When it comes to making a successful presentation, practise is one of the biggest favours you can do for yourself. It’s the glue that sticks your preparation to your performance. And yet we find reasons not to do it. How about you? Do you find yourself saying or thinking any of the following…? “I don’t
As a Conference Chair it’s good to meet the Speakers. It’s one of the best things you can do in advance of an event. You’ll get to know them. They’ll get to meet you and each other. And the rapport and chemistry between you starts to form. The event organiser and audience benefit from a
“How long should my presentation be?” As a presenter it’s useful to know how much time you’ve got, upfront. You could think of time as your presentation budget. You may have to ask about it. You may be told it. Or you may have to decide for yourself. Whatever the case, getting clear on your
This is uhh, basically, a post about filler sounds…um…words and phrases. You know, the kind of things that just like….pop up……in your presentations. You know what I mean? The sort of thing, those….umm…sounds and err….words that disrupt and disturb your…ahh…flow….as a presenter. They can grow into phrases….I mean…like literally…. they can uhh…..eat away……umm…at your confidence
Do you go pink when you speak in a meeting? Turns out, it doesn’t actually matter. The following experience was shared with me. They have given me permission to pass it on. “I always go red when I speak. I used to think ‘oh, I’m going red’. And that made me go redder, face and
They can do. But it’s not guaranteed. Because Speaking and Chairing are not the same. While they are both actively involved in an event, the Chair’s role is different. My Masterclass on Conference Chairing and Facilitation for Association of Association Executives (AAE) will prepare you to perform well as a Chair or Facilitator. In the
It’s ok to for your volunteers to talk about their ‘charity work’. In fact, you might want to actively encourage them to do so. It can positively affect their contributions to meetings and make chairing them easier. When I was a Membership Director, one of the associate members once said to me “I want to
“What would make it easier for you to contribute in meetings?” If you were to ask your members this question, what might you expect to hear? Perhaps: “I want to quickly make sense of the meeting and what I can contribute.” “I want the space to share my view in the meeting.” “I want to
If you’re finding Chairing hard work, it could be time to change the work you’re doing. When you step from being a member of a group to chairing it, it’s like swapping from a player to a manager. Your work changes. It becomes about enabling the group to perform well. As a chair, your work
During a meeting, there are some moments that can be seen as awkward and therefore difficult to handle. Chairing a meeting can be a bit like keeping a set of plates spinning. One minute they’ll all be fine, spinning away. And then, out of nowhere, there will be a contribution that creates a wobble. Let’s