by Dale Ludwig, President and Trainer at Turpin Communication
“I like to ask people to hold their questions until the end of my presentation. I don’t like being interrupted, and waiting until I’m finished to answer questions just feels more efficient. What do you think?”

You should probably get used to interruptions and give up delaying them.
There [...]

by Greg Owen-Boger, Vice President, Turpin Communication
Question: Why don’t you recommend memorizing the opening of a presentation?
Answer: The reason we don’t recommend memorizing the opening of a presentation is because it places your focus in the wrong place. When your presentation starts, you should be thinking about your listeners and engaging them in the conversation [...]

by Dale Ludwig, President and Trainer at Turpin Communication
This is a follow-up to the post I wrote last month about preparing to be flexible. Here, I’m going to focus on a new way to think about the slides you use.
If we’re going to take the “conversation” part of the Orderly Conversation seriously, we need to [...]

by Dale Ludwig, President and Trainer at Turpin Communication
This is a follow-up to the blog I wrote a couple months ago about extemporaneous delivery. That post was about the fact that there isn’t a lot of agreement about what “extemporaneous” delivery actually means. Some sources say that it involves preparation and the use of notes. [...]

by Greg Owen-Boger, Vice President, Turpin Communication
 
 
 
 
Maybe this is just a pet peeve of mine. But I really wish presenters would get to the point when answering questions.
In our presentation skills workshops participants often say they worry about being accurate when answering questions. In our experience they’re worrying about the wrong thing. They know more [...]

by Greg Owen-Boger, Vice President, Turpin Communication
An important element to delivering effective presentations is to have effective visual aids. If you struggle with design or would like to learn how to use themes, master slides or graphics in PowerPoint more effectively, take a quick look through this article.
The ideas presented by the author, Stephanie Krieger, [...]

by Dale Ludwig, President and Trainer at Turpin Communication
When I’m not in the classroom these days, my focus is on the book I’m writing for business presenters. A few weeks ago I was working on one of the early chapters, the one in which I try to explain what it is about business presentations that [...]

by Greg Owen-Boger, VP Turpin Communication
Nervousness when speaking in public is an issue for many people. In this video blog I discuss what I believe to be the root cause of most people’s nervousness, which is striving for perfection.
Learn more at www.turpincommunication.com.

August 31, 2011
Dear Workplace Learning Professionals at the Heart of Illinois ASTD chapter,
It was a real pleasure meeting you yesterday as we discussed “Engaging Learners in the Orderly Conversation” at your monthly lunch & learn. Thank you for participating in the lively discussion. I love seeing such passion from peers in the industry.
I was sad [...]

by Greg Owen-Boger, VP Turpin Communication
As you know, we think there is a lot of bad advice floating around out there about presentation skills. The old rule of never turning your back to your audience is a good example of a one-size-fits no one rule that needs to be thought through better.
In this video blog, Greg [...]