January 16, 2009 by Jerry
When Senator John McCain lost the presidential election, he gave a concession speech that was lauded for its dignity in defeat. After congratulating Barack Obama on his victory, McCain added: It is natural—it’s natural tonight to feel some disappointment, but tomorrow we must move beyond it and work together to get our country moving again. We fought—we fought as hard as we could. And though we fell short, the failure is mine, not yours. At that, his audience roared “No!” But McCain continued. I am so deeply grateful to all of you for the great honor of your support and
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January 15, 2009 by admin
Jerry will be giving a breakfast talk for the Churchill Club on Friday, February 13th, in Palo Alto, CA. The Churchill Club is Silicon Valley’s premier business and technology forum. The 5,000-member, nonprofit organization has built a reputation for dynamic, in-the-news programs featuring Silicon Valley CEOs, up-and-coming executives and national business leaders. The Club is known for its smart, provocative and often irreverent programs. In addition to a stellar line-up of senior executives, the Club features panel discussions with invaluable information on technology, entrepreneurship, life sciences, business leadership and innovation. The events regularly draw more than 400 attendees and give members the opportunity to network with the best of Silicon Valley. This event is being sponsored by Cooley Godward Kronish LLP, and will be held at their campus in Palo Alto.
January 15, 2009 by Jerry
We’ve all been in the audiences of far too many presentations that unleash all the bells and all the whistles of PowerPoint animation with a frenetic, pyrotechnic display that challenges a Fourth of July celebration. This phenomenon is like putting a 14-year-old boy behind the wheel of a Ferrari Testarossa. That such excess happens is no surprise. All the many options in the pull down menus and ribbons of PowerPoint animation (in Slide Transition alone, there are 58 effects grouped into five categories, with three speed options for each) are as tempting as are all the many buttons, levers, dials,
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January 14, 2009 by admin
Jerry Weissman, America’s top speaking coach will be speaking at the Commonwealth Club of California on Tuesday evening, February 10th at the Kellog Auditorium in Santa Clara. The presentation begins at 7:00 PM. The talk—The Power Presenter—will focus on skills to improve the quality and impact of your presentations, naturally. Further information is available at on the Commonwealth Club website. The Commonwealth Club of California is the nation’s oldest and largest public affairs forum, bringing together its more than 18,000 members for over 400 annual events on topics ranging across politics, culture, society and the economy.
January 14, 2009 by Jerry
Valentine’s Day is a full month away, but yesterday’s Senate confirmation hearing on the nomination of Hillary Clinton for Secretary of State, gave the junior Senator from New York her bouquet a month early. Most of the senators spent most of their allotted time during the hearing tooting their own horns or praising Clinton rather than scrutinizing her. In turn, when Clinton had the floor, she heaped praise on her colleagues. After observing the mutual admiration celebration, Slate’s Mike Madden titled his report, “To Hillary with Love.” These high profile hearings can get very testy. Witness the sharp grilling
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January 13, 2009 by admin
Jerry’s Presenting to Win, having sold more than 100,000 copies and been named as one of eight “must read” books by Fortune magazine, was released in a revised and expanded edition at the end of the year. The flagship store of Barnes and Noble at Lincoln Center in New York City featured the book prominently among its business section.
January 12, 2009 by Jerry
The past weekend brought us two excellent examples of the art of interpretation by two grand masters of interpretation; one a virtuoso of words and the other of music: Abraham Lincoln and Frank Sinatra. Each example was an appreciation from a highly-qualified source. In the current edition of The New Yorker, Jill Lepore, a Harvard history professor and a novelist, in an article anticipating Barack Obama’s Inaugural Address, turned to one of Obama’s favorite inspirational sources, Abraham Lincoln. Revisiting The Great Emancipator’s memorable First Inaugural Address, Professor Lepore tells us that Lincoln gave a draft of the speech to William
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January 9, 2009 by Jerry
Yesterday, in his first speech since the election, President-elect Obama spoke at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, where he formally unveiled his stimulus plan to address the economic crisis. But the magic carpet ride of his vaunted rhetoric ran into a snag. The New York Times, in a lead article, reported resistance to the plan, even among his senate allies. Moreover, the usually-supportive newspaper was less than thrilled about his delivery of the speech. They wrote, “Known on the campaign trail for inspirational addresses, Mr. Obama on Thursday was sober and ominous, summoning the nation to meet a daunting
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January 7, 2009 by admin
On Friday, January 16, 2009, Jerry Weissman will give a keynote address at The Executive Doctorate Annual Conference. Using concepts from his newest book The Power Presenter, he will focus on how to effectively communicate both mission and marketing strategies in the PowerPoint age. The talk will be presented in the Inn at Penn on 3600 Sansom Street in Philadelphia at 9:00 AM. Please call our office for more details – (650)-227-1160.
January 3, 2009 by Jerry
At the beginning of my career as a speaking coach, I spent many tortuous, torturous, and torturing hours copying the mistakes of conventional presentation skills training, treating businesspeople as performers, thus perpetuating a counterproductive approach for both the instructed and the instructor. The very word ‘‘training’’ denotes rigorous discipline; while ‘‘coaching,’’ derived from the word for a transportation vehicle, denotes movement. My goal was to move the businesspeople I coached to become successful presenters naturally. In search of solutions to my dilemma, I looked back on my days as a producer of public affairs programs at WCBS-TV in New York
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