Author Archive: ffolliet

At work I'm a Consultant Paediatric Surgeon. That involves Surgical Oncology, Neonatal Surgery and Trauma. There's also a lot of teaching and mentoring. None of this actually makes me particularly clever. I'm pretty heavily into improving presentations and long for the world to lay down the weapon of bulletpoints and embrace creative and engaging presentations. I lead presentation workshops and am currently working up a book on presentations. I did a wee thing at TEDx Stuttgart in 2014 of which I'm quite proud https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qFza3W87eDg Outside all of that I struggle to keep fit, cycle a bit and the odd triathlon. I'm a father, singer, laugher, learner, sharer, blogger, thinker, strummer and much more.

On negative feedback

I have no monopoly on ideas on #presentationskills and so it was with pleasure I accepted this guest post from a friend and educator supreme Anand Swaminathan (known to the world as Swami) . It deals with feedback but principally the difficulty of…
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Lessons from The Sensei (3) beginner’s mind

beginner's mind

Do it the way you’ve always done it. You can do that, you’re not good enough. Where is the standard background? Not enough text. Use a pie chart. Make sure you put references at the bottom of the page. Read…
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Lessons from The Sensei (2) Turn off the computer

turn off the computer

Continuing the series of thoughts I learned from The Sensei on design issues, perhaps the most important is to turn off the computer. The rationale behind this is clear, the results are immediately observable and yet few people will follow…
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Lessons from Linda

It  is always a pleasure having guest blog posts on the site. This is NOT all about me. I asked a colleague, Linda Dykes, who is a Consultant in Emergency Medicine & General Practitioner in Bangor, North Wales if she…
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Lessons from the Sensei (i) effective visual message

lessons from sensei 1

I was privileged to spend time recently with Garr Reynolds, author of Presentation Zen and really my Sensei (Teacher) in starting my journey in all things presentation. His books are compulsory reading for anyone keen to improve their presentations and…
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Making p cubed stick

make it stick

It is always encouraging to hear how others have considered improving their #presentationskills and the results of their work. I’m grateful to Patrick Bafuma @EMinfocus who submitted this guest blog. It is insightful, encouraging and inspiring.     Making P3…
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Why are you presenting?

The most important question a presenter should address is “Why am I presenting?” The answer has nothing to do with your status, your previous presentations or your knowledge and everything to do with the audience. Recognising this is central to…
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What is the best presentation software?

What is the best presentation software? There’s a fair number to chose from and realistically the answer is, the one you know best. There are pros and cons for each that are available but there is no need for the…
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My First Teaching Session

my first teaching session

I appreciate that sometime the comments on the site relate to more major presentations such as keynote and large scientific conferences. The challenge of How To Do A Presentation #htdap has been covered in a few specific posts before ;…
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Less is more. Again

less is more

Less is more. “Clean, uncluttered lines” is a design motif that appeals aesthetically. The same should be applied to the story (p1). More words, more facts, more explanation does not make more clarity, rather the converse. The aim should be to deliver…
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