Presentation myths

Why Ed Miliband’s Speeches Need More Heart

17.01.2012

Ed Miliband continues to have trouble getting his message across, and he knows it. In the wake of a poor conference speech and a 2011 beset with difficulties he attempted to stop the rot by appointing a new chief-of-staff and speechwriter. However, on the evidence of last week’s speech on the economy, things are going [...]

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Ed Miliband’s bargain basement speech

03.10.2011

Barack Obama’s greatest speeches are full of images and stories. Ed Miliband’s effort on Tuesday was piled with abstractions and cliches, taking us into the bargain basement of oratory. “We need a new bargain…the big challenge of building a new bargain…the Tories aren’t building a new bargain” – how on earth do you build a [...]

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How to be an outstanding communicator

16.05.2011

The message from recruitment agencies, employer surveys and the like is familiar, loud and clear: you must be an outstanding communicator if you want to get to the top of your profession. Technical audit skills and practical experience are, of course, essential, but they will only take you so far up the greasy pole; to [...]

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This metaphor ain’t dead, it’s just restin’

16.11.2010

Judging from a list of the ‘most annoying clichés’ in the English language compiled by the Plain English Campaign – one of the greatest examples of modern oratory might never have seen the light of day, if they’d had anything to do with it. For the most part their ‘most annoying clichés’ list is unexceptionable. [...]

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My BBC Radio 4 ‘Word of Mouth’ interview

12.10.2010

In July 2010 I got a call, out of the blue, from a BBC radio producer. An article I’d published way back in back in 2007, with the catchy title, In Praise of Jargon, had caught his eye. He was working on an edition of BBC Radio 4′s Word of Mouth – a series about [...]

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In praise of jargon – a defence of the apparently indefensible

21.07.2010

Despite its bad press, could management-speak actually turn out to be a good thing? According to a YouGov survey, management jargon is choking the life out of meaningful communication in the workplace. Senior managers think it’s harmless enough but most employees want to see the back of it because they feel it creates barriers and [...]

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Showcase your idea, service or product for free

16.06.2010

If a tree falls in the middle of a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound? Philosophical niceties aside, it doesn’t matter how good your idea, service or product is – if no one sees it, it might as well not exist. In a world dominated by social [...]

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Going for Laughs in a Speech is no Joke

18.05.2010

A joke is a blunt instrument. If it works, there’s laughter; if it flops, there’s an embarrassed silence. A misfiring joke can can spell disaster for the rest of your speech. The public persona – or ethos – created by your speech can also be compromised by the use of jokes. After all, jokes aren’t [...]

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Obama’s Rhetoric – The Art That Conceals Art

30.03.2010

Something shocking happened to Barack Obama on Thursday the 5th of June, 2008. He was addressing a meeting of the local community in Bristol, Virginia, when in the midst of his usual rhetorical flow, the wheels of his speech suddenly flew off and he ground to an inarticulate halt. Here’s a transcript of Obama’s slip [...]

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Drowning your story in a sea of detail

17.02.2010

Talking is a very ineffectual way of communicating detailed information – it’s like trying to collect water from a well with a colander. When you give a speech or presentation always imagine yourself writing with a thick waxy crayon, not a slender mapping pen. If you choose to make a point with a story, make [...]

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