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Transports of Delight
A New Improvisation GameMy colleague was inspired to invent a new introductory game for our London improvisation group session the other night. She saw a new electric scooter hire service and fancied giving it a try. So, at the beginning of the workshop, she asked...
Lubricate your presentations with collaborative humour
Lubricate your presentations with collaborative humour When people don’t laugh at my jokes – and by people in this context I mostly mean my children – I don’t get offended. I remind myself that I was a comedy professional. Yes, the BBC employed me for five years, and...
My Powerpoint’s not working – quelle surprise!
My Powerpoint's not working - quelle surprise! In many organisations, there are excellent people who give ordinary presentations. That is a terrible waste of potential. Often they are doing silly things that can easily be fixed. For example, at a recent conference, I...
How many words does a picture prompt?
How many words does a picture prompt? I've seen this technique used recently a few times to stimulate participants' thinking on the topic of the day. The facilitator shows an interesting picture - on a screen or printed out - and asks the audience to express their...
How to avoid boring your audience with dull, dull process changes?
How to avoid boring your audience with dull, dull process changes? You have a short slot in a conference session, let’s say 10-20 minutes, to introduce an important new process in your organisation. Everyone needs to know about it, and that’s why you’ve been allocated...
Playing with time when facilitating a session
Playing with time when facilitating a session Time is often the dimension that gets away from us, ruining an otherwise wonderful event. You are facilitating a session. It’s an important topic - that’s why it’s on the agenda and has been allocated the time. You know...
How do you get groups out of their comfort zone without resistance?
How do you get groups out of their comfort zone without resistance? "I have a presentation coming up for a large group of 270. I am invited to take them out of their comfort zone", a colleague told me recently. This was a corporate audience, with 50 minutes for a...
Waking up your passive audience
Waking up your passive audience It's good to give your audience more than a passive role during your presentation. These days, millennials have short attention... what was I saying? Even if you are going to talk to an audience non-stop, you can allow them to signal...
The easy way to interact with your audience
The easy way to interact with your audience 'So you want to create interaction with the audience?' The presenter looks mildly appalled. 'No, not really, but I’m told it’s a good idea. It's an unwelcome thought for me, but apparently a benefit for my audience and thus...
How NOT to end a session on time
How not to end a session on time If you want to end a session on time, don’t make your final activity an open question-and-answer session. You lose control, as the audience takes over. I’ve seen one presenter faced with an endless stream of questions, each of which...
How to spread the news – in 25 words or less
You are an experienced story-teller. I know this to be true, because you are human. You didn’t get this far in life - owning a computer, reading sophisticated blogs - without having told a few stories. Hell, you may even be a professional. Was it you I heard...
What’s the connection between being ‘in the moment’ and winning?
What’s the connection between being ‘in the moment’ and winning? Here’s a wonderful quote from a sports winner, describing that feeling of being in the moment, the key to skilled improvisation. “I took so much pleasure from that because afterwards Trevor said, ‘Doc,...
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