presentations

Humor That Works – Smile

April 16, 2009

There’s this misconception that injecting more humor into the workplace requires a lot of work or is hard to do.  A lot of times it’s the simple things that can make the office a nicer place, something like a smile. And the interesting thing is that the same applies over the phone, and with most [...]

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Humor That Works – Figure Eights

April 9, 2009

You should be moving around at least once every 90 minutes throughout the workday.  It doesn’t have to be huge movements, though it is great to take a walk around or stretch, but it can also be as simple as making figure eights with your limbs.  The added advantage to this exercise is that it [...]

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Humor That Works – Emotional Mapping

April 2, 2009

It’s not always what you say, but how you say it.  Some studies suggest that as much as 93% of communication is nonverbal.  So how do you effectively present a topic that you may not be that enthusiastic about?  Try some emotional mapping to deliver an energetic and passionate presentation on anything from your nonprofit [...]

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Humor That Works – Dissociation

March 26, 2009

When looking for more creative ideas, people always say to “think outside the box.”  But thinking creatively isn’t really about thinking outside the box, but rather removing the concept of a “box” or, rather, the filters in your head. To get to some truly unique ideas, you want to tap into the subconscious ideas in [...]

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An Easy Tip to Getting Management Approval

March 24, 2009

The most important part of any stand-up set is the first 30 seconds.  It is in that small time frame that an audience decides if you are: funny, potentially funny, or not funny at all.  If they decide you’re funny, you have them on your side the rest of your set.  If they think you [...]

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Humor That Works – Alliteration

March 19, 2009

This alliteration improv exercise is a quick mental and physical warm-up that can prepare you for a work event or serve as a break during the day. Challenge other people to do it before a brainstorming session to build creativity.

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End Meetings On Time With Some Stand-Up Techniques

March 17, 2009

One of the cardinal rules of stand-up comedy is to never go over your time.  If you are told you’ve got 5 minutes, then you have 5 minutes.  Not 7 minutes, not 6, not even 5 1/2–it means you have 300 seconds. So naturally I’ve become accustomed to people respecting that… but that doesn’t always [...]

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Humor That Works – Thumb Exercise

March 12, 2009

The thumbs exercise is a great way to warm-up the brain before doing any type of thought-intensive activity such as giving a presentation,going on an interview, or writing an important proposal. You can do it alone or with a group of people as a team-building exercise.

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Obtain Clarity Through Equation

February 26, 2009

Part of what made Einstein so smart was his ability to explain the complex in a simple way. After all, it was Einstein who quipped “Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler.” He was able to distill part of his Theory of Relativity into the simple equation E=MC2. Einstein’s Equation for [...]

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Warm-up Your Audience by Conducting a Symphony

January 29, 2009

One of the easiest ways to get an audience engaged and energized at the beginning of a presentation is to conduct a symphony.  Simply put, you use the separate sections of the audience saying different syllables that, when combined, sound out the title of your presentation. Here’s what you do: Step 1: Tell the Audience [...]

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