When I give a lecture or do a presentation, a bullet-proof way to know whether I did a good job or not, is if I get questions afterwards. Take note of this the next time you listen to an awesome presentation. When the lecture ends, that is where the real conversation starts. The best lectures get the most questions, and the inferior presentations get few or no questions at all. If the audience could not understand a single word of what you were talking about, how are they supposed to ask a question then? And on the contrary, if they clearly understood your message, asking questions will be simple.

EducationRikard ÖqvistJanuary 16, 2021lecturing, presentation, powerpoint, communication, experience, diversity, educationComment

How to get rid of unwanted ticks

Some common verbal ticks are: “like”, “right?”, “you know?”, “eeeeh…” and they are problematic. I cannot help it, but when I discover that a speaker suffers from a verbal tick, I start to count the number of ticks and calculate the “eeeh per minute” ratio instead of listening to the actual presentation. It even happened to me once that I got seated on the bus next to a couple of girls who said “liksom” (Swedish version of “like”) 37 times per minute. Yes, I measured it. When my measurement and calculation was finished, I looked up and realize that I had got on the wrong bus and heading away from my home. I was too focused on the verbal tick to even realize it. Clearly, we need to get rid of unwanted ticks to improve our own life and everyone around us.

HabitsRikard ÖqvistAugust 15, 2020presentation, public speaking, ticks, habits, behaviorComment