I’ve been working with clients from a small investment advisory firm who give a variety of sales-type presentations, mainly introducing their firm and their products. Presenters are usually seated at a conference table, speaking to 1-15 people. Their visuals are almost always letter-sized decks: printouts of PowerPoint slides. They send a digital version to participants… Read More »

You know what they say when a joke falls flat: “It’s all in the delivery.” Well, it’s true to a great extent with presentations as well. I’ve had clients who are smart as can be, do a phenomenal job of putting together information in a thorough and logical manner and excel in creating strategies, concepts… Read More »

Lately I’ve seen some clients whose style of pulling together the content for their presentations confuses them and slows them down. I usually advise clients to do a “data dump” before starting to write. That is, to put all points, examples, facts, themes, etc. on index cards or write them individually on a document. I… Read More »

I recently had an inquiry from a prospective client who said: I am good speaking in situations where I feel supported such those who report to me and associates who I know are on my side, but in situations where I may be questioned or attacked, I tend to lose my train of thought and… Read More »

Last time I introduced the concept of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and went over some cognitive, or thought-related strategies for reducing nervousness. This time we’ll look at some behavioral or action-oriented solutions. For many of us, anticipating the event causes us anxiety but it dissipates once we get started. For very nervous speakers, the effect is… Read More »

You probably know the Jerry Seinfeld bit, “According to most studies, people’s number one fear is public speaking. Number two is death… This means to the average person, if you go to a funeral, you’re better off in the casket than doing the eulogy.” But why is that? I see two, often overlapping paradigms. For many… Read More »

I recently received a link to a blog by renowned and esteemed communications coach T. J. Walker entitled: “How Every Manager Can Eliminate Awful Presentations and Speeches from Employees in 2015”. With his very witty and dry sense of humor, Mr. Walker advises managers to institute a a new policy: instead of sending PowerPoint decks… Read More »

This past September marked the 50th anniversary of the famous “Daisy” television ad run by Lyndon B. Johnson’s 1964 presidential campaign. As presenters, we can learn a valuable lesson from the ad. The “Daisy Spot” was created for ad agency Doyle Dane Bernbach by my father, Tony Schwartz. It is considered by many to be… Read More »

I read an article about a lawyer, Bill Alverson, who also coaches (very successfully) pageant contestants for their pageant interviews. Apparently his skill in prepping clients for trial has informed his pageant interview coaching. I liken him to a good branding/presentation coach. I respect his theories on the interview process and I think they can… Read More »

We each have a unique speech pattern. Some people speak with such a beautiful lilt that they almost sound like they are singing. Their voices rise and fall smoothly as if forming a melody. Other people speak in a monotone, rarely reaching beyond a narrow range of ups and downs. No matter your vocal range,… Read More »