Literally Speaking: The Art of Talking About Your Book
Congratulations! You’re an author! If you’re generating some “buzz” about your book (or even if you hope to), you’ll need to know how to talk about what you’ve written in…
Media Training: Why Your Company Needs It
If you speak on behalf of your company or organization, you need media training. Media training is about learning to present your messages effectively to reporters, and through them to…
Elevating Your Elevator Pitch
If you’re in business, you already know an elevator pitch is essential to your success. Being able to communicate what you have to offer (your unique selling proposition) is one…
Best Briefings: How To Deliver A Briefing Your Boss Will Thank You For
Briefing, noun brief·ing \ˈbrē-fiŋ\: an act or instance of giving precise instructions or essential information. As usual, Webster's definition is a useful starting point for helping us focus on the…
Pincus Group VP, Timothy Kenny Releases New Book
New Nonfiction Book By Timothy Kenny, Vice President of International Training for The Pincus Group For Immediate Release: In Far Country, Stories from Abroad and Other Places, veteran USA Today…
Writing That Works By David Griffiths
Poor writing is an obstacle to productivity, a hindrance to customer and client relations, and an impediment to effective management. Good writing is an opportunity to be creative and crystallize…
Want To Be A Better Writer? Don’t Go It Alone By David Griffiths
"Everyone needs an editor." Ernest Hemingway Papa Hemingway, one of the great prose stylists of the last century, was dead on. Human nature is such that we find it difficult…
The Power in Presentations: a warning for senior executives
We can easily recognize why presentation skills are so highly prized. Credit for the work usually goes hand in hand with those who are accomplished at speaking and explaining the…
PowerPoint or No PowerPoint: That is the question
During every coaching session, the question is sure to come up. “Do I have to to use PowerPoint in my presentation?” PowerPoint has become almost synonymous in some circles with the modifier “boring”, but that’s not the fault of the tool. It reflects a fundamental misunderstanding of that tool’s purpose.
Before you toss the tool, ask yourself whether you’ve been using it effectively. Are your slides packed with text? Is the point of each slide difficult to follow? Are the slides chiefly there to help you communicate your points? Are you using your slides both as presentation tools and as handouts for the audience to read and refer to later?
If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, you may not be using PowerPoint very effectively. Remember, if your audience can see and hear you, you need to be communicating differently than if you sent your information in an email, or mailed out printed material. Oral communication demands something different from both the presenter and the presentation. (more…)
Do Presentations Or Public Speaking Terrify You?
“It usually takes me more than three weeks to prepare a good impromptu speech.” ~ Mark Twain
I offer communications training, including business writing, presentation skills training, and media relations. The latter two, I’ve found, have much in common in that they force one to stand up and talk to strangers who may or may not be receptive. Over the years, I’ve come up with several teaching points, largely by watching accomplished professionals draw audiences in and make them comfortable, open to new ideas, and eager to share in what becomes a productive conversation. (more…)
