Articulate Persuasion

10 Tips for presenting your Investor Pitch – Part 2

Your research is done. Your deck is ready. Your business is poised. Now all you need to do stand in front of the investors and make the pitch. So, make sure you… 6. BREATHE Nerves are normal, even healthy. Nerves can create energy and help you get your message and passion across. But uncontrolled nerves are...

10 Tips for presenting your Investor Pitch – Part 1

Your research is done. Your deck is ready. Your business is poised. Now all you need to do stand in front of the investors and make the pitch. So, make sure you… 1. PRACTICE You’ve spent countless hours developing your idea, putting together your team, validating your value proposition and creating your pitch – now practice. ...

Mad? Don’t let your face give you away

There is often a misconception that we need to keep a poker face when faced with difficult people or situations at work. The truth is that a poker player is encouraged to “maintain an emotionless, apathetic demeanor”. That is not how we want to be perceived at work, any more than anger or frustration. So,...

What Tina Fey and Amy Poehler can teach us about presenting?

Another Sunday, another award’s show. Every year there is as much anticipation for the hosts as for the award winners. How will this year’s hosts do? Will she be funny? Will he be completely inappropriate? Or will they completely flop? Remember Anne Hathaway and James Franco at the Oscars or Tom Bergeron, Heidi Klum, Howie...

3 Steps to more Effective Presentations

When people find out that I am a Communications Coach, I often get the same question “What is the one thing you can tell me to help me with my next presentation?” The truth of the matter is that one thing differs which each person. However, there are three things that are fundamental practices to...

It’s ok to be a bundle of nerves

Often my clients what to work on the nerves and anxiety they feel when they have a pitch or a presentation. They what to take a magic pill to make the feeling go away. I have even had a few who have taken a pill to try and make them go away. That always ends...

How do you get to Carnegie Hall? Practice!

Whenever people ask me for just one tip, I always say the same thing – practice, practice, practice. This seems so simple, and yet it is the one thing most people don’t want to do. Sure they spend time playing with their PowerPoint slides. But they don’t actually stand in front of a friend, a...

Online presence vs. Personal presence – How good do you look?

Not long ago set up my first ever Twitter account. The process was very easy, but it took me that better part of an hour to finish. Why you may ask. Well, I had to try and think of a good username (I gave up on that – anything clever is already taken). I spent...

7 Tips for Crafting your Speech

Whether it’s a new exercise regimen or crafting a speech, getting starting with any project is always the hardest part. So here a few tricks to get you started. 1. Identify your goal What do you want/need to achieve in your speech. Maybe you need to motive a sales team, maybe you need a judge...

Wake up sleepy head

You are scheduled to speak right after lunch. Everyone has just had their over cooked chicken in cream sauce with pasta and dessert. They have been in darkened conference halls since 8am and now you get to inspire them with your wisdom. So how to you wake them up? 1. Tell a funny story –...