Surely you’ve heard of the phrase regarding lousy carpenters. And lousier tools. It runs like this: A bad carpenter blames his tools. Well I agree. And I disagree. A great set of tools are useless, even dangerous in the hands of an amateur. But on the other hand, a great carpenter should never suffer with […]
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The Role of Get-Rich Quick Merchants
In the year 2003, I went to a presentation in Australia. There were 450 people in the room. And two fancy cars (yes in the room!) And then the speaker ran from the back of the room to the front, amidst thunderous applause. Five days later, I was $10,000 poorer. And none the wiser. I’d […]
Understanding the Rosetta Stone (And How It Affects How You Learn)
Understanding the Rosetta Stone (And How It Affects How You Learn) Do you know the story of the Rosetta Stone? You do, don’t you? You know how archaeologists couldn’t make head or tail of hieroglyphics. And it’s not like they didn’t try. They just weren’t able to figure out what those nice little pictures on […]
The Bicycle Moment: When Everything Falls Together
If you learned to ride a bicycle, there’s a pretty good chance you fell. And fell down a lot. I sure did. What’s worse is I learned to ride on hills, with red mud. And that means there was a good chance of losing control on the slopes. And grazing your feet, hands and face […]
How To Make Sure You Get Paid On Time
When you went to buy your computer, you paid for the computer in advance. When you went to the dentist, you paid your $5000 bill on the way out. And yet, when it comes to collecting money in your own business, you’re running up against a big, bad wall. So how do you get paid […]
How To Get An Audience Back Into The Room
If you’re conducting a workshop anytime soon, you’re going to have one big problem on your hand. The moment you open the doors and let your audience out for a coffee/lunch break, you’ll have a hard time getting them back. And then you become a sheep-dog, having to herd the sheep back into the pen. […]
How To Make A ‘One-Wave’ Presentation
Your brain is like a surfer on the waves. When the surfer sees a big wave coming, he rides that wave. And then he zigs and zags to keep his balance, as the wave rushes madly to shore. But right after the ‘surfer’s wave’ is another wave. And another. And dozens of others. But the […]
Should You Take Questions At The End of Your Presentation?
If you’ve been to a presentation, you’ll find that part of the presenter’s agenda is to take questions at the end. Which means you make your presentation, and then you call for questions—just in case someone needs something clarified or in case your presentation has raised some questions. But do you have to take questions? […]
How The Wrong Example Alienates Your Audience
Examples have a singular goal: They help the reader understand a concept. But could the wrong example actually alienate an audience? And how would you know which kind of example would alienate you? Let’s look at a simple example of a ‘rocking chair.’ So if were to talk about a ‘rocking chair’, for instance, you’d […]
How To Get Maximum Impact From Your Speaking Engagements
Have you ever seen a rock concert where the singer holds out the microphone in the middle of a song. And not surprisingly the audience sings the lyrics of the songs, while swaying madly to the music. Your audience should be so adoring, eh? Well, if you can’t exactly be a rock star to your […]
