Category: Presentation

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How to transform presentation content into video social media posts

Canva for Video Posts
Canva for Video Posts

Here’s a question about presentations and videos I started to get a lot last month. I’ll paraphrase it:

Hey Laura. How do you do those square, short, silent little videos that you share on LinkedIn and Twitter?

The answer is: really easily! I use a tool called Canva. Update: And here’s a direct link so you can use Canva to create presentations and slides.

As a stand & deliver trainer, I have oodles of presentation content. Canva lets me repurpose bits and pieces of this content for easy social media sharing.

Yes, Canva excels at quick online video creation. I’m finding a lot of people use Canva — but we tend not to think of using it for video. We tend to think of it for images.

I’m also thinking a lot of people have PowerPoint presentations. Why not try using Canva to repurpose your presentation content for social media posts?

Canva lets you do this in a way that’s super easy to accomplish. I show you how in this two minute video. Enjoy!

Laura Bergells is a professional story finder. She writes, coaches, teaches, and speaks. Check out her online courses at LinkedIn Learning.

If you’re a LinkedIn Premium or Lynda.com member, these courses are free! If you’re not a member, you can either become a member or buy each of these classes à la carte.

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Presentation

White board markers and the stages of grief

stages of grief white board marker

You go to give a whiteboard presentation. You pick up a marker.

But it’s dead. 💀

Happens all the time.

You then go through 5 stages of grief.

1. Denial: It’s not really dead. 2

. Bargaining: Shake it really hard, try to write with it.

3. Sadness: Pick up another.

4. Anger: Argh! This #@@!! one doesn’t work either!

5. Acceptance: Throw all dead markers in the trash.

Lesson learned: if I’m giving a white board talk, I bring backup markers!

(Those little devils seldom work the way they’re supposed to! 😈)

But this whiteboard marker situation also provides an opportunity for a leadership, culture, and values discussion at your organization.

⁉Are you the kind of company where people put dead markers back on the tray?

❓Or are you the kind of company where people know to refill, recycle, or throw away?

❓Are you the kind of company that recycles or uses refillable markers? ⁉Or do you keep buying the plastic, throwaway ones?

🤔 What do your white board marker habits say about your corporate culture and values?

——-

Laura Bergells is a professional story finder. She writes, coaches, teaches, and speaks. Check out her online courses at LinkedIn Learning.

If you’re a LinkedIn Premium or Lynda.com member, these courses are free! If you’re not a member, you can either become a member or buy each of these classes à la carte.

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Coaching communication content ideas Education PowerPoint PowerPoint Presentation Presentation public speaking video

Introduce emotional relevance to your presentations

Brain Rules by John Medina

“We don’t pay attention to boring things.”

John Medina, Brain Rules

Sounds basic, right?

But how do you NOT be boring when you’re speaking or presenting?

Medina tells us to be sure to introduce something emotionally relevant every 10 minutes.

At least every 10 minutes!

If we don’t, we risk losing the attention and interest of our audiences….because….

“We don’t pay attention to boring things.”

What can you do to shake things up for your audience?

Click on the video to discover 5 things you can do…in under 51 seconds!

Laura Bergells is a professional story finder. She writes, coaches, teaches, and speaks. Check out her online courses at LinkedIn Learning.

If you’re a LinkedIn Premium or Lynda.com member, these courses are free! If you’re not a member, you can either become a member or buy each of these classes à la carte.

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Presentation

Slide design: check your color contrasts for accessibility

Check color contrasts for accessibility

Design your slides with accessibility in mind.

(I was trying to read small black text on a gray-radiant background earlier this month. I gave up.)

One accessibility violation I see in many slide designs involves the use of color.

❌ Red text on a green background? Yikes!

❌ Green text on a red background? Don’t!

❌ Red text on a blue background? Shudders!

❌ Blue text on a red background? Just…no.

But why not?

Remember, people with red-green color blindness can’t see red on green.

And people with photosensitivity may feel ill with blue/red color combos.

Bonus: When you design with accessibility in mind, you make your slides lovelier for everyone!

As we design slides, we’ll want to check our colors to make sure they’re accessible to all.

You can check your text and background colors for accessibility here. https://webaim.org/resources/contrast…

While this site 👆👆👆 was designed with WEB accessibility in mind, you can use it for SLIDE DESIGN, as well.

Laura Bergells is a professional story finder. She writes, coaches, teaches, and speaks. Check out her online courses at LinkedIn Learning.

If you’re a LinkedIn Premium or Lynda.com member, these courses are free! If you’re not a member, you can either become a member or buy each of these classes à la carte.

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Coaching communication design PowerPoint PowerPoint Presentation Presentation public speaking

Never end your presentation with Q&A.

Never end your presentation with a Q&A.

Got that? Don’t end your next presentation by saying, “Any questions?”

There’s no need to announce that it’s time for questions and answers.

You can do better.

Always plan a strong closing.

If you’re planning a Q&A session, you can have it near the end, but not at the end.

Answer audience questions, then deliver your closing statement.

Don’t risk letting your super awesome presentation drift off into whatever might be on the mind of the last person who asked a question.

Wrap it up, partner. Put a bow on that presentation. 🎁

Consider this: I cover five strong closing techniques in my public speaking foundations course on LinkedIn Learning.

The full course is one hour. It’s a great resource to revisit before your next big speech or presentation, free for LinkedIn Premium Members.

Check it out. >>> http://linkedin-learning.pxf.io/JAb4N

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Coaching communication PowerPoint PowerPoint Presentation Presentation public speaking

The 5 Worst Ways to Begin a Speech or Presentation…

5 worst ways to start a speech or presentation

Let’s explore 5 of the worst ways to open your next keynote or major presentation…that we hear ALL TOO OFTEN!

  1. Ahem! (clearing your throat – do vocal warmups beforehand, please!)
  2. Thank you…. (your audience doesn’t need to hear this.)
  3. It’s really great to be here….(you’re wasting even more time.)
  4. Can you hear me? (do your audio check before you hit the stage.)
  5. Hey, can you see my slides? (check your visuals beforehand, please!)

    If you’ve done one or all of these, you can do better. I know you can!

    Start with a strong opening technique.

Consider this: I cover five strong opening techniques in my public speaking foundations course on LinkedIn Learning.

The full course is one hour. It’s a great resource to revisit before your next big speech or presentation, free for LinkedIn Premium Members.

I get paid when you click on the link and take the course, though.

Check it out. >>> http://linkedin-learning.pxf.io/JAb4N

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Coaching communication crisis Presentation public speaking

Team Presentations: what position will you be playing?

Team Presentation 4 roles

So, you’ll be presenting as a team. Super!

Make sure you know what position you’ll be playing.

One of the biggest mistakes I see in team presentations is when one person on the team is speaking — and the others on the team don’t exactly know what to do with their bodies.

“Just because you’re speaking doesn’t mean you’re not presenting.”

Know your role in the team presentation:

💡Are you the team leader – acting as an MC or visionary?

🖊Are you the closer or subject matter expert?

🙌Are you supporting your team by being an ally?

👁Are you observing the body language of the audience and looking for unspoken questions?

When you know what role or position you’re playing, you’re more likely to really present as a team — instead of a rag-tag collection of individuals.

Get into a huddle before you present as a team. Know your position.

Support each other while you present. Go team!

Laura Bergells is a professional story finder. She writes, coaches, teaches, and speaks. Check out her online courses at LinkedIn Learning.

If you’re a LinkedIn Premium or Lynda.com member, these courses are free! If you’re not a member, you can either become a member or buy each of these classes à la carte.

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communication Presentation public speaking

Being quiet can be a storytelling power move

The power of shhhhhhhh

Perhaps the hardest part of telling a business story is resisting the temptation to finish your story yourself. I call this “The Power of Shhhhh.”

It’s where you stop talking. Be quiet. Let your story and its lessons sink in.

People hate a vacuum, and will often rush to fill it with their own conclusions. When people jump in at the end to tell you what they’ve learned from your story…and then recommend the next steps to take — you’ve told the right story to the right audience, at the right time.

The next time you tell a story, take your moment of silence. Try using the Power of Shhhhh to let your audience finish your story for you.

Being quiet can be a storytelling power move.

Laura Bergells is a professional story finder. She writes, coaches, teaches, and speaks. Check out her online courses at LinkedIn Learning.

If you’re a LinkedIn Premium or Lynda.com member, these courses are free! If you’re not a member, you can either become a member or buy each of these classes à la carte.

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Presentation

VIDEO: the importance of both focus and unfocus

In my workshop for content writers, I talk about the importance of being both focused and unfocused.

We need to be focused to be productive. And that’s why we do things like set deadlines and write outlines. So that we can be productive and stay focused.

But I also talk about the importance of being unfocused, so that we can be creative. And one of the ways that I like to stay unfocused while I’m writing is to go out and take a walk.

So I do try to balance the being focused and being unfocused. Focused for productivity, and unfocused for creativity.

How do you strike that balance between focused and unfocused and productive and creative throughout your writing day?

Let me know your techniques. Pop me a line at YouTube or Twitter. 

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Presentation

Write the way your best customers talk to their friends.

voice search optimization

OK Google. Cortana. Siri. Alexa.

We’re all using voice and audio interfaces right now. 

If you’re interested in voice search optimization and writing content for your brand’s voice — go ahead. Do a search for some how-to articles on writing for voice and voice optimization.

After you’ve completed your search…I have three questions for you:

  1. Did you use your fingers or voice to complete your search?
  2. Did you try both?
  3. If you did both, did you use different words for each type of search?

What differences did you notice? And even with the differences in the words you used — did your voice search yield different results from your finger-based search?

If you’ve read a few articles, you’ll note that almost all of them told you this piece of advice:

“Write more conversationally.”

Using your own voice to write more conversational content is a great idea. But also listen carefully to how your own audience talks.

In particular: what words and phrases do your best customers use when they use their voices? Do they talk differently to their phones than they do to their friends and colleagues? (Hint: they usually do.)

How I might talk to a friend or colleague
How I might talk to my phone

To make a stronger emotional connection, honor the word choices and syntax of your best customers.  Listen to the way they talk to people they like: but also listen to the way they talk to their phones or devices. 

Note the differences. When you reflect the word choices of your audience, you can subtly make a stronger brand and emotional connection if you mirror the way they talk to their friends, not their devices.

Laura Bergells writes, coaches, and teaches. Check out her online courses at LinkedIn Learning.  You can also find Laura on Twitter and at YouTube.

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