Recently, I received a can of mackerel as a gift. It wasn’t a speaker gift. It was, however, an unusual gift. It was also an unusually thoughtful gift. How so? A week earlier, I told an off-topic story. I heard an interview on NPR that fish at the bottom of the food chain — sardines, …

Let’s imagine that you’re asked to give a presentation about sex. Really! Your audience of adult coworkers are eagerly anticipating the fascinating insights you’re going to share with them in your one-hour presentation. I’m seriously asking you to imagine this. Go ahead. Giggle, blush, scoff —  but ask yourself: How might you prepare? What might …

I’ve only been teaching at the college level for a few terms. One of the chief complaints I hear from students about PowerPoint lectures (from other instructors!) is the unbearable boredom when a professor uses the pre-packaged presentations included with the course textbook. These CDs contain mostly bullet-point outlines of the entire book. Yes, you …

I haven’t suffered from a case of the hiccups in over 40 years. And I have helped dozens of people end bouts of hiccuping instantly — without props, goofiness, or drama. All you need is the power of your own mind. Here is what you do if you ever get a hiccup: talk to yourself, …

Every year, I Google the phrase “Death by PowerPoint” (without quotes). Exactly one year ago today, this “Death by PowerPoint” inquiry yielded 366,000 search results – over 4 times as many results as 2007. Today, if you Google “Death by PowerPoint”, you’ll see 980,000 results — only about 2.7 times as much as 2008. The …

I ♥ David Byrne. I even ♥ David Byrne’s “I ♥ PowerPoint.” Really, I do. But the days of the Talking Heads are over. I’m not talking about the band. I’m talking TV. And presenters. And presentations. We have social media to thank. photo credit: andyket Interactive presentations are in. Authoritative anchors reading dispassionately from …

Confidence. Somehow, this word became virtuous in the 1980’s. It remained a positive trait — until fairly recently. Confidence men, we called them in the 1930’s and 40’s. Over time, we shortened this to “Con Men” or “Cons”. Overly charming, smooth. Hucksters. Yech. Cons transmit that they are absolutely positive in their correctness. Who trusts …