M’eh.
If you are going for an important interview would you just put on any old clothes? If you are going on a first date would you just wander straight from work without considering your make up? Your parents are coming…
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.
Look ’em in the eye.
The best way to reduce your nervousness on the day of your talk is to look the audience in the eye. Preparation is essential and will deliver the majority of speakers to a point on the day of relative confidence;…
Ok, hands up who DIDN’T fall for it?
The last blogpost was written and published 2 days ago. On the 1st of the month. On the 1st day in April… I know some folk view me as some sort of leader in presentation thought (for which I thank…
Design- going retro is hip.
Slide design (p2) changes with time. Consider today and what is regarded as the norm for a slide and then consider how “Presenter” (powerpoint) started back before the Internet. At times design throws us back to a time when things…
A little sadness
Perhaps the saddest comment I have heard related to #presentationskills was one junior colleague saying to another; “what he suggests is interesting, but I wouldn’t do it for an important presentation.” Of course I recognise the privileged position I am…
Guest blogpost.”Challenging the presentations status quo”
I’m conscious this blog can be very much a single opinion but I am very much encouraged by another guest post from Andrew, who came to a lecture on Thursday and made a presentation on the next day… My name…
A red rectangle doesn’t make things clearer
A bad data slide is not made better by adding a red rectangle. It appears to be the latest fashion in presentations. Clearly some folk have “found” the animation function but the reality is that simply using a red rectangle…
On speaking to a wider audience. Do
There is increasing recognition that a presentation delivered is not solely for the value of the audience present. Clearly, if the message has value, it should move from the auditorium into wider circulation. The aim of a presentation is to…
On speaking to a wider audience. Don’t.
The message you deliver at a presentation may physically only be received by a few people but one should consider that it has value for a much wider audience. A research discovery, a new business plan or an effective audit…
Design nightmare
Designers are clever folk and too often abused. I mean look at this from Critical Care Conference 2016. Imagine the time and effort and skill that has gone into this? It’s bright and dynamic and through the complexity some structure…