Videos.

Watching other people present can be a useful way of picking up new ways of presenting. For example if someone tells you to slow down your rate of speech, then find a video of someone who uses pause well. Study it, try it out, find what works and what doesn’t, make it your own (authenticity is key) and then incorporate it into your next presentation. Below are some videos I like and why I find them useful.

Chris Anderson

In this video Chris Anderson gives an insight into the one thing that all great presenters at TED have in common. He says “your number 1 task as a speaker is to transfer into your listeners minds an extraordinary gift, a strange and beautiful object we call an idea” Have a listen to the talk and find out how you do that.

Siegfried Woldhek

I find this presentation a great example of how you can take what could be a very complex talk and make it simple. The unveiling of Leonardo Da Vinci at all stages of his life is done in just five minutes!

Barack Obama

Barack Obama talks about gun violence in America and in particular the first graders from Sandy Hook Elementary School. I’ve included this here because we can learn a lot about how to deliver a very difficult presentation. First, use pause to gather yourself and your thoughts and secondly don’t be afraid to show your emotions (not too much though). We always rehearse for presentations, but rehearsing is even more important in this situation.

Helen Fisher

I like Helen Fishers talk because on one hand she is knowledgeable, passionate and engaging and on the other she breaks a whole bunch of presentation rules. She speaks too quickly, ums and ahs, uses her notes too often, peers over the top of her glasses and skims the audience. But here’s the thing, it doesn’t matter because what she does well far out weighs what she doesn’t.