Recently I’ve been researching and practicing mindfulness. Not to be confused with the traditional image of mediation , being mindful is simply training your mind to focus on one thing while staying grounded in the present.
When it comes to presenting, being in the present is critical. We all make mistakes, and making them won’t necessarily ruin a presentation. Success or failure depends on how we handle our mistakes. Continue reading
In my last article, I described how to apply The Lean Startup’s Build-Measure-Learn Feedback loop to your presentations. In this article, I’ll explain what you should send through that loop: your minimum viable product (MVP). Continue reading
As someone committed to “helping international companies and individuals achieve measurable success,” I often find myself acting as an “intrapreneur” (in other words, an entrepreneur inside large organizations).
Because of that, I often find guidance and inspiration for my work in unlikely places. Recently, I realized that techniques from The Lean Startup, by Eric Ries, can actually improve how I approach my seminars. After reading this post (and its sequel), you’ll be able to do the same. Continue reading
Some of you may have noticed that it’s been a while since my last post—my apologies! Actually, I’ve been working behind the scenes to determine where this blog is headed. After much consideration, I decided to make a pivot (and a hint at my upcoming posts) from a “blog” with regular updates to a knowledge and experience curation “site.” For more details, check out the updated “The Story Behind The Business of Teaching” page. Continue reading
For those of you who teach lengthy courses or run a series of seminars, it’s important to check in on your audience’s needs and wants from time to time. Regular readers should know that it is crucial to know your audience at the beginning of a course or seminar series, however many presenters forget that audience needs evolve over time. The best public speakers evolve with their audience. Here are two concrete ways to do so: Continue reading
According to research in Outliers: The Story of Success
© Lucasfilm Ltd.
Nancy Duarte’s “Like Yoda You Must Be” has been posted on LinkedIn for a while, but I just now got around to reading it. Hopefully, however, it will be new to most of you. Not only is it great advice for making your audience the center of your presentations, but it also addresses a problem I often see in my line of work. Continue reading
One of the things that separates driving enthusiasts from daily commuters is that enthusiasts know how to take a corner. While most drivers ride the brakes or coast through the entire curve, a skilled driver is on the gas just after hitting the apex. A similar thing can be said about skilled public speakers. Continue reading
As I mentioned before, planning and rehearsing are critical for successful presentations. There is, however, one thing that you might have to do on the spot: a meet and greet.
For those of you who do a lot of one-off seminars, you might not have a clue about your audience beforehand. Yet, as previously discussed, tailoring your content to your audience is critical. So dos this mean that we are at an impasse here? Not at all. Continue reading
If you study or experience Japanese culture, it’s only a matter of time before you come across the concept of tatemae, the feelings/attitude that one projects to the public. Tatemae may or may not conflict with one’s honne, or real feelings. Whether or not one’s tatemae should match one’s honne is a constant source of debate. Luckily, we’re not going to go into that here. Continue reading
