Presentation and Public Speaking News

• Timeless Presenter

In Influence, Robert Cialdini explains how you can persuade people – and how that power, if misused, can lead to manipulation. The skill to influence carries weight. And with that weight comes responsibility. I’ve met people who are excellent communicators. But being good at speaking isn’t enough. The real question is: what are you using your skills for? Communication can inspire and lift others up. But it can also mislead. The difference lies in your intent.

• Timeless Presenter

In the late 2000s, British artist Benjamin Shine began experimenting with tulle – the delicate netting used in ballet tutus. Instead of using paint or pencil, he folded and layered fabric to create portraits that looked like they’d been sketched in smoke. At first, his approach confused people. Some in the art world didn’t know what to make of it. He wasn’t doing what “real artists” were expected to do.

• Timeless Presenter

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.

• Events

In this live session, former White House speechwriter Terry Szuplat shares practical presentation skills and public speaking insights for business leaders. Learn how to prepare effectively, simplify your message, and communicate with clarity in high-stakes business conversations. At a recent Ideas on Stage event in London, we hosted Terry Szuplat, who spent eight years writing speeches for Barack Obama.

• Timeless Presenter

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.

• Timeless Presenter

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.

• Timeless Presenter

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.

• Timeless Presenter

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.