Comments on: 10 Kick Ass Presentation Techniques

By: modge

modge — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 20:41:00 +0000

thank you for this post!

By: Freetoryme

Freetoryme — Mon, 06 Dec 2010 21:01:00 +0000

Thanks

By: marketing 101

marketing 101 — Thu, 20 May 2010 18:57:08 +0000

thanks for sharing. be confident if you want to success in your presentation, the way to confident is you must understand what will you say, and that will make you more confindent.

By: Marco Montemagno

Marco Montemagno — Tue, 18 May 2010 19:31:23 +0000

Well done Alex just few suggests to improve even more :)

- don’t use slides, just go 100% naked (personally I use a video in synch with the speech)
http://www.presentationzen.com/presentationzen/2007/11/post.html
- don’t turn around to watch the slides
- more interaction with the audience (i have been using a table tennis table in a theatre for instance http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WGNcChIRC7o but you can consider several actions/games to do with the audience)
- moving around is great but when you say something important just stand (it gives more authority to what you say if you move the message is less strong)
- modulate your speech more (passion is great but different moment of the speech deserve a different speed and approach or everything sounds similar in the end)

My 2 cents… excellent work!

Marco

By: Aaron Darko

Aaron Darko — Tue, 18 May 2010 18:59:00 +0000

Hey Alex, I was referred to this article by a friend. What an excellent post!

I am looking to break into public speaking myself, this is the reason I started my blog. So it can be a platform for me to be able to get some credibility.

I will be coming back to this blog for sure! I can learn a ton from you!

How did you first start speaking and what advice would you give us guys who are looking to get some keynote speeches?

By: Giselle Furnan

Giselle Furnan — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 09:44:29 +0000

Thanks a lot for sharing this with us. They are really useful tips for improving our presentation skills.

By: viettel

viettel — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 12:09:15 +0000

Thanks very much man! I’m a student and so it’s good for me now.

By: Daniel Perdigão

Daniel Perdigão — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 23:00:03 +0000

Hi Alex, great common sense tips and techniques (who cares?).
The article is synthetic and interesting and the video is great – I considered it as an 85 presentation, on a scale from 1 to 100. And you broke some rules, obviously! What are rules for? That’s humanity! That’s emotion! If the rules were 100% right we can program a robot and send it to present while we spend our time on the coolest beach…
I have to agree that some of the F… comments could, or not, have been appropriate, depending on the attendance. I could not use those with my regular public and you surely cannot use at a TED Talk or Ignite presentation.
Getting back to “common sense” and “everyone knows those rules”, I have to say that I attend several presentations every week (and from time to time I do present a few too) and the fact is that more than a third of the presenters are much bellow the 15 (using that same scale). So we need to ask: what the F… are they doing there and why do they not apply the common sense rules?
Most of them keep reading overloaded slides not rehearsed, and don’t know nothing about the audience before or after the presentation as they never look at people due to being staring at the screen to read! Amazing! …and they are high level positioned professionals within their organizations!
Please keep sharing!
Regards.
Daniel (mr.mindmap)

By: Julius

Julius — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 22:25:04 +0000

Great article! Your point about “they care” reminded me of this commercial: http://adsoftheworld.com/media/tv/warburtons_bread_brand_campaign

Keep it up!

By: Bern

Bern — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 05:37:26 +0000

Because language is so important one of the words to be avoided in presentations is ‘simply’. It drives me up the wall when a speaker says ‘You simply do this …’. It may be simple for the speaker but not necessarily for everyone in the audience.

By: Srinivas N Jay

Srinivas N Jay — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 18:54:40 +0000

Hi,

Thanks a lot for sharing this with us. They are really useful tips for improving our presentation skills.

Have a great day.
Srinivas

By: myBiz.lk

myBiz.lk — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 13:49:22 +0000

What a great post! Awesome tips. Thanks for sharing

By: Alessandra

Alessandra — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 15:59:07 +0000

Another important aspect that must not be disregarded in order to make outstanding presentations is to take into account all technical aspects that could ruin your performance. You might find some useful tips in “8 Secrets for impeccable presentations” on http://www.slidecoaching.com/

By: John Macpherson

John Macpherson — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 11:09:35 +0000

Regarding the presentation itself. Maybe it was cut but in 20 minutes you did very well to fit everything in there. Some excellent examples given to back it all up. Great job and look forward to the next.

By: Torea Escao

Torea Escao — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 20:07:27 +0000

So here you are. Just few coming right out of my head

Thank You for Arguing; Jay Heinrichs
The Definitive Book of Body Language; Allan & Barbara Pease
(very good one, alma mater of our team when presenting to C or B level seniors in corporation)
Verbotene Rhetorik; Gloria Beck
(not sure whether there is English translation on the market, I speak also German so I have original)

And few more.

For those using words like “fantastic” etc. …. anything like Presentation Skills for Dummies will make the job. Then I would recommend going further in reading and most important – practicing.

After that, something like 3 days training with camera and few professionals will make it two steps further.

Alex, I have similar gift like you – rhetoric capability. But there was quite a way to get to the certain level when I just do not talk others over.

Tips? Yes, there is one – do only present what you truly believe in and you also have a background experience. That will make others trust and follow you.

I know some very good speakers who are able to present anything from any area. Possible, but I have never seen them being followed by others.

By: Azizuan

Azizuan — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 19:20:47 +0000

thanks. I wish I could utilize it during my presentation in the next couple of days.

By: Matt Henderson

Matt Henderson — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 12:06:48 +0000

Yep, I’d agree with that as well; the author’s presentation abilities are quite good (although the “fuck you anyway” bit didn’t sit very well with me. I’m not sure what he was intending to achieve with that). But, anyway, I agree the presentation was delivered very naturally and engaging.

By: Lester

Lester — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 18:51:25 +0000

I have recorded many student lectures for the university where I work, and one thing I’ve noticed is that when a speaker talks with authority, it is a joy to watch.

By: john649

john649 — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 17:13:39 +0000

well, whether or not you agree with the headline “kick ass” techniques, they were definitely presented in a ‘kick ass’ way and that for me was the clincher. To write about a behavior is one thing but to see it in action is another. That’s how people learn by seeing and this worked! I’ve seen LOTS of presenters that can write about this stuff but to actually do it is well another story……
Great job!

By: Nicolás Suárez

Nicolás Suárez — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 14:14:33 +0000

wonderfull, congratulations, very use full tips, regards

Nicolás Suárez

By: Alex Hunter

Alex Hunter — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 09:01:12 +0000

Thanks Qunitin :-)

By: Andres

Andres — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 02:05:48 +0000

Hi Alex, my level of english is very low so please give me a chance and translate my comment (Google translate can help), Vi tu video y lo encontre genial, creo que usas muy bien las 10 tecnicas que describes en el articulo, solo como una recomendacion, por favor busca la forma de poner subtitulos a tus videos, piensa que habemos muchos hispanohablantes que te lo agradeceriamos.

Regards,

Andrés

By: .nate

.nate — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 20:19:29 +0000

I loved this video. A little put off at first by leading with an f-bomb, but it came together nicely. Like you said, it’s all about the audience and when you put it online, you can’t satisfy everyone. But I watched the entire thing and loved it.

@Matt Henderson – Cliché or not, I’m sick of these 10 techniques *not* being followed by presenters, especially when they’ve got something good to say and worth being passionate about. Good speakers might hit 2-3 of these in a speech, but getting all 10 and mashing them together really is an art.

By: Brandon J

Brandon J — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 19:39:31 +0000

For these 2 coming down so hard they sure didn’t offer anything to the conversation. It would have been nice for them to offer some books to check out or some rules of their own. I appreciated the article.

By: Alex Hunter

Alex Hunter — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 19:39:05 +0000

Are there any specific books you’d recommend? Any tips you have for speakers?

By: Alex Hunter

Alex Hunter — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 19:38:23 +0000

Thanks for the feedback Matt. I think what I was trying to cover here is what’s worked for me as a speaker. Humor has definitely worked for me but you’re right, I’ve seen speakers bomb when they try and use humor or break the ice with a joke.

By: Matt Henderson

Matt Henderson — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 19:19:36 +0000

I’d have to agree with Daniel Fonseca that these aren’t “kick-ass” techniques.

The article title had me anticipating some original thinking, and then left me disappointed. Most of these techniques are the first things one comes across in a quick google search on “presentation techniques” or a first visit to any Toastmasters group.

And I’d argue that some of the techniques are so common and cliché, that they should be avoided altogether. “Make ‘em laugh”? Starting a presentation with a joke seems so commonplace (especially when, for so many, the delivery feels unnatural), that experiencing it slightly undermines (for me) the authenticity of the presenter, in the same way I doubt the authenticity of the person behind a resume that’s obviously come from a template.

BTW, the most kick-ass presentation technique I’ve seen recently is the elimination of slides altogether, by Jason Fried. The combination of competence and slight improvisation seems very effective.

By: Sal Azad

Sal Azad — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 19:19:27 +0000

Thank You very much! very useful… i must learn how to “speak” …. once again thx :)

By: OMachado

OMachado — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 19:16:59 +0000

Thanks a lot for a very good tips!

By: Jay

Jay — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 19:01:03 +0000

Great tips. I know that some people are very nervous when it comes to making eye contact. One way to kind of ‘trick’ people if you’re talking to a relatively large group in rows of seats is to look at the top of the heads of the people in one row. The people in the next row will think you’re looking right at them.