by Steve Adubato, PhD
Picture this scenario. Recently Jane attended a board meeting of a volunteer business organization. The purpose of the meeting was to have an academic researcher come in and make an “expert presentation” on the results of a study to determine why downtown business development had stalled and what needed to be done to move forward. Every board member was excited about the topic and anxious to contribute. The group had paid a considerable amount of money to commission the study.
by Steve Adubato, PhD
Consider a social gathering last spring. Everyone is having a great time casually interacting with people they haven’t seen in awhile. They also are meeting new friends. There is also a prominent local municipal councilwoman at the reception who was invited as a special guest by the party’s host. Just as the party was in full swing, the councilwoman informed the couple hosting the reception that she would like to make a few “informal remarks” to the gathering or an “informal forum” as she referred to. The host agreed thinking it would be a great opportunity for the councilwoman to respond to questions and concerns people might have about taxes, garbage pick-up, etc. Pretty harmless, you would think, but think again.
by Steve Adubato, PhD
Jane is a manager in a Fortune 500 company, who has an important presentation coming up. She’s been practicing her speech over and over again, reading it, word for word, from a script she keeps writing and rewriting. She’s trying to memorize it, but is getting increasingly frustrated when she loses her place and in turn her concentration. Yet millions of professionals practice their presentations in this way and pay a hefty price when the time comes to stand and deliver and connect with important stakeholders.
by Steve Adubato, PhD
Have you ever heard someone give a presentation and asked yourself what his point was? The closing of any presentation is an opportunity to put an exclamation point on your main message. It’s also a chance to provide direction or communicate a clear call to action. However, too often presenters deliver weak, rambling and frankly confusing concluding comments that leave their audience wanting more.
by Steve Adubato, PhD
Consider the scene. It’s a high school awards ceremony where several hundred honor roll students are being recognized for their academic achievement. Most of them have either one or both parent attending. For whatever reason, the event sponsors decided to bring in a keynote speaker who was an expert in the field of travel & tourism. One wondered immediately what the connection was between travel and tourism and the honor roll students. Unfortunately, the connection was never made.
by Steve Adubato, PhD
Several months ago, a major trade and professional organization held a conference. They spent a lot of money to bring in speakers from around the country. The day was packed full of activity with every minute planned. It was a great conference where much was accomplished. But looking back, it could have been even better, because sometimes less is more. Some questions to consider when planning your next conference.
by Steve Adubato, PhD
Recently, a hospital executive was experiencing tremendous anxiety and nervousness around what she kept calling a “formal” presentation she had to deliver to her board of trustees. When this experienced communicator was asked why she was feeling these negative emotions, she simply said, “I’m great when I am just ‘talking’ to people, but I freeze up when I have to make a ‘formal’ presentation.”