by Andrea Pacini — Tuesday 8 November 2022

There’s nothing more boring than a one-way lecture which makes an audience feel like they’re being talked at. Unfortunately, too many business leaders deliver presentations which are more like one-sided lectures. They believe their job is to speak for 30 minutes while others listen. These kinds of presentations, which don’t consider the needs of the audience, are tedious and unsuccessful. How do we do things differently? In this article I’ll explore how to bring the audience into your presentations and make them feel involved.

Continue Reading

by Andrea Pacini — Tuesday 18 October 2022

One of the hardest lessons to learn in communication is the art of keeping things simple. The more we know about something, the easier it is to fall into the trap of making our ideas too complex and too technical. It’s something I see business leaders doing all the time before they learn to improve their presentations. They wrongly assume that the audience will understand something just because they do.

Continue Reading

by Andrea Pacini — Tuesday 11 October 2022

If there’s a common purpose to most business presentations it’s to persuade the audience to act upon your ideas in some way. The best way to persuade the audience to do what you want them to do is with a clear call to action. If the call to action isn’t clear enough, the audience will fail to act. Your presentation will have been in vain. For example, imagine you were giving a webinar or an introductory workshop on your area of expertise.

Continue Reading

by Andrea Pacini — Tuesday 4 October 2022

The first words of a presentation are the most important. Your opening needs to grab the audience’s attention and hold it. The philosopher Plato said: “The beginning is the most important part of the work.” Sadly, most business leaders don’t think carefully enough about the way they open their presentations. Instead, they focus on the main body of their presentation and leave the opening to chance. Or they make the common mistake of opening with a boring agenda slide or by introducing themselves.

Continue Reading

by Andrea Pacini — Tuesday 27 September 2022

The greatest films, TV shows and novels are the ones with the best storylines. The same is true for presentations. A strong narrative can help you bring your presentation alive and make it memorable and successful. However, most business owners, leaders and professionals don’t pay enough attention to the way they structure their presentations. They fail to develop a clear storyline. I’ve come across many presenters who simply improvise their presentation around some slides.

Continue Reading

by Andrea Pacini — Tuesday 20 September 2022

It’s almost pointless asking if you feel nervous before a presentation. It would be strange if you didn’t. The vast majority of people are afraid of public speaking. It’s perfectly normal to have a fear of public speaking, also known by its technical name of glossophobia. Research shows that more than 75 percent of the population has some level of public speaking anxiety. So you’re in good company. I’m a presentation coach and I feel nervous all the time before a presentation.

Continue Reading

by Andrea Pacini — Tuesday 13 September 2022

When you watch the best athletes their movement seems completely natural and effortless. The reason they look so at ease is because of the years of dedicated practice they’ve put in. No one is born with the ability to excel—it requires work. The same is true for business presentations. It’s impossible to deliver a great speech without rehearsing it thoroughly. You can spot a presenter who hasn’t rehearsed adequately. The giveaways are that they might:

Continue Reading

by Andrea Pacini — Tuesday 6 September 2022

There is a famous saying that ‘a little knowledge is a dangerous thing’. It warns against those who know something about a subject but not quite enough. We should apply the same caution to those business owners and leaders who pitch their presentations above the audience’s heads. They forget how much they know about a subject and aim too high. In Made to Stick by Chip Heath and Dan Heath, one of the best books I’ve ever read, they introduce the concept of the curse of knowledge.

Continue Reading