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.

how to do an online presentation

How to do an online presentation? The answer to that question is based on how one would do any other presentation. The message must be memorable, simple, and succinct. The supportive media must be inviting and simple. The delivery must…
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Please don’t read your script

Please don’t read your script, particularly when you are delivering online presentations. None of us is actually able to deliver effectively by reading and the audience is significantly negatively affected. This is much more pronounced in an online presentation compared…
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Bad online presentations are your fault

Bad online presentations are your fault. Online presentations are much, much harder to construct and deliver effectively and yet despite this, the vast majority of online presenters have no training in the new media, made no allowances for the entirely…
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Tell me why

tell me why

Tell me why people believe that reading out huge lists of facts to a passive audience is effective communication? Tell me why we put huge lists of facts on our slides? Tell me why, when we present, we look at…
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Holby City NHS Trust

Holby City NHS Trust is a fictional hospital in a TV show called Holby City. It was created by Tony McHale and Mal Young as a spin-off from the established BBC medical drama Casualty and premiered on 12 January 1999. This British medical show is beloved of…
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Tell me your data

Tell me your data so that I can understand your message. Any presentation, whether that is a scientific conference, a government briefing or a business plan relies on the data to support the single identifiable and memorable message. A graphical…
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Stop using templates

holby city nhs trust

Stop using slide templates. They reduce slide real estate, they are not effective at conveying the message you think they are conveying and they are visually distracting. It doesn’t matter that your boss insists on you using the corporate template…
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aaaaaaaaagh

aaaaaaaaagh

aaaaaaaaagh. My response to her Majesty’s Government Emergency Broadcast presentation regarding the 2nd Lockdown for Covid-19 at 7pm 31st October 2020. My response is not because I am against the lockdown. My response is not because I am so disappointed…
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Zoom, zoom, zoom.

zoom, zoom, zoom

Zoom, zoom, zoom seems to be all we hear about in the pandemic and as a company they certainly have done very well in the online presenting market place. I have personal issues with MSTeams and it has huge issues…
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Focus is key

focus is key

Focus is key in a successful presentation. During a live presentation this focus is principally under the control of the presenter. In an online presentation where distractions may be mutiple and outwith the control or even knowledge of the presenter,…
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