KEEP IT SIMPLE
In her book Bookbuilder, Lucy McCarraher shared a tip that’s gold for both authors and presenters: “Be kind to your readers.” When writing a book or preparing a presentation, choose clear, simple words. Go for short, straight descriptions over long, winding ones. Stay away from jargon and acronyms. Your audience might not know what you do, and that’s why they’re listening to you. Explain any complex terms the first time you use them – if you have to use them at all.
Continue ReadingASSUME THEY FORGET
In 2002, psychologist Elizabeth Loftus asked a group of people to recall childhood memories after being shown a fake advertisement for Disneyland featuring Bugs Bunny. Of course, Bugs Bunny isn’t a Disney character. He’s from Warner Bros. Still, many people said they remembered meeting Bugs Bunny at Disneyland. Some even described hugging him or shaking his hand. Why did they remember something that never happened? Because memory is fragile. It doesn’t record – it reconstructs.
Continue ReadingTHE ONE-WORD PITCH
Maurice Saatchi, co-founder of the global ad agency Saatchi & Saatchi, proposed a bold idea: In a world of short attention spans, the strongest message is just one word. He called it the one-word pitch. The goal is to link your message – or brand – to a single word. One word that people instantly associate with you. Think of Google and the word search. Or MasterCard and priceless. Barack Obama’s 2012 re-election campaign was built around the word forward.
Continue ReadingFIND THE ONE PERCENT
When I interviewed bestselling business author, Daniel Pink, he shared a lesson that stayed with him long after law school. In a class on International Business Transactions, his professor – Harold Hongju Koh – offered this advice: “Focus on the core idea – find the one per cent that matters.” If you could grasp and explain that, you understood the topic. You owned it. That lesson goes beyond law. It’s for anyone who needs to explain an idea, sell a product, lead a team or teach something new.
Continue ReadingHONESTY DOESN’T NEED A LABEL
In an episode of the Stick to Football podcast, Thierry Henry gave a fascinating interview. I admire Thierry. To me, he’s one of the best players to have ever played in the Premier League. But in that interview, I noticed something (nothing to do with football). Almost every time he answered a question, he started with “To be honest…” or “I’m going to be honest with you…” We all say it. I’ve caught myself doing it too.
Continue ReadingSTICK WITH THE FUNDAMENTALS
John Roussot, author of Liberate Your Greatness, is a black belt in three styles of karate. His journey offers a powerful lesson for communicators. John started karate at five years old. In the beginning, training was repetitive: punch, punch, punch. Most of his friends gave up. But John stayed with it. He repeated the basics over and over. Years later, he could throw six punches in a single second. That happened because he mastered the fundamentals.
Continue ReadingTHE ROOM ISN’T THE PROBLEM
It’s the preparation that came before it. We tend to blame the audience when a presentation doesn’t land – too passive, too quiet, too sceptical, too distracted. It’s easy to think people weren’t listening because they didn’t care. But often, they didn’t care because you didn’t give them a reason to. But most rooms reflect what they’re given. If the message isn’t clear, people won’t know what to take away.
Continue ReadingSTRENGTH IN UNEXPECTED PLACES
In public speaking, what seems like a weakness could be your strength. Are you a non-native English speaker? You might speak more slowly. This can be a plus, especially for international audiences. It gives people time to understand and absorb your words. Do you prefer writing and sticking to a script? It might seem rigid, but with a bit of flexibility, this thorough preparation helps you cover all key points.
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