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.
Author Archive: ffolliet
Conference template
Scientific organisations frequently prescribe a specific conference template. Do not use templates. Templates steal real estate in slides, they are visually distracting and unnecessary. If requested, use the template for the first slide and while answering questions. Conference templates are…
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environment
imposter phenomenon

The imposter phenomenon affects virtually every presenter. The belief, that as you wait for your moment in the spotlight, that you don’t deserve this opportunity, that others are more qualified or that everyone knows more about the topic than you…
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Without further ado
“Without further ado, I would like to introduce our next speaker.” It’s just a phrase, but the introduction defines the presentation to follow. As a presenter, one can(and should) influence this introduction to ensure both brevity (the ado) and appropriate…
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Pictures of slides
Pictures of slides are intended by the photographer to be used for later data retrieval. Few actually review the images, even fewer retrieve any data. Constructing a slide for this purpose is further false logic. It defeats the purpose of…
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Your stage, your rules
As a conference organiser, you are responsible for what happens on your stage. Your stage, your rules. This starts with the backdrop, the IT system and the lighting. You are also responsible if a speaker puts up unacceptable images, expresses…
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Roadmaps are for roads
Roadmaps are for roads, not presentations. Setting out the plan of the presentation does not engage the audience, it may in fact disengage them. It simply wastes time. Keep roadmaps for roads. This is the second paragraph of the blog…
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