Last week I was talking with a girl, maybe 12 years old, who dropped a big word during the conversation. It seemed like she might've been doing it to see if I knew what it meant. I'll give her a pass since she's young, but there's no excuse for a grown-up like you do do this when you're … [Read more...] about Do you use big words to sound smart? Knock it off!
The Virtual 2020 Presentation Summit Was Amazing!
The Presentation Summit is the premier conference for presentation designers. (What, you didn't think we had a club? Think again!) Every year, it attracts people from all over the world who gather together to geek out about presentation design and to learn from the industry's heavy hitters, such as … [Read more...] about The Virtual 2020 Presentation Summit Was Amazing!
Cheat Death by PowerPoint with a free game
In Toastmasters, we have a thing called Table Topics. Speakers are given a topic and they have to come up with a brief speech about it on the spot. Always on the lookout to make online meetings more interesting, I wanted to find a PowerPoint game where I could click on a box to reveal the question. … [Read more...] about Cheat Death by PowerPoint with a free game
Keeping that human touch as a remote presenter
As presenters, we need to be sure that our audience is always engaged. We want to see that people are interested in what we have to say and that they understand our messages. Although it can be a little tougher to do this when we're presenting online, it can be done. In fact, if you want your … [Read more...] about Keeping that human touch as a remote presenter
Dealing with the BIGGEST remote presenting problem
I was very excited to be chosen to speak at the annual Women Transforming Technology conference in Palo Alto! I love travel and was looking forward both to the presentation and to my hiking trips in the California hills. But like many conferences, this one became virtual by the end of March. "No … [Read more...] about Dealing with the BIGGEST remote presenting problem
5 mistakes to avoid during online meetings
Like many of you, I've ditched in-person meetings for virtual ones during the coronavirus crisis. In my case, it's just more of what I've been doing all along. For others I've been meeting with, it's all brand new. Here are five mistakes I've seen (and made) during online meetings. Some seem like … [Read more...] about 5 mistakes to avoid during online meetings
Weird room setup kills Presenter View
During a presentation, the Presenter View can be a real help! You get to read your notes and see what slides are coming up next, while the audience sees only the slides. Usually, if you're presenting off a laptop or desktop computer, you can make the Presenter View visible on your screen while … [Read more...] about Weird room setup kills Presenter View
Think your presentation’s awesome? Get some feedback.
At the last minute, I signed up to be a speaker for a recent meeting of my Toastmasters club. To make it easy on myself, I decided to present an excerpt from a tried-and-true presentation I’d given many times before. What I didn’t expect was to receive feedback that would make my speech even … [Read more...] about Think your presentation’s awesome? Get some feedback.