Blogs
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March 17, 2010 by Jerry
As readers of the prior post saw, one of the most common and pervasive maladies known to humankind is the fear of public speaking. Even professional performers have stage fright. Actor Sir Laurence Olivier, singer Carly Simon, pianist Glenn Gould, jazz musician Benny Goodman, choreographer Jerome Robbins and actor-director Orson Welles all experienced nervousness about their appearances in public. The anxiety heightens when performers step out of their professional roles and appear as themselves. Witness the Oscar award ceremonies. In the high pressure circumstances of the primetime live broadcast last week, almost every one of the actors had the
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March 10, 2010 by Jerry
One of the most commonly held misconceptions about public speaking is that good speakers are born that way. Meaning, in the lyrics of a song from the classic Stephen Sondheim musical, Gypsy, that “Ya’ either got it, or ya’ ain’t.” If any speaker were to accept this false belief, he or she would never be able to change—and presentation coaches would be out of business. I’m pleased to report that the presentation trade is alive and well, and is so primarily due to the pervasiveness of one of the most common maladies known to humankind: the fear of public
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March 8, 2010 by Nichole
It appears that our website redesign will take longer than we anticipated. As a result, we will resume blogging at a reduced schedule beginning Wednesday, and at least once a week thereafter. We welcome your comments and suggestions
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March 5, 2010 by Pearl
This Dilbert cartoon has been making the rounds on all the presentation blogs, so here it is for our readers. The reason for its popularity is, sadly, it is so true.
February 26, 2010 by Jerry
“You are what you eat,” a phrase that has become commonplace in today’s lexicon, actually came into being in the 19th Century. In 1825, Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin, a French lawyer, magistrate, and politician, published The Physiology of Taste: Or, Meditations on Transcendental Gastronomy, in which he wrote, “Tell me what you eat, and I will tell you what you are.” Over time, Monsieur Brillat-Savarin’s treatise on cooking and eating has become a bible for foodies, and his phrase, in its shorter form, a slogan for dieticians. Brillat-Savarin’s modern counterpart, food guru Michael Pollan, the author of the bestselling Omnivore’s
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February 24, 2010 by Jerry
On the occasion of the submission of his 2011 budget, President Obama assembled his economic team to join him during his speech. In the official White House photograph, the president is flanked left to right, by Christina Romer, Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers, Timothy Geithner, Secretary of the Treasury, Peter Orszag, Director of the Office of Management and Budget, and Larry Summers, National Economic Council Director. You’ll note that all of them are standing with their hands clasped in front of them, in what is known in the presentation trade as “The Fig Leaf.” In the Power
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February 22, 2010 by Jerry
After months of ducking the media over charges of marital infidelity, Tiger Woods finally met the press by delivering a thirteen-and-a-half minute apologetic statement to a hand-picked audience, and he did not take questions. That did not stop the media from picking over the event like the leftover carcass of a Thanksgiving turkey. The commentary ranged from the sarcastic (London’s Telegraph commented: “Tiger Woods had bought a new shirt. But, rather like a schoolboy on his first day of term, it appeared to be at least one collar size too large”) to the sincere, as Alessandra Stanley, the television
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February 17, 2010 by Jerry
The blogosphere, the fiber optic cables, and the airwaves have been buzzing with stories about Sarah Palin who, during a television interview connected with her speech at the conservative Tea Party convention, used crib notes written on her palm. You can see the infamous moment on YouTube. To compound the moment, Ms. Palin, threw a stone at the White House from her glass house during her speech when she said, “This is about the people. And it’s bigger than any king or queen of a tea party. And it’s a lot bigger than any charismatic guy with a teleprompter.”
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February 15, 2010 by Jerry
In the previous blog, you read about how the skill of Marques Colston, the New Orleans Saints leading wide receiver, resonates with the listening aspect of responding to questions in Q and A sessions. Now let’s look at another factor that contributed to the Saints’ Super Bowl victory: preparation. A Wall Street Journal article about the run-up to the big event reported that the New Orleans Saints and their opponents, the Indianapolis Colts, combined, spent 514,000 hours of labor per team. The article, based on a study prepared for Journal by the Boston Consulting Group, explained:   Â
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February 10, 2010 by Jerry
Congratulations to the New Orleans Saints on their Super Bowl victory and to Marques Colston, their talented wide receiver. Mr. Colston, who was the Saints’ leading receiver in the game with 7 receptions for 83 yards, is a four-year veteran who helped his team reach the Super Bowl with 70 catches for 1,074 yards over the season. What makes for a successful wide receiver is a statistic called “Yards After Catch,” or its acronym, “YAC.” It refers to a play in which a receiver catches a pass for a gain of yards and then runs for additional yards.
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