re creating a boardroom-style presentation – that is, for a small audience (rather than a ballroom-style event, for a large audience).

It’s written by Andrew Abela – who’s an academic, a former management consultant, and creator of the Extreme Presentation Method.

Boost testosterone – present better! (Regardless of your sex) [Video to watch]

Here’s how to exude confidence (and feel it too) when you present. Amazingly, it comes down to the quickest and easiest type of preparation you’re ever likely to do!

The fast-moving and fascinating 18-minute video below shows you the way, based on remarkable research into the hormonal effects of body language.

Minimise “blur” when you present (F!RST framework – part 1m)

In this post, you’ll find 9 steps you can take to cut “blur”. (Short of time? You can skip straight to those 9 steps.) First though, let’s just briefly look at what blur is, and how you can recognise it.

Blur harms your goal by being the opposite of focus. Sometimes called “noise”, blur is caused by anything that:

• overwhelms your audience
• or distracts them from you and your core message.

Common signs of blur include: