Instigator Blog - Latest Comments in 5 Phrases You Never Want To Hear In A Presentation

Re: 5 Phrases You Never Want To Hear In A Presentation

Scott — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 11:59:12 -0000

Wow, I make these mistakes too. Thanks.

Re: 5 Phrases You Never Want To Hear In A Presentation

AnitaJackson — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 06:20:13 -0000

Talk about a lost art. Even with the advent of video tutorials and the fact that people like the amateurish feel to videos it is always nicer to hear it said as if the person really does know what they are talking about and aren't making it up as they go along. Preparation is key for sure and I'd apply that rule to anything. Get ready and practice. Um I hate, I'd prefer a pause than an um or ah. Oh and kep it relevant to topic. Going off topic feels like a waste of time, and can get confusing.

Re: 5 Phrases You Never Want To Hear In A Presentation

Carmen Vj — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 01:28:39 -0000

Excellent tips on public speaking. I do some public speaking from time to time. If your confidence is there, you can do it. This is what helps me tremendously. The 4 Ps is correct. If you got the 4 Ps going on when you are doing a presentation, you will always be on the right track. This great info has put public speaking in perspective. Thanks

Re: 5 Phrases You Never Want To Hear In A Presentation

Dejan Petrovic — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 00:13:58 -0000

That is so true, I've recently attended a very bad presentation at Sydney CeBIT. The company is great achieving great results and the person in front of us probably knew their trade, however the way it was presented made me dislike them instantly and wanting to leave the presentation. Their speaker used most of the above mentioned phrases.

Re: 5 Phrases You Never Want To Hear In A Presentation

Adriana — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 01:25:29 -0000

I can't believe it! This person is giving really good advice and all you care to do is pinpoint a mistake.

Re: 5 Phrases You Never Want To Hear In A Presentation

Ben Yoskovitz — Thu, 27 Sep 2007 15:45:13 -0000

Benjamin: here's hoping you've never heard that before, because that would definitely be bad!

Re: 5 Phrases You Never Want To Hear In A Presentation

BenjaminEllis — Thu, 27 Sep 2007 15:38:15 -0000

Maybe that should be added to the list of 5 phrases you never want to hear in a presentation, "I don't really know much about this, but here goes..."!

Re: 5 Phrases You Never Want To Hear In A Presentation

Ben Yoskovitz — Sun, 23 Sep 2007 21:48:04 -0000

Pete - That's sound advice. Worse comes to worse, you flub your presentation but you can fall back on your solid knowledge of the subject matter and pull yourself out of the fire.

Re: 5 Phrases You Never Want To Hear In A Presentation

pete — Sun, 23 Sep 2007 05:28:17 -0000

I have given many presentations, I must admit some have been very good and other very poor. My own advice would be to know your subject matter inside out. People who give presentations with a good understanding of the subject, are generally caught and, resulting in a fiasco.

Re: 5 Phrases You Never Want To Hear In A Presentation

Ubuntu Linux — Wed, 20 Jun 2007 13:32:18 -0000

There are other ways to spice up a presentation and other errors you can make, but this is a very good summary.

Everyone who manages to obey to these rules will make at least a decent presentation.

Re: 5 Phrases You Never Want To Hear In A Presentation

El Yanqui — Sun, 03 Jun 2007 15:35:19 -0000

I think it really comes down to preparation. If you know you're material, and you've researched your audience and prepared your pitch, you're golden. If you show up with half-baked ideas, or a lack of direction than you're going to flounder and everyone will see it.

Re: 5 Phrases You Never Want To Hear In A Presentation

Ben Yoskovitz — Wed, 23 May 2007 15:29:36 -0000

Vicki - Thanks for the link. Steve Jobs is well-known for his presentation skills.

And I agree completely - people's first reaction when they hear "business presentation" is *yawn* ... the key is to not make it that way. And on the positive side, if expectations are low you can really wow them and make a difference by putting some jazz into your presentation.

Re: 5 Phrases You Never Want To Hear In A Presentation

Vicki Davis — Wed, 23 May 2007 13:37:15 -0000

Dear Ben,
Thanks for the tips. The #1 response when people mention "Business Presentation" is..... BORING. How do we want others to describe our presentations? Inspiring, motivating, informational, fun, entertaining... The best way to do that is to throw yourself into your topic. If you have earned the right to talk about your topic through experience or deep study, you are excited about your topic and you are eager to share it with your audience - you will not be boring. Check out Steve Jobs of Apple. This is a funny video of his habit of saying "boom" but no one would call him boring!

http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?t=esr...

Re: 5 Phrases You Never Want To Hear In A Presentation

Cindy (The 15 Minute Dating Bl — Wed, 23 May 2007 00:08:17 -0000

A few years back I have been attending this club called "The Toastmasters" hosted by my company. I think they are a national organization that helps people with presentation skills.

Back then the company I worked for back then would actually provide free lunch and other perks for employees to attend the meeting. However, I actually found out it's a very helpful class and it teaches you all the essential elements to a great presentation. A lot of the key points are actually very similiar to this article.

Excellent article and great reading!

Re: 5 Phrases You Never Want To Hear In A Presentation

Ben Yoskovitz — Wed, 18 Apr 2007 12:40:42 -0000

Whitney - I really like the term "verbal ticks" ... that makes me laugh.

Thank you (and to Sarakastic) for keeping the conversation going!

Re: 5 Phrases You Never Want To Hear In A Presentation

Sarakastic — Wed, 18 Apr 2007 09:29:41 -0000

When someone says "What else can I show you?" I usually just shout "magic tricks", or "explain that whole theory of relativity thing". I'm a bit of a presentation heckler.

Re: 5 Phrases You Never Want To Hear In A Presentation

whitney — Wed, 18 Apr 2007 08:12:26 -0000

I'd add "Like, um you know" to the list.

In fact, after I started podcasting, and editing those podcasts, I realized all the little verbal tics and tricks I use in every day speech, and which ones drive me crazy. It has changed the way I talk and present in every day life, as a result. So don't overlook the power of taping your presentations, even during practice, and look out for those personal verbal tics that are somewhat lazy speech and don't help you articulate your points clearly.

Re: 5 Phrases You Never Want To Hear In A Presentation

Peter — Tue, 17 Apr 2007 11:52:31 -0000

I found reading this post fascinating.
Having had some experience in education, I can empathise with the 5 phrases. I especially liked the 4 Ps of Presentations.
Excellent blog!

Re: 5 Phrases You Never Want To Hear In A Presentation

Michelle Shelton — Sun, 08 Apr 2007 21:36:39 -0000

Great writings Ben.......keep up the good work. When you are thinking of buying and selling real estate in Arizona......the opportunity to earn your business would be highly valued!
Michelle Shelton
Owner - AZ Mastermind Group

Re: 5 Phrases You Never Want To Hear In A Presentation

Nurashikin — Fri, 06 Apr 2007 21:47:33 -0000

I think, those phrases are just an indication that the presenter is nervous or its his first time. Well, if it is, then why not give them a break, huh? There's always a first time for everyone.

Re: 5 Phrases You Never Want To Hear In A Presentation

Tim — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 20:44:35 -0000

all good points!

Speaking as a brit pronunciate is much more frequently used over here, but has fallen foul over there of the weathering and erosion that America has performed upon the english language... ;)

We're terrible in our common speech over here with nearly everyone saying 'at the end of the day......', 'to be honest...', and an almost inescapable trait of youth culture that requires the word 'like' to be used nearly every other word, in a lazy manner so the speaker can buy time whilst they remember the word they want to utter next

Re: 5 Phrases You Never Want To Hear In A Presentation

Davide — Fri, 23 Mar 2007 18:37:04 -0000

I would add "obviously". If it's obvious just don't tell me.

Re: 5 Phrases You Never Want To Hear In A Presentation

Jacob — Fri, 23 Mar 2007 13:33:27 -0000

There's no such word as "Pronunciate". The appropriate word would be "Annunciate", but to make it fit with the list of "P"s you could use "Pronunciation".

Re: 5 Phrases You Never Want To Hear In A Presentation

Chris — Sat, 17 Mar 2007 20:35:42 -0000

Thanks Great info I will take the advice next time I am presenting Xango. www.thatsgreatjuice.com

Re: 5 Phrases You Never Want To Hear In A Presentation

$26289639 — Wed, 14 Mar 2007 19:09:52 -0000

Another one....

"This slide is hard to read, but what it says is..."

If it's harder to explain the slide than to explain the point, toss the slide!