It’s still LP Meeting season in private equity and hedge fund land, and I keep running into basic errors. Here’s Mistake #99: Not rehearsing together. I just came back from a meeting in which the Founder spoke first, followed by… Read More »Presenting in LP Meetings: Mistake #99
You can’t make excuses for yourself when you’re in front of an audience. You have to do the best you can without divulging your aches and pains. There’s a tradition in show business: “The show must go on.” Actors and… Read More »No Excuses in Public Speaking
Look at this ad from Microsoft. It appeared in a newspaper exactly as it looks, I have not done anything to it. At first glance, it looks like a mistake. It doesn’t belong in a newspaper or a magazine. It’s… Read More »Effective Communication: The unexpected gets attention
People are more likely to like your ideas if they like you. And one way to get them to like you is to be open and honest about who you are. This does not mean you have to hold your… Read More »Personalizing is a presentation skill
A report to a senior executive group is not a conversation, although it should sound conversational. It is a communication designed to facilitate a prediction or a decision. In order to sound conversational you need to be relaxed. Ironically, relaxation… Read More »Presentation Skills: Presenting to Senior Executives
And you thought your job was to stick to the facts! Here are the Heath brothers, Chip and Dan, making a strong point about making a point in their wonderful book Made to Stick. Nora Ephron is a screenwriter whose… Read More »Public Speaking Training: Figuring out the point