It was the most important presentation of her life. Not just of HER life. Of the lives of every single one of the people who worked for her, too. After all, their jobs at her company were how they put food on the table to feed their children. But they weren’t...
Don’t feed the monster. Kill it. You don’t need prettier slides. You don’t need fancy animations or most of the bells and whistles that are built into PowerPoint. You probably don’t need to spend hours and hours preparing, if you’re...
Slides are noise. There are 30 million new slides made every day. No one wakes up in the morning and says, “You know what I need more of in my life? PowerPoint slides.” What the world needs more of is the ability to take a one-hour idea and crush it down...
They say that 60% of tech projects fail or underperform. (That number varies, but it’s usually north of 50.) Which means tech spend is, like a second marriage, the triumph of hope over experience. Your budget committee presentation is going to be mostly numbers,...
A lot of public speaking coaching is directed at speaking to large groups. You know the images: A speaker, holding a microphone, standing in front of hundreds of people, usually on a stage or something like that. But most big decisions are not made by hundreds of...
The short answer: Nothing. If you’re a CTO, ChatGPT and AI are helping your coders a lot. They probably save them boatloads of time. They might even be helping clean up their code or even write blocks of code that would be a waste of time for a human. But when...
Make sure that if someone reads only the headlines of your slides, and nothing else, they will still get your message. For example: Slide 1 headline: Sales are up Slide 2 headline: But average pick lines per order are too Slide 3 headline: So to protect profitability,...
Elsewhere, I’ve held up Angus Young, admiring him for his complete lack of detachment. Today, I hold up the opposite, a King of Cool, Mad Men’s Don Draper. When you need to be cool and collected in a hot environment, channel your inner Don Draper. But now...
Look at that guy. He’s sweating, he’s drooling, he’s desperately sucking oxygen through a tube. He’s the uncoolest guy that ever existed. And yet… There are tens of thousands of fans calling his name, straining to touch him, like he is a god....
Meaning: to become known, to become public knowledge Examples: I don’t want it to get out that I am leaving. Please don’t tell anyone. If this bad news gets out, people will panic and try to run away.
Meaning: to construct or build something Examples: The people set up camp by the lake. The child was building something with her blocks, so I asked her what she was setting up.
Meaning: to continue without interruption Examples: The discussion ran on for hours. Don’t start that book, it runs on for hundreds of pages and never says anything.
Meaning: to be very busy doing something Examples: My new boss asks me to do a million different things. She makes me run around all the time. I am tired, I have been running around all day, fixing the house, doing the shopping, etc.
Meaning: to explain something Examples: This is a complicated subject, I don’t know how to put it across to you. If someone does not understand that other subject, it is hard to put this across to them.
Meaning: to escape from something Examples: The prisoners ran away from the prison during the fire. I don’t like my job. I don’t like this city. I want to run away from everything.
Meaning: to allow someone to know something Examples: I let him in on the big changes happening in our office. I never know what he is doing, he never lets me in on his life.
Meaning: to cut into pieces Examples: My mother cut the onions up before cooking the meat. This big project will be easier if you cut it up into smaller pieces.
Meaning: to cross something in order to make a shorter route Examples: If I cut across the field, it’ll save time. If I cut across the school, I can get to work earlier.
Meaning: to make something shorter or smaller Examples: The knife is very sharp, it will easily cut into the cake. I like my family time very much, I don’t want my new job to cut into it.
Meaning: to think about the past Examples: It is important to look ahead at the future, and to not spend too much time looking back. When I look back at my childhood, I realize it was a very good childhood.
Meaning: to remove something from a high position Examples: He took the vase down from the high shelf. I don’t like that man, I think he got his position by stealing it. I am going to take him down.
Meaning: to take control of something Examples: He loves to control everything. If we invite him to the party, he will try to take everything over. A new boss took the company over last week.
Meaning: to give a short visit, often just to make sure someone is okay Examples: My father is very old. Can you look in on him a few times each week, just to make sure he is okay? When I was in the hospital, my best friend came to look in on me every...
Meaning: to visit a place and look at the things in it Examples: When I visit a new city, I like to just look around the place. When I go to a store, sometimes I just want to look around at things.
Meaning: to think about the past Examples: It is important to look ahead at the future, and to not spend too much time looking back. When I look back at my childhood, I realize it was a very good childhood.
Meaning: to think about the future Examples: The past if finished. We must look ahead. I know this won’t happen for another year or two, but I just want to look ahead.
Meaning: to read a lot about something in order to learn about it Examples: I wanted to learn more about the war, so I read up on it. Before we met, I read up on you.
Meaning: to read something again, especially to someone else Examples: That last sentence was really important, can you read that back to everyone in the room? Could you read that back to me? I want to hear your pronunciation.
Meaning: to change something into something else Examples: I don’t like my new boyfriend. He keeps trying to make me into someone I am not. If you add blue paint, you can make red paint into purple paint.
Meaning: to not tell someone something, to not let someone near something Examples: He doesn’t like bad news, so I try to keep bad news away from him. It is important to keep medicine away from children.
Meaning: to not touch something, or to not discuss something Examples: He talks a lot, but he keeps off the subject of his divorce. I ask the children to keep off the grass.
Meaning: to not allow someone to go outside Examples: Because they were noisy during class, the teacher kept the children in after class. The dog is barking a lot today, I am keeping him in because it is raining.
Meaning: to move slowly, to do something slowly Examples: Don’t hang around, you have a train to catch! I am doing nothing today, just relaxing and hanging around the house.
Meaning: To take a vacation Examples: I have been working too hard, I really need to get away to a tropical island. Sometimes I just want to get away from this big city.
Meaning: to continue with something Examples: When I am gone, I want you to carry on with this project. Even though he asked me to stop singing, I decided to carry on like I was before.
Meaning: to mark with a tick mark, to mark something as done Examples: I like my “to do” list to be clear. Please wait while I check off these last two things. Here is a list, let’s check off the names of the people we don’t want at the...
Meaning: to solve, to explain, or to remove a problem Examples: This project is confusing, I hope he can clear it up. It rained a lot today, maybe it will clear up tomorrow.
Meaning: to leave from somewhere Examples: We need to clear out of here before that bad man comes back. I haven’t paid the rent in many months. The landlord asked me to clear out of the house.
Meaning: to open a space, to put things away Examples: You should clear away all your toys before bedtime. I need to clear away the trees before I can farm this land.
Meaning: to give somebody the latest news or information about something Examples: Can someone catch us up on the latest news? He doesn’t know about the new products. I will catch him up on them.
Meaning: to recover, to make something better, to fix a problem you created Examples: Nothing can make up for a lost child. I came to work late yesterday, so I have to work this weekend to make up for it.
Meaning: to allow somebody to stay in your home Examples: My house has an extra bed, so I can take in one more person. Our friend was homeless after the fire, so we took his family in.
Meaning: to make peace after a fight Examples: I had a big fight with my dad, but we made up and have a good relationship now. Let’s not fight, please come home and let’s make up.
Meaning: to wait for a short time Examples: She told me to hang on, she would arrive in 10 minutes. I am in the middle of an important task, you need to hang on for a few minutes, and then we can talk.
Meaning: to stay at one place for a short time on the way to another place Examples: They stopped over in Singapore on their way to Australia. We stopped over at the grocery store on our way to my parents’ house.
Meaning: to quickly drink something Examples: At the bar after work, we knocked back 6 vodkas. After exercise, I like to knock back a tall glass of cold water.
Meaning: to talk to someone whom one has not seen for a long time Examples: It’s always good to catch up with old friends. I haven’t seen you in years. We should meet for coffee and catch up.
Meaning: to stop working for the rest of the day Examples: It’s nice and sunny today, we should knock off early and go get some ice cream. What time do you knock off today? I want to take you to a movie this evening.
Meaning: to start the operation or flow of something Examples: She turned her PC on and opened her browser. It was dark in the room, so I asked her to turn on the light.
Meaning: to tolerate, endure, or bear something or somebody Examples: I’m leaving, I don’t want to put up with you anymore. We put up with the high prices because we like living here.
Meaning: to stop making an effort; to admit defeat Examples: It’s not like you to give up so easily on an assignment so early. We knew we couldn’t beat the other team, so we gave up in the second half of the game.
Meaning: to enter a database, system, or software Examples: I tried to log in with my username, but I couldn’t remember my password. Before you can use Facebook, you have to log in.
Meaning: to find, or try to find, the answer to something; to resolve a dispute Examples: She worked out the math problem quickly; I was still trying to solve it. We had a big fight, but we worked it out and are friends again.
Meaning: to accept someone’s wish or stop fighting; to admit defeat. Examples: He gave in to the group’s pressure and decided to accept the decision. My mother told me to not give in to peer pressure.
Meaning: to make a paper copy of information stored on a computer Examples: My boss asked me to print out the report and give it to him. I need to print this document out before I mail it.
Meaning: to repay some money or a loan or a favor to someone Examples: If you lend me the money, I’ll pay you back by Friday. He did me a big favor last week, now I need to pay him back.
Meaning: to connect an electrical appliance by inserting a plug in a socket. Examples: I need to plug in my phone; it’s completely out of juice. I thought the lamp was not working, but I just needed to plug it in.
Meaning: to tear something into small pieces so as to destroy it Examples: She ripped up her pile of old letters and put them in the bin. I hate this contract, it is a bad deal, I want to rip it up.
Meaning: to remove something violently or suddenly Examples: He tore out the pages that he didn’t want anyone to read. We are going to redo the whole bathroom, but first we need to tear the old one out.
Meaning: to begin to suffer from an illness Examples: Oh, god! I think I’m coming down with flu. I might not go to work tomorrow. Be careful around him, he has a cold. You don’t want to come down with it.
Meaning: to have an argument and stop being friends Examples: They were flatmates for two years, but then they fell out and never spoke to each other again. My best friend and I fell out over this issue, I don’t know if we’ll ever speak...
Meaning: to try to find something or somebody Examples: Jack was looking for his phone everywhere, but couldn’t find it. I looked for my father everywhere. I finally found him outside in the garden.
Meaning: to make or become hot or warm Examples: I think we can heat up yesterday’s pizza and have it for dinner, right? The coffee should be fine once it heats back up.
Meaning: to reheat something Examples: My coffee is cold now, I need to warm it up. I am cold from playing in the snow, now I want to sit by the fire and warm myself up.
Meaning: to wash your hands before eating or after doing dirty work Examples: My mom tells me to wash up before every meal. I just finished working on my car, I need to wash up before going in the house.
Meaning: to stop working, to stop functioning. Examples: My TV seems to be breaking down a lot, I think something is wrong with it. It’s an old car, it probably breaks down all the time.
Meaning: to hang from a clothes line Examples: I don’t mind ironing, but I hate hanging the clothes out to dry. After you wash the laundry, you should hang the clothes out.
Meaning: to take a complex thing apart into smaller pieces Examples: If you have a complex problem, try breaking it down and solving the smaller pieces. I like the way she analyzes that song, breaking it down into single parts.
Meaning: to end a romantic relationship with somebody Examples: After they broke up, he listened to sad music and didn’t leave his house. You annoy me and you smell bad. I am breaking up with you.
Meaning: to choose something and then pursue it Examples: I usually eat the steak, but today I am going to go for the fish. He asked me if he should apply for the top universities, and I told him yes, go for it.
Meaning: to calm down and relax Examples: At the end of the day, I just want to put my feet up and chill out before going to bed. Chill out, man, it’s not a big deal!
Meaning: to reply defiantly or disrespectfully Examples: My child talks back to me when I give him an order. That teacher lets his students talk back to him, I don’t think that is right.
Meaning: to take care of somebody or something Examples: My parents will look after my dog when I’m on vacation. My friend is alone here. Can you look after him when I am away?
Meaning: to replace something Examples: Please put the book back on the shelf after you read it. I’m just going to borrow this shirt today, I will put it back tomorrow.
Meaning: to finish one’s supply of something Examples: We ran out of eggs, can you go to the store and buy some more? If we continue using paper towels like this, we will run out tomorrow.
Meaning: to fall lightly asleep Examples: I don’t take a real nap after lunch, I simply doze off for a bit in front of the TV. The meeting was really long and boring, so I dozed off for a while.
Meaning: to end a telephone call, especially abruptly or quickly Examples: When I told her the bad news, she hung up on me. I got angry during the call, so I hung up on him.
Meaning: to talk more loudly, or to express an opinion when you are usually quiet Examples: Could you speak up, please? The music is really loud, and I can’t hear you clearly. He usually sits in the corner silently, but today he spoke up, so we know what he...
Meaning: to answer a telephone call Examples: I kept calling her but she wouldn’t pick up, so I couldn’t tell her the news. When I call my mother, she always picks up on the first ring.
Meaning: to quickly consume the rest of a drink Examples: She drank up what was left of her beer and left in a hurry. He told me to drink up because there wouldn’t be more water, we are going to the desert today.
Meaning: to expel or remove someone Examples: They kicked me out of the club after the fight. I was really messy and got kicked out of the hotel, they won’t let me back.
Meaning: to adjust one’s position to make room for someone else Examples: Could you guys move over so I can sit down too? He asked me to move the couch over so he could insert another chair, but I don’t want the chair there.
Meaning: to enter a room, building, or other place Examples: Please, come in and sit down. I wanted to come in the living room, but she was busy cleaning and wouldn’t let me in.
Meaning: to admit someone to, or to allow someone into, a room, building, or area Examples: We let our dog in the house every morning, he prefers to eat breakfast in the kitchen. My boss is angry at me. I tried to go into his office, but he won’t let me...
Meaning: to engage in heavy physical exercise Examples: I try to work out three or four times a week at the gym, it’s good for my health. I like to run in the forest. My brother calls it “working out,” but I just call it “having...
Meaning: to prepare for exercise by moving or practising gently Examples: I always warm up thoroughly before going out for a jog. Before you lift heavy weights, be sure to warm up so your body is ready.
Meaning: to remove clothing or items in general from one’s or another’s body, or from an object Examples: I took off my shoes and lay down on the sofa. I would like to use the new cooking pan, but first I need to take off the price tag.
Meaning: to start a device, to start the operation of something by means of a tap, switch, or button. Examples: Please switch on the light, I can’t see. When I try to switch on my phone, nothing happens. I think it’s broken.
Meaning: to bring order to, to arrange neatly, especially in a quick action before a meeting or before a guest arrives Examples: The kids don’t like tidying up their room, but they always do it when I ask them to. The guests arrive in a few minutes, I need to tidy up...
Meaning: to put on smart, nice, good-looking, or formal clothes Examples: I only dress up on special occasions, like weddings or other celebrations. The interview was very important, so I dressed up in my best clothes.
Meaning: to place a piece of clothing (like a shirt), jewelery, etc. on part of one’s body Examples: I put on my watch when I got dressed this morning. When I got out of the shower, I put my clothes on.
Meaning: To rise, or cause someone to rise, from bed after sleeping Examples: I get up immediately after waking up each morning. We got him up early, because he had to go to the airport.
Meaning: to stop sleeping, or to cause someone to stop sleeping Examples: I woke up at 7 o’clock yesterday. The loud party woke me up during the night.
Meaning: to begin to sound (usually said about an alarm) Examples: My alarm clock goes off at 6am, and then I begin my workout. During the fire, the alarm went off. It was really loud.
Meaning: to happily expect something that is happening in the future Examples: He had worked hard and was looking forward to his retirement. We look forward to your visit next week.
Meaning: to not do something, or to not tell someone something Examples: I couldn’t keep from eating all the food at the party. I think he’s not telling me the whole story, I think he’s keeping something from me.
Meaning: to delay something or to rob something Examples: I’m sorry, I am late but I was held up in a meeting. The bank was held up by the two criminals.
Meaning: to experience something or meet somebody unexpectedly Examples: I’ve run into a problem with the project. I ran into him on the street yesterday.
Meaning: to watch something happen without taking part in it Examples: Look on the bright side – no one was badly hurt. You go speak to the group. I will just stand in the corner and look on.
Meaning: to respond to something or to resume doing something Examples: I will get back to you tomorrow. (I will respond to you tomorrow.) That was a good meeting, but now I need to get back to work.
Meaning: to wake up and get out of bed, or to stand up (like from a chair) Examples: Matt gets up at 5am. (Matt wakes up and gets out bed at 5am) I need to get up from this chair. (I need to stand up)
To examine or inspect something or someone. Examples: Can you look over this email and tell me what you think? He looked over my application and said it looked fine.
Phrasal verb: to let up Definition: To become less strong or less intense. Examples: When the rain lets up, let’s go outside for a walk. A good coach never lets up on pushing her athletes to excellence.
Meaning: to oppose somebody or something, usually, but not always, in an election Examples: Luck was really running against you yesterday! Biden ran against Trump in the 2020 US election.
“CYA” (cover your ass) is a great phrase for office life, but sometimes it has connotations of selfishness, like you’re saying someone just wants to protect himself, he doesn’t really care about the group or the company. Example: “That...
Flagging is a way for you to call attention to the main point of your message. There are some key words and phrases that wake people up and tell them to listen carefully. Here are some of them: If you take just one thing away from this, it should be… The most...
I know a lot of you are working from home this week. It probably involves a lot of videoconferencing, which might feel a little strange, since it’s probably a bit unfamiliar. I do a lot of videoconferencing, so here are three tips that might help. 1. Humans...
Before all the other important stuff you might want to know about presenting, the single most important step is a brutal one: “Kill your darlings.” This phrase, often attributed to author William Faulkner, means get rid of the things that mean a lot to you, but that...
It’s not that faces are good or bad, it’s just that they’re very distracting. One thing that we see often in almost every corporate presentation is there’s an introduction of the company. In that introduction, there will usually be a couple of slides with pictures of...
When you want to persuade somebody to choose your argument over another, one of the things that you can do is tie your argument to a bigger picture. For example, we had a client recently who worked for a European bank, and there was an internal debate within the bank...
Sometimes when an emotionally-stated challenge comes from an audience member, as much as 50% of the emotion behind the challenge might be the audience member feeling unheard. They don’t feel like their opinion is understood or being listened to, even if you think it...
Definition: to attract a lot of attention; to get noticed Examples: Everyone is talking about the new movie. It really made a splash. That new book is really popular. The author is on all the talk shows. She really made a splash.
Definition: to create a significant impression; to cause trouble, to be disruptive Examples: At your new job, be sure to speak up at meetings. You want to make waves right from the start. I didn’t know anyone at the dinner party, so I kept quiet. I didn’t...
———- Forwarded message ——— From: matt@krauseenglish.com Date: XYZ Subject: CXO Letter sample To: xyz@xyz.com A favorite word that I’ve run across an unusual number of times in my readings this week is “slog.” This...
BucketListly Photos CC0 Archives | Magdeleine Cupcake FoodiesFeed Foodie’s Feed Free Refe Real Life Photos FreeDigitalPhotos Function – Design Blog Gratisography ISO Republic Jay Mantri Kaboompics.com Life Of Pix Little Visuals Magdeleine MMT morgueFile...
Baldwin and Matt interviewed Memet Yazıcı, Managing Partner of TRPE Capital. Memet speaks here about preparing for pitch meetings, a portfolio company’s management team’s role in telling the company’s story, and the importance of relationships with...
This post originally appeared on Fund Marketing Secrets. Baldwin and Matt interviewed Roland Meerdter, co-founder of Door Ventures. Roland speaks here about streamlining the DDQ process, the origins of Door, how standardized DDQs evolve over time, and how...
This post originally appeared on Fund Marketing Secrets. Baldwin and Matt interviewed Kyle Dunn, CEO of Meyler Capital. Kyle speaks here about marketing in the fund world, and what opportunities fund managers are missing, and that performance is vital, but...
There was so much to talk about in the first interview that Baldwin and Matt asked JB Beckett to grace the podcast a second time. For those who missed the first interview, JB is the author of #New Fund Order and a very articulate veteran of the fund scene. In this...
Baldwin Berges and Matt interviewed JB Beckett, author of #New Fund Order. JB has listened to thousands of fund pitches in his career. In fact, he’s such a wealth of information that we will bring him back for an encore presentation. A major theme running through...
One of our listeners, a country fund investing in publicly-traded equities on that country’s exchange, had a followup question about something discussed on the Ole Rollag interview. They asked: “We send out a monthly newsletter about our fund performance...
Baldwin Berges and Matt interviewed Ole Rollag of Murano. Ole mentioned a couple things in particular that caught our attention: One is the importance of good old phone followup. Ole mentioned that Murano’s people spend a lot of time on the phone with allocators; he...
The mistake: Mismatching their product design and their target investors. Summary: Okay, let’s do one more. Think of it as a bonus mistake, #6 of 5: Mismatching your product design and your target investors. #6 is kind of related to the mistakes that came before it,...
The mistake: Not qualifying their prospects. Summary: At first glance this one seems like a rookie mistake, but even people who have been in the business a long time still do it sometimes: wasting time talking to the wrong people. It’s not that the “wrong people” are...
The mistake: Putting the wrong person up there on stage. Summary: At a conference, the speaking gig often goes to the CEO. However, that’s not necessarily the best person to represent your company. The best person to represent your company is the one who can convey...
The mistake: Trying to go all the way on the first date. Summary: You get the meeting, it’s in the diary, and you walk in there with your big pitch book. You’re excited, maybe a little bit nervous. Gotta land this client! But slow down, cowboy! You wouldn’t...
The mistake: Rushing their investor. Summary: You went through a journey to learn what you know. Way back when, it was uncharted territory for you. Your investor is venturing into uncharted territory now, too. So give him some time. The things you think are obvious,...
The mistake: Not equipping your investor to argue your case to the other investors. Summary: You’re an expert, and the person you’re speaking to is probably also an expert. So it’s tempting to get lazy and stay in your expert comfort zone. But remember, you are not...
Tsufit (LinkedIn profile) started out as a lawyer, singer, and actress, but for over 15 years now she has been coaching others to step into the spotlight. In fact, she wrote a book titled exactly that: “Step Into The Spotlight!” As you’ll hear, one...
Baldwin Berges (LinkedIn profile) spent years in the investment world, helped companies raise money, and is now helping them clarify their messages, making complex ideas simple to understand. In this interview he talks a bit about speaking at conferences, and gives...
Erik Vos (LinkedIn profile) has worked and presented in 91 countries and counting. In this interview he talks a bit about speaking at conferences, and gives some tips to other speakers. As you’ll hear, he’s a big supporter of preparing a lot (a man after...
Zeynep Stefan (LinkedIn profile) has been in the insurance and risk management business for over 10 years. In this interview she talks a bit about moderating a panel, and gives some tips to other moderators. As you’ll hear, she’s a big advocate of...
“Stories are good, you should use them more often. And it’s important to put yourself in your stories.” That’s good advice. But these days a lot of people pass out advice like that, and then you ask them to explain themselves, and they tell you stuff...
When you list things, put the most important thing first. Don’t save the best for last: –Most important thing–Second most important thing–Third most important thing–Fourth most important thing Someone in your audience might get called...
The most effective presentations aren’t presentations at all. They are conversations, and you probably already have all the skills you need, you’ve been using them since the day you were born. Let’s say the big boss is coming to your regional office and...
A question that often comes up in investor conference calls, especially with emerging markets companies, is “How are political or regulatory changes affecting the business environment?” The way your company chooses to answer this question is a stylistic...
Our clients often think that when audience members are high up in the industry or in the company, they already know everything. This is completely wrong. Yes, they are experts in something you are not. But you are an expert in something that they are not. That’s why...
Steven Pressfield, the author of The War Of Art, one of my favorite books, once said: “The amateur believes he must first overcome his fear; then he can do his work. The professional knows that fear can never be overcome.” Since you’re a professional, you know what...
The most effective presentations aren’t presentations at all. They are conversations, and you probably already have all the skills you need, they just need to be unlocked. Let’s say the Big Boss from Headquarters is coming to your regional office for a...
Wherever you look, your audience is probably going to look there too. This is a human trait. You’re not going to get around it. There’s no amount of presentation training that is going to help you overcome it. If your audience sees you looking at your...
Every CEO has a different style when it comes to handling investor conference calls (for example, an annual earnings report). The styles lie on a spectrum. On the one end, you’ve got a Jamie Dimon style, which is where the CEO will just say two or three...
The other day a reader said, “My boss asked me if I could do an unplanned talk for 10 minutes. What do I say, how can I organize my thoughts?” Here’s what we suggested… Two things humans almost always find fascinating: 1. Change or movement...
During some situations, maintaining eye contact with the audience may be one of the biggest factors defining the whole presentations’ success or failure. Your audience will be more drawn into your topic, as long as you successfully keep an eye contact with them and...
Alper and Matt interviewed Aydın Bırık, who in his job sees many, many startups pitch their companies to potential investors. Here he talks about what he does (and does not) like to see in the presentations, and what suggestions he would give to the entrepreneurs who...
UPDATE: As of March 2017, Matt’s public office hours have been replaced by “members only” office hours. For the location of the members-only office hours, please see: https://dopplercomm.com/members-only/office-hours/ Matt holds weekly office hours...
When the speechwriting is almost done, it’s time to move on to the delivery training. Why do we say “almost done”? Because we need to make sure the speech we’ve written is going to work in real life, and we can’t start to gauge that until we start the training. Does...
A reader asks, “How can I ask difficult questions?” You know the kind of questions, the ones where you wonder beforehand if you dare ask them, the ones where you stop first and think things like is that question too forward, or too bold, or is it too early in the...
One of the most commented-on items in our Tips & Tricks email series is this Kevin Spacey speech: https://www.getdrip.com/9763063/campaigns/7516685/emails/102822/archive The comments are often to the effect that the readers loved the speech, for various reasons,...
What’s behind that 25 times There’s more behind that “practice 25 times” advice than just an unthinking “more practice is good, so get a lot of it.” Here’s what’s behind it… (click here if you don’t see the...
Welcome to the Freelancer’s Show podcast listeners! Here are a couple things to reinforce what we discussed on the show. Just sign up with your email address, and we’ll send them along to you. They are: a brief guide covering the three mindset changes...
Before they realize there is huge power in deep preparation, some of our clients at first resist the idea of practicing a lot. They think practicing a lot is going to kill the spontaneity in their speech. What they haven’t realized yet is that you will never...
Why we do Tips and Tricks as a weekly email, not a once-and-done ebook: New Service: Test My Presentation. You send us your presentation, we suggest how you can improve it. Click here for more info. Pro Tip: Use this service once a month, and watch your presentation...
Jesse Scinto, our head speechwriter and presentation trainer, is a faculty member at the Strategic Communications department at New York’s Columbia University. So, understandably, we are proud of him and happy to have him on our team. In these interview...
Why we don’t do many one- or two-day trainings We get a lot of requests for one- or two-day trainings, but we don’t do very many of them. Why? It is almost impossible to make a deep change in someone’s life, or in a company’s performance, in...
There’s a story about Ernest Hemingway. Ernest Hemingway is in a bar with a bunch of other writers. They make a little bet with each other. They say, “How many words do you need to tell a story?” One of the writers, he says he can tell a story in 10 words. Another...
Here we dive deeper into one of the five elements of story structure. This one is perhaps your speech’s most important element, but it’s usually the most difficult element to communicate clearly… Notes: HGOMM (5 points of story structure) Jesse...
Go slow and speak less. Yes, I know it’s counterintuitive. I can barely believe it myself, even though I see it happen almost every day. Here’s an example: These days I’m helping a client prepare for a speech at a major committee meeting. It’s...
One of our readers had an excellent question about HGOMM… (HGOMM: the five elements of a marketing story, outlined here: https://recipientlabs.com/hgomm/) His question: Can you send an example of a short marketing story with these 5 components? Yes, of course....
One of our readers had a very good question. She watched the Feel Sense Describe video, and asked, “That’s nice, but how do I do that when I’m talking about numbers?” Good question. Here’s a voice response with two suggestions: By the...
In another blog post, we mentioned that stories happen in the listeners’ heads. In presenting, do not underestimate the power of this dynamic. It is a special talent pretty unique to humans. It allows us to organize into groups of millions (nations), or even...
Equipment: Please use headphones. They don’t have to be fancy; the ones you use with your iPhone are fine. Please use Chrome or Firefox. Sometimes Internet Explorer works for this, but most of the time it doesn’t. Preparation before the call: Please look...
This guy Eric Takaha at Franklin-Templeton is a master of using what I call “softening words,” which can come in very handy when you are describing overall trends in a public forum. I’ve bolded the “softening words” in the transcript...
The acid test of a good financial speech: When you read the speech to someone who is not in the target audience, and ideally who barely even understands the subject, can you hold their interest to the end, without losing the interest of your target audience? If you...
Three tips for working a conversational style into your presentation: 1. In the first 30 seconds of your presentation, ask a couple audience members a simple yes or no question related to your topic (If you are speaking about nutrition: “Murat, did you eat breakfast...
One of our clients is an executive at an international bank, so he presents to global management quite often. To be able to give his message using a few well-chosen words, instead of dozens of data-heavy charts and graphs, would be revolutionary. We took one of his...
One of the most common questions we hear when people go onto the stage is, “What do I do with my hands?” Believe it or not, that question is actually more common than “Where’s the nearest escape route?” 😉 Watch Franklin Templeton’s Eric Takaha’s hands in this...
One of the best arguments for how people make decisions based on emotion, even when (perhaps especially when) they are making decisions about money… Especially after expenses, most actively-managed funds perform worse than their benchmark. If you listen to many...
All day long, I am surrounded by people who are fluent speakers of English, or nearly fluent speakers of English. One of the main questions people ask me is how can I speak better English? I tell them, if you are a fluent or near fluent speaker of English, then asking...
Michael Bierut describes not only the method we use, but why we use it, so well I read it and thought, “Yeah, that’s me!”… http://99u.com/workbook/51901/the-method-actor-approach-to-design
The presenter is not the star of the show, the audience is the star of the show… http://www.duarte.com/blog/like-yoda-you-must-be-2/ The fastest way to Death By PowerPoint is to think you are anything more than a midwife to the audience’s...
I love this article,… Pause. Just Pause. …Especially the third tip: “Pause for a moment longer than you feel comfortable. Try pausing for 2 – 3 seconds. It might feel like an eternity to you, but it will sound perfectly normal to your...
The “Curse of Knowledge” is the inability to clearly explain something to another person, because you know the subject so well. Not a clear explanation as defined by you. A clear explanation as defined by the other person. Why is it so hard to clearly explain...
At about minute 34:45 in this speech… …Kevin Spacey makes a very good point: Many people complain about their audience’s shrinking attention span, and yet people still find 12 hours to binge-watch a TV show. So instead of trying to trim things until you...
One of the things I love most in the infographic below is the part that says avoid looking at your screen when pitching. Yes, this goes for pitching (selling) an idea or service. But it goes for just about any other situation, too. When you look at your computer...
Don Draper shows us how presentations are done right… Notice three things in particular: He starts his story with “my first job” — time-shifting phrases (“my first job,” “a couple years ago,” “once upon a...
You don’t always need to start with a joke. After all, you are probably not a professional comedian, and no one expects you to be. And starting a speech with an irrelevant joke, no matter how funny it is, like “Two men and a dog walk into a...
[twocol_one]You may have used a certain image, music or video in a previous Keynote presentation but you might no longer have access to that media to use it on your current project. If you still have the Keynote presentation that contains that specific media, you can...
American author Kurt Vonnegut diagrams some basic, but very classic, story structures… Believe it or not, the structures he outlines here even work for speeches about corporate debt and global financial crises.
Videos can make an excellent addition to your presentation. Most of the time they work, but every once in a while they don’t, and then you’re left there on the stage feeling embarrassed and saying something lame like “Hey, there’s supposed to...
A common issue we see is people speaking too fast, trying to cram too much content into too little time. Fortunately, there’s a very natural way around this. It’s something we’ve been practicing our entire lives, and we do it so naturally we don’t even realize we are...
The five components of a story: Hero Goal Obstacle Mentor Moral… Thanks, Copyblogger, for making one of the simplest explanations of the components of a story I’ve ever seen.
According to Jesse Scinto… “A lot of people think presentations are about informing, but here’s the problem with that view…” “Audience members remember very little of what they hear in a presentation.” “If the purpose...
Here Jesse and Matt are talking about Robert Cialdini’s book, Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion, particularly about the importance of audience members making their commitments physical and public, and how we can do that in a presentation… “One...
Matt and Jesse discuss a chapter from Robert Cialdini’s book Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion, specifically the human desire to seem logical and consistent, and how we can use this natural human desire to persuade our audiences… Using commitment and...
Jesse and Matt discuss Adam Grant’s book, Give and Take: Why Helping Others Drives Our Success, specifically Grant’s concept of the power of powerless speech. “When our audience can see that we have flaws, it really helps them identify with...
Jesse tells us what “progressive complications” are, where they come from, and how to use them in our presentations… “If you can arrange your presentation in that kind of fashion [using progressive complications], it’s really gripping for...
Often, our clients feel like if they talk about conflict or problems in their presentations, their audiences won’t respect them. It feels kind of risky. We asked Jesse about this. If a speaker takes the risk, what is the speaker going to get in return?...
Jesse demonstrates how to tell a story about a corporate restructuring. [content_upgrade cu_id=”13259″]Get all 9 Jesse Scinto excerpts consolidated into one PDF:[content_upgrade_button]Email me the PDF[/content_upgrade_button][/content_upgrade] Transcript:...
One of our clients asked us how to tell stories in a business context. Jesse gives a great answer about that… “When we’re talking about stories in a business context, we’re not talking about fables or fairy tales.” “It’s a...
Jesse describes a more interesting way to structure your information, one that will keep your audience’s attention better… [content_upgrade cu_id=”13259″]Get all 9 Jesse Scinto excerpts consolidated into one PDF:[content_upgrade_button]Email me...
There are a lot of reasons to watch videos of yourself practicing. Watching videos of yourself helps you improve your body language. It helps you improve your content, and it helps you improve your opening and closing. But mainly, watching videos of yourself helps you...
It’s a good question: Should I do my training in Turkish or in English? The best way to answer that question is probably to ask yourself, “What do I ultimately want to be able to do?” For example, if your ultimate goal is to give presentations in...
Brevity is vital. But one thing that often gets lost is that brevity is not enough. If you can’t quickly articulate to an executive why he/she should care about your presentation, brevity won’t save you. When people talk about a flood of information, what...
Since I work in Istanbul, I run into a lot of people who are learning English. They often ask me for some tips. They often look at me, slightly puzzled, and ask, “Why would that help? In real life, people don’t repeat their words 5 times.”...
A couple weeks ago I wrote about looking to see what grade level you’re speaking at. Here’s another neat tip for seeing your speech from another perspective: put it into a tag cloud: Go to the website, paste your text into the text box, click...
Guy Kawasaki speaks at TEDxBerkeley, about the 10 points of innovation… Notes: Local references: In this speech, he makes a lot of references to local universities [Stanford, Cal (local nickname for University of California Berkeley), USC (University of Southern...
As a speaker, there are a couple numbers you should know. One is your average WPM — how many words do you speak per minute (the average human speaks about 120-130 words per minute). You do that so when you are writing a speech, you know about how many words you...
Sometimes you’re speaking about a hotly-debated topic, something that not everyone in the room agrees with you about. Here’s a tip for those situations: Before you talk about the hot issue, get the audience to agree with you on something else. Two professors, one from...
Here’s a tip for those times when you’re speaking to a potentially hostile audience, or coming dangerously close to a hot, explosive topic: In your opening sentences, remind the audience you share common ground with them, but also acknowledge the debate....
Yes, you compete with your slides for the audience’s attention. When the audience is looking at your slides, they aren’t listening to you. So we preach, over and over, keep your slides simple, keep your slides simple. But in real life, you don’t...
Below are four videos, and a transcript, of an interview with a famous radio presenter in the US, Ira Glass. He speaks about storytelling, the importance of being yourself, and the difficulty of the early days, when you know what “good” is, but...
Here’s a body language tip: It’s called the Sullivan Nod. When you are talking to an audience, and you are listing three or four or five options, smile and nod when you’re describing the one you want them to choose. Chances are pretty good that they’ll choose it. The...
Getting up in front of people and speaking may not always be as easy as strolling in a park on a warm Sunday afternoon. Sometimes, it may feel more like a bigger challenge you find yourself immersed in. Our experience with our clients show that, people are usually...
When you deliver a presentation, your audience members will be able to process only one source of information at any given moment. That is, they will either listen to your speech or read your slides, but they will not be able to do both at the same time. Here is a...
When delivering a presentation, it is a good idea to keep the audience’s focus and attention on ourselves. In fact, keeping the attention on ourselves it is one of the main pillars of a successful speech or presentation. So much so, that at certain times you may not...
When you connect your computer to the projector before starting a presentation, what does your audience see first? Do they see a neat and tidy computer desktop with a regular wallpaper? Do they see a cluttered desktop with a lot of icons on top of your two year old...
In this speech Jesse Jackson, campaigning for US President in 1984, speaks at a church. There are two things I would like to point out in this speech, and they both have to do with point #3 in overcoming the Curse of Knowledge (make it concrete — use simple words and...
In the Fundamentals we mentioned the Curse of Knowledge, and six ways to overcome it. My personal favorite, though, isn’t on that list. It is: #7: Ask questions. Specifically, ask your audience to describe back to you what you just said. Ask them to describe your...
For you, as a listener, what’s easier to understand? “I… went… to… the… store…” …or… “Uhhh, I, uhhh… went, uhhh… to, uhhh… the, uhhh… store, uhhh.”? Which one was easier to understand? Probably the first one, right? Both of them took the same amount of time — the...
When you’re organizing your presentation, the Rule of Three is a good place to start. For example: We’re going to do A. We’re going to do B. We’re going to do C. The human brain loves things that are organized into threes. It tends to forget point #4, but it can...
Remember the One Question, the one thing that’s on everyone’s mind. The one problem they’re trying to solve, the reason they asked you to speak. Then tell a story that basically goes, A. I had that question myself once, and B. here’s how I solved it, and C. now I’m...
When you’re on stage, what do you do with your hands? It’s one of the most common questions we get. Personally, I suspect you already know what to do with your hands, but the best answer is actually kind of zen, so we reserve it for more advanced courses. In the...
Before your speech, meet some of the members of your audience. Talk to them, get to know them a little. It’ll make you a lot less nervous when you’re speaking, because you’ll be talking to friends, not a bunch of nameless, faceless strangers. How can you do this? At...
Have a friend video you while you’re speaking. And yes, watch it! I’ve never met a person who liked to watch himself speaking. Not once. But there’s something magic about it. Every person who ever watches himself on video decides to become a better speaker. It’s like...
When professional actors prepare for a role, they usually rehearse for hours, or days or weeks, learning how to make a particular facial tick appear at just the right time. When she was preparing for the movie Gravity, Sandra Bullock practiced one of the moves for...
Opening PowerPoint is one of the first things people do when preparing a presentation. However, it’s the wrong place to start. Opening PowerPoint first is like buying paint for the living room before you’ve even started building the house. Asking three particular...
There are 9 lessons in the SO Fundamentals course. They are: Lesson 1 : The First Three Questions Lesson 2 : Practice 25 Times Lesson 3 : The Curse of Knowledge Lesson 4 : Reduce Your Ahh Count Lesson 5 : “B” is for Magic Lesson 6 : Video Yourself...
“How does this person think?” Maybe your audience members don’t know who you are. They might not even care about your subject. But they probably want to know how you think. It’s a natural human impulse: We want to know how other people solve problems, because maybe...
We all have “tics,” little things that we do, little habits. Some presentation trainers tell people to get rid of their tics, but tics aren’t always that bad. Take, for example, Bob Dole. Bob Dole was a famous United States Senator in the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. He...
President John F. Kennedy once said, “The only reason to give a speech is to change the world.” When I first heard that quote, I thought, “Wow, that’s a high bar to set.” People who change the world are people like Winston Churchill, or Nelson Mandela, or Mahatma...
Yesterday I saw this ad in the subway station… At first I thought, “Oh, that’s such a pretty picture there on the screen… fish, water, blue, nature, sun, how nice!” But then I saw something completely different: A herd, moving in unthinking unison, swimming,...
Recently I was watching a TEDx speech video with a client of mine. The speaker was a designer with a doctorate from MIT, talking about research he’s doing into innovative mechanical solutions. Here’s the video: Neither my client nor I liked the speech. We both came...
Sometimes our clients ask us to sit in on their “real life” presentations. We love opportunities like that. Seeing our clients operate live, “in the wild,” helps us do our jobs so much better. When a client lets us watch them give a real-life...
People are like dogs. If you stare at one long enough, he’ll attack. When you are giving a presentation, if an audience member gets aggressive and starts challenging you, resist the urge to spend too much time looking at that one person. Address his questions, but...
The other day someone asked me for advice. He had wanted to give a speech that would last about 4-6 minutes, but instead the speech went for almost eight minutes. “What should I do?” he asked. “Slow down,” I said. Wait a second, shouldn’t I have told him to talk...
The other day, a few of a client’s employees went to a presentation skills training. The trainer told them 70% of presentation is body language, voice tone, etc. My client asked me if I agree. This is what I told her: That 70% figure is bullshit. It’s not bullshit...
There are many ways to start a speech. One of them is outlining what you’re going to talk about. Watch how Guy Kawasaki does it in the first 90 seconds of his speech… He tells us that he’s going to cover 10 points, and that telling your audience...
Put politics aside for a second. Listen to the patterns in this guy’s speech, there are a couple things I would like to point out… Below is an anonymized version of the email that points those things out… Hi XXX, I agree completely, you don’t...
One of our clients asked what he called a “million-dollar question”… He asked, “I feel very shy in front of a camera. How can I improve? Any tips?” Here was my response: “Here’s what I do, try this… “Humans naturally relax and light up when they talk to...
You know the saying, “You never cross the same river twice”? That applies to speeches too. The other day I was speaking about my walk across Turkey. Because of a timing mixup, I ended up giving the same speech to two different audiences. To my surprise,...
Transcript: Rule number two. Something to remember before you even start outlining your speech. Rule number two or question number two is what do you want your audience to do at the end of your speech. The other day somebody said, “Oh you mean, what’s my...
When you start preparing a presentation, don’t you dare start by opening PowerPoint. Mull over these three questions first: Who are you talking to? What do you want them to do? Why should they care? Ask these questions because a good presentation doesn’t...
There are many ways of dealing with fear. Here are two of them: 1. Conquer your fear Try to wrestle your fear to the ground. Try to beat it. Try to control it. 2. Look at something else Your job is not to conquer fear, your job is to do something else. Don’t...
A couple years ago there was a woman who walked from Spain south to Morocco, and then east across Tunisia, Libya, and Egypt, then north into Jordan, and then into Jerusalem. She walked alone, and she didn’t spend any money. When I talk about my walk across Turkey,...
“The Tipping Point is the biography of an idea.” What is the idea? The idea is that “[i]deas and products and messages and behaviors spread just like viruses do.” In addition to describing how the spread of ideas is like the spread of viruses,...
There are different ways to see the world. One of them is “What can I do on the edge?” Another is “How do I get to the middle?” Before you ever open your mouth, before you even start thinking about a problem, you will, consciously or...
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As presentation trainers we tell our clients over and over, “More eye contact, more eye contact.” But sometimes you’ve got other stuff to do, and it’s okay to look away. Not to read your slides or look at your shoes, no. But to visualize...
The other day I was working with a client on her PowerPoint slides. We looked at the first slide, then the second slide, then the third slide. She asked me what I thought. “Should we add this?” “Should we take that out?” The thing is, she had...
Definition: to say something awkward or inappropriate Examples: I saw my boss on the street yesterday. He was with a woman. I said I loved his wife’s dress, but she wasn’t his wife. She was his girlfriend. I definitely put my foot in my mouth that time. I...
Definition: to be stubborn, to refuse to move Examples: We tried to renegotiate the contract, but the customer dug in his heels. He said no, we could not discuss the contract again. I wanted to go to the beach, but my wife wanted to go to the mountains. She dug in her...
Some years ago I heard a story about Google. I forget the details, but the gist of the story sticks with me, and I think of it often… In Google’s early days, before “google” became a verb, when the founders of Google were still just grad...
Definition: to have permission to speak in a meeting Examples: The CEO had the floor for almost an hour during the meeting, but he didn’t have anything interesting to say. I fell asleep. Excuse me, but I have the floor. Please wait until I’m finished...
Definition: a job or task requires everyone’s attention or help Examples: This new client is our biggest client so far. It’s really important that we serve them well. It’ll be all hands on deck for a while. It’s August, and many people are on...
I threw this book across the room. Couldn’t read more than a third of it. Why? I’m no statistician, but, if I understand correctly, analyzing large amounts of data (which is the technique the authors used) is a great way to find a population’s...
If you can’t explain it simply, you probably don’t understand it well enough. Students come to me often and say, “I want to use more complicated sentences, like a native speaker.” Huh? Expressing yourself well does not mean using complicated...
The upshot: If you want to get to the high points, you’re going to have to push through the low points. Most people don’t push through the low points, so the playing field will be nice and clear when you get to the good times. I recommend Seth Godin all...
The upshot: Sometimes big, disruptive things happen, and they can’t be planned for, because you don’t know what they’ll be. They will end life as you know it (or as your business knows it), and that’s just the way it is.
Do not look for a summary of this book. In my opinion, this is one of those books you should either submit to, allowing it to change the way you think, or don’t even bother picking it up. Go big or go home. In other words, I loved it. The thing I liked most...
The upshot: Blah blah blah, a bunch of stuff. When you are preparing a presentation, segment your audience. Blah blah blah, a bunch more stuff. That one part, the reminder to segment your audience, alone makes the book worth it. All too often, presentation books tell...
There’s a scene I love from the movie Cadillac Records. Beyonce plays Etta James, and she is in the studio recording the famous tune “All I Could Do Is Cry.” The producer tells her it’s not good enough, that she isn’t putting enough...
Transcript: I recommend, for the first 10 speeches, no visual aids at all, no slides, nothing. We’re there in Toastmasters to learn how to connect with the audience. We’re there to learn how to make eye contact, and how to relax, and how to use body...
People make a big deal out of being afraid of public speaking. When somebody tells me that they’re afraid of public speaking, I just want to tell them, “You know, you’re never going to get over it.” I’ve been going to Toastmasters...
Transcript: Talk to the wall. What does that mean? Sometimes when you’re doing a speech, before you’re even writing the speech, when you’re just at the very beginning and you’re outlining the idea, sometimes a real rational approach, a really...
New Service: Test My Presentation. You send us your presentation, we suggest how you can improve it. Click here for more info. Pro Tip: Use this service once a month, and watch your presentation skills rise up to the next level. It’ll be like your own personal...
Transcript: When you’re practicing and when you’re standing right there on stage, imagine the stuff that you’re talking about. Visualize the things you’re talking about, see them. When you’re talking about flowers, don’t just say,...
Transcript: This one is called, “Put Some Tuba in It.” When you’re mentoring somebody, I recommend that you tell your mentee to put some of them into their speeches. If their name is Ayşe, or Mehmet, or David, put some Ayşe in it. Put some David in...
One of my favorite scenes from Mad Men comes at the end of season 1, when Don pitches Eastman Kodak using a slide show from his own life… There are many things I like about this scene. One of them is that Don knows his audience has a question (“What does...
These are the first questions I ask my clients when we are preparing a presentation. They are obvious questions. It is so easy to answer them quickly, forget the answers, and continue on, unthinking, unchanged, uninspired. The other day I was meeting with a client....
Q&A (questions and answers) is a great way to break up a speech and make sure you and your audience are thinking in the same direction. However, I often see my clients, when giving an answer, give answers that are too long. The result is that they become less and...
Ken Robinson is one of the most popular speakers in the TED community. But it’s not because he’s doing most of the things speech trainers tell us we should do. He doesn’t move around on the stage much. Usually he just stands in one place. His hands...
Definition: boring, tedious, menial work Examples: Some people think a lawyer’s workday is filled with dramatic courtroom moments. In reality, however, much of a lawyer’s day is filled with scut work — reading long documents, going to boring...
Definition: value for the money Examples: When we advertise on the internet, we get a good bang for the buck. We don’t spend much money, but we get a lot of customers. Our Maltepe service center gives us a better bang for the buck than the Şişli service center....
Definition: a short period when there’s high pressure to get results Examples: This month is the busy season for our business. If we do well, we’ll make tons of money. It’s crunch time. I want to take a vacation, but it’s crunch time at work...
Definition: to be involved in something, to get a piece of the reward Examples: This is not the only company he owns. He has his finger in the pies of many other companies, too. Almost every single person is involved in this project. Sometimes it seems like everyone...
Definition: To acquire a new customer Examples: My boss told me we really need more business. Maybe if I land this account, he’ll promote me. I’m not having a very good year, it has been a long time since I landed a new account.
Definition: The limits, conditions, qualifications, or other details printed at the bottom or end of a contract. Examples: The contract might look good at first, but you have to read the fine print to know for sure. The cell phone company’s new promotion sounds...
Definition: to cancel or stop (something) Examples: This new program will never be successful. We need to pull the plug on it, before we waste more money. I was really excited about this new advertising campaign, but my boss didn’t like it, and he decided to...
Definition: to promote or sell (something) Examples: He was on the TV news last night, but he didn’t have anything interesting to say. He was just there to plug his book. At job fairs, it’s hard to plug our company to potential recruits when we have such a...
Definition: to keep something secret, to keep something hidden Examples: Our development department is working on a new product. We can’t tell anyone, we have to keep it under wraps. My boss is going to promote someone. I hope it is me, but I don’t know...
Definition: to cut back on expenses Examples: Sales are down, we need to tighten our belt until business is better. You should tighten your belt, if you spend money like that, you’ll go out of business quickly.
Definition: two things are the same; the difference is zero Examples: The company is going to cut our pay, but increase our health insurance. So my paycheck will be smaller, but I won’t pay as much when I go to the hospital. I think it’s six of one, and a...
Definition: to start roughly, to start badly Examples: The business is very successful now, but in the early days, we didn’t know if it would succeed or not. It got off to a really shaky start. When you meet the new boss, it’s important to make a good...
Definition: to disappear, to be invisible Examples: We were good friends for many years, but when he moved to South Africa, I lost track of him. I haven’t spoken to him in 10 years, and I don’t even know where he is now. He fell off my radar. When our...
The other day, I was helping a client with a presentation. He was an engineer for a solar power company, and he was going to introduce his company to some potential investors. Other engineers would have loved his presentation. They would have picked him up, put him on...
Definition: to learn a new skill; to get basic experience Examples: He is a big, famous Finance Guru at the World Bank now, but he cut his teeth managing the finances for small textile factories in Egypt. He is a great addition to our manufacturing team, because...
Definition: to buy something for a really good price; to buy something cheap Examples: These days, a lot of banks are in distress, so they can be bought relatively cheaply. They can be bought for a song. I bought this house for a song, when prices were cheap during...
Definition: To solve two problems with only one action Examples: Last week the logistics department figured out how to deliver the customer’s goods early, and save money on shipping too. They killed two birds with one stone. If you want the promotion, you need...
Definition: to count, or to evaluate Note: Sometimes this is used philosophically (as in, to evaluate one’s life), and sometimes it is used literally (as in, to actually count the number of inventory items sitting on the shelf). Examples: On major birthdays,...
Definition: to be profitable, to be making money Examples: Our new startup lost money for two years, but now we are profitable. We are finally in the black. Our company has a long history of financial strength. In fact, we have been in the black every year since 1972....
Definition: to overwhelm with excessively strong language or personality Examples: The salesman came on too strong at the meeting and made the customer angry. The new employee has some really good skills, but he comes on too strong. The other employees think he is...
Definition: to approve something, to give approval to something Examples: This marketing plan is great, but you have to show it to the boss first. Until he gives the green light, we can’t do anything with it. I want to hire a new sales rep, so I checked with the...
People ask me for advice on how to speak better. When I tell them they have to practice 25 times, their eyes glaze over. They don’t want to hear it. What they want to hear is, “Yes, you can be lazy AND awesome at the same time”. But it’s not...
Definition: to be near a target, to be close to the target Examples: You haven’t told me your target price, but I think it is probably around $100,000. Am I in the ballpark? The customer wants us to lower our price, he says we are way too expensive. He says we...
Definition: to end a meeting Examples: It was late in the evening, so we adjourned the meeting until the next day. We’re not making any progress, let’s adjourn the meeting and go back to work.
Definition: an accountant, someone who works with numbers Examples: Our president is a good number-cruncher and understands the finances of our company. I am an artist, but my brother is a finance guy. He is more of a number-cruncher.
Definition: to reduce or cut Examples: When Ayşe had a baby, she scaled back her hours to just work part-time. Times are hard, and we are losing money. It is time to scale back our spending — we need to spend less.
Definition: a town dominated by one industry or company Examples: When the coal mine closed, the company town faced a severe economic crisis. I come from a company town, where one company owns everything — the stores, the banks, the houses, and everything else....
Text of the speech: Raising the Bar on Yourself Raising the bar on yourself. What does that mean? Well, “to raise the bar” simply means, “to set a higher standard”. Raising the bar on yourself just means setting a higher standard for yourself. At first, it sounds...
Definition: to not have enough (in quantity) Examples: At the factory, we ran short of an important part, and had to close the production line. They ran short of gasoline at the gas station and had to close early.
Definition: an important person, or a leader of the group Examples: When the company’s bigwigs came to visit the factory, we all had to change our work schedules to accomodate them. That guy is the head of Marketing, he is a real bigwig in the company. If you...
Definition: a cruel and aggressive world, where people only look out for themselves Examples: Your company fired you two days after you had a heart attack? Well, it’s certainly a dog-eat-dog world! Be wary of your other competitors, especially in this industry....
Definition: to create new business, to find new customers Examples: Sales have been very slow lately. Do you have any ideas for drumming up business? Our production capacity is too low to meet demand. We don’t need more salespeople to drum up business, we need...
Definition: Credit for doing a good deed, or for giving someone a compliment (usually a boss, teacher, or other authority) Examples: When I told the boss his new suit was very handsome, the other employees laughed and said I was just trying to score brownie points....
Definition: to discourage, to remove hope Example: Steve wanted to expand the business into China, but his boss threw cold water on the idea, and told him to focus on the domestic business. I was eager to try our big new software system with the new customer, but they...
Should you put an objective on your CV, or not? Probably not. Here’s a typical objective: "A challenging managerial position in marketing at a growing FMCG company." What’s wrong with this statement? First, it’s about you, and what you want...
Definition: to get a lot of attention; to promote; to cause people to talk about a product or service Examples: Procter & Gamble’s new toothpaste was really popular, and people talked about it a lot. It generated a lot of buzz. Facebook is in the newspapers...
Definition: to make the decisions, to be the leader Examples: In this office, Joe is officially the boss, but everyone actually listens to Sarah first. She’s the one who calls the shots. This group is so disorganized, I don’t even know who approves new...
These words are on almost every CV. They are popular, and everyone thinks they should use them. But they are empty, and they say nothing about you. Kill them, and replace them with something else: responsible for experienced excellent written communication...
Definition: to collapse, fail, lose value quickly Examples: The stock market took a nosedive during the financial crisis. If we lose permission to sell this product, our earnings will take a nosedive and we might go bankrupt.
Definition: to maintain the existing opinion, position, or status; to resist Examples: The employees are resisting the changes. We need to train our team managers how to hold the line regarding this restructuring plan. Our competition is attacking us hard on pricing,...
Definition: to try to solve a problem by spending money on something Examples: You can’t solve this problem simply by throwing money at it. You need to use imagination and brains and try new things. The president of our company really wants to solve this...
Definition: to produce good results, to succeed (especially with an experimental project) Examples: This project is difficult, but try it, and see if you can make a go of it. Although he works very hard in his business, he has been unable to make a go of it and may...
Definition: to succeed, to get results, to complete a project successfully Examples: Sure, everyone likes him and he is fun to talk to, but can he produce results? Can he deliver the goods? I highly recommend Murat — if the job is difficult and really important,...
Definition: to sell very quickly, to sell really well Examples: Children’s toys were selling like hotcakes at the end of the year. In the summer in Antalya, Efes pilsen beer sells like hotcakes.
Definition: to be serious, to be determined Examples: Our boss means business when he tells everyone to work harder. Don’t mess with them, they are determined to win. They really mean business.
Definition: to economize, to take a short-cut, to reduce quality in order to save money Note: this idiom is usually negative — don’t use it when you want to express approval or support something Examples: During these hard times, we are tempted to cut...
Definition: to supply someone (or something) with money, to finance someone (or something) Examples: This new project will be very expensive. We need to find someone to bankroll it. The movie actor bankrolled his son while the son was producing his first movie....
Definition: a collapse occurs, and a new low is reached Examples: Things were good at our company, until the founder died of a heart attack. Then, the bottom fell out of the company, and we all lost our jobs. When the bottom fell out of the coffee market many...
Definition: to be a candidate, to be competing for something Examples: This is a very competitive bid. There are three very strong candidates in the running — our company, and two others. Only one of us will win. After the interview, I felt very confident. I...
Definition: including everyone or everything Examples: Our company decided to raise all the salaries. It’s across the board — everyone will get a raise. Times are tough, and we need to cut expenses. All departments have to reduce expenses 10%. The...
Definition: an important moment that decides whether you will succeed or fail Examples: Today’s presentation in front of the board is very important. It will decide whether they approve our project and we get promoted, or they kill our project and fire us. It is...
Definition: a basic introductory meeting, often informal, where you meet a person (or people) for the first time Examples: This is a new customer, and we’ve never met them in person. Let’s schedule a short meet-and-greet, so we can introduce ourselves. We...
Definition: things that are easy to do, and give quick results Examples: This project is really complicated. It will take years to finish. Let’s start with the low-hanging fruit, so we get some benefits quickly, and feel like we are making progress. The new CEO...
Definition: a source of a lot of cash; a big profit-maker Examples: That is one of our best products. It is a cash cow. If we killed it, this company would lose a lot of money. That industry is very unpopular, and people want the government to regulate it more. But...
Definition: a complicated problem, a tangled mess of problems Examples: If we layoff a few employees, it opens a can of worms. You fire a few people, then the media says your company is sick, then investors start to worry, and your customers call your competitors,...
Definition: to test the boundaries, to try something new Examples: Our company is very conservative. Every presentation is always the same. I am going to push the envelope, and completely change the normal format. I’m trying a new sales technique with this new...
Definition: a difficult beginning, a rough start Examples: In the end, the project ended well — on time, and under budget. However, in the beginning, it had a rocky start — important employees quit, there was no clear direction, and there was no support...
Definition: in an emergency, in a difficult situation Examples: I don’t like fish, but if there is nothing else, I will eat it in a pinch. I don’t know much about finance, but if I have to read an income statement in a pinch, I can do it....
Definition: to describe something perfectly, to identify the source of a problem perfectly Examples: We were trying to explain why last night’s party was so funny, but we couldn’t. However, Murat found the perfect words. He hit the nail on the head. My...
When someone else talks, what’s a good way to make sure you understood?Remember this phrase:"Let me repeat what you said, to make sure I understood you correctly…"I’m a native English speaker. I still use this phrase 10 times a...
Want to be more engaging? Want people to think you are more interesting?Remember this old saying:"God gave us two ears, but only one mouth."Use them in that order.Listen twice as much as you speak. And when you do open your mouth, use it to ask a...
Sometimes when I am coaching someone, we reach a very stubborn obstacle. The obstacle holds my client back, unable to move, unable to advance. This is what the client usually says:"I want to do XYZ, but I am so nervous."I’m sorry, but being...
Definition: to reduce the intensity, to relax a little Examples: I am an intense person, and I was scaring our customers. My boss asked me to take it down a notch, to relax a little when we meet customers. You have been working way too hard, and it is hurting your...
Definition: selling one thing, but delivering another thing (usually of lower value) Examples: In the store, the dining room table looked very nice. But the table they delivered to my home was very different — the wood was different, the construction was bad,...
A short 33 second video on public speaking. One of my favorite lines: "Public speaking is abnormal. No one is born a great public speaker, so practice, practice, practice, and then practice some more." This video was brought to us by the good people at...
It’s a popular phrase: "Perception is reality".However, it is completely untrue.Perception is how you see things, how you feel about things. It is your opinion about things.Reality is how things really exist, outside of your head.Sure, perception...
There will always be something:a request will come from your bossthe phone will ringa friend from out of town will visityour bedroom curtains will need to be cleanedyour cat will need a bathThere will always be an excuse to postpone the things you really need to...
Long term goals require short term actions, too.It’s Wednesday, 5:47 pm.Your boss brings you an urgent project.You can either:do the urgent project, and delay that important professional networking meetinggo to the important professional networking meeting, and...
Definition: to act prematurely, to do something too early Examples: I should wait longer to agree to the price. I always jump the gun and agree too early, and we pay too much. In life, patience is important. Don’t jump the gun all the time....
Definition: to analyze a subject down to trivial and unimportant details; to obsess over small disagreements, when you already agree on the bigger details Examples: I want to give the approval and all you want to do is split hairs about what color the body should be....
Definition: to be under attack, to be criticized heavily Examples: Yesterday, I said some very offensive comments to my colleague. Today, I am under fire from the whole office. Everyone is demanding an apology from me. Sales are down, and the Sales Manager is very...
People ask me all the time, "Matt, how can I write longer sentences," or "Matt, I want to use bigger words." Then I ask them, "Why?" You don’t write to impress other people with big sentences, or big words. You...
Definition: really small, family-owned, family-style, not corporate (it is an adjective) Examples: When I was a child, I lived in a small town. The only grocery store was a small mom-and-pop store. I never saw a large hypermarket until I was older. When he started...
Definition: to act with no long-term plan, and break the rules, without thinking about ethics Examples: Enron was a fast-growing energy company in the USA, but they played fast and loose with their financial reporting. When the fraud was discovered, the company...
Definition: to accomplish something using any method available, especially creative or unusual methods Examples: We have no money left in the training budget, but this course is important. We will sponsor the training, whatever it takes. We will do it by hook or by...
Definition: to solve small problems, usually in a larger process Examples: Don’t worry about the small stuff yet. Let’s focus on the big picture, and we’ll work out the kinks later. Before you introduce a new product, be sure to work out the kinks....
Definition: to belabor a point; to insist on talking about something that cannot be changed Examples: My boss hated my idea, and he said “no” quickly. But I continued to argue with him, and push my idea. I finally stopped, because I was wasting my breath....
Definition: to grow rapidly, unexpectedly, excessively Examples: The new product was a really popular, worldwide hit. Our company’s sales went through the roof. This year, oil prices have gone up really high. Last year we thought they were already high, but now...
Definition: to be very surprised and angry, shocked Examples: Last month’s sales numbers are terrible. When the CEO sees these numbers, he is going to hit the roof. I didn’t expect the hotel bill to be so expensive. When I saw it, I just about hit the...
Definition: never, not a chance Examples: The company I work for is very tight with money. I asked for a raise, and my boss laughed and said, “When pigs fly!” I want to manage the sales department. However, my performance is not good, and no one likes me....
Definition: to make a difficult or painful decision; to take a difficult step Examples: When demand was down, U.S. automakers had to bite the bullet and cut jobs. I know tonight’s football match is big, but we have to finish this sales presentation. We have to...
Definition: to do something difficult; to do something impossible Examples: My boss asked me to save the failed project, but it was already too late, the project was completely dead. I told him sorry, but I can’t move mountains. Changing a company culture is...
Definition: regardless of difficulties or obstacles Examples: The market is in a big crisis, but we are determined to succeed. Come hell or high water, we will dominate the market. This project is really important. I have to finish it, no matter what happens. My boss...
Definition: to not participate, to watch but not do Examples: Murat and Ahmet are having a big fight. I am going to stand on the sidelines, I am not going to get involved. The company is going through hard times. Get involved with the rescue, don’t just sit and...
Definition: to change (usually in a good way) Examples: Sales have been down for three years, but now they are increasing. I think we finally turned the corner. This ERP implementation has taken so long to finish, much longer than we expected. But I think we finally...
Definition: the end of bad times; good results coming from hard times Examples: It’s been really busy lately, and I am working 80 hours per week. But soon a slower time will come — I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. These production problems...
Definition: to add up, to accumulate Examples: The shipping container is stuck in Customs. Every day it is delayed, the shipping company charges us money. We are really racking up a lot of demmurage charges. Don’t pay the invoices late. When an invoice is late,...
Definition: the details are very complicated; things look nice on the surface, but the details are bad Examples: The new building looks nice, but the landlord might be trying to trick us. Read the contract carefully. The devil is in the details. I thought the...
Definition: a sales call with no introduction; an unannounced sales visit Examples: I want to start selling to XYZ Company. However, I don’t know anyone there. I tried to get an introduction, but none of my friends know anyone, either. I will just have to give...
Definition: to have or get at least partial ownership of a project or business; to get benefits from a project Examples: My cousin’s business is growing really fast. He is looking for partners, and asked me if I’d like to join him. Of course, I said yes,...
Definition: to be uncertain, to be unsure Examples: My company announced future layoffs, but they didn’t tell us specifically who will be laid off. Will I keep my job, or will I lose my job? I don’t know, they left us hanging. This meeting is really...
Definition: to stop something, to discontinue something (usually because it is not doing well) Examples: The project was not going well, so we decided to pull the plug. Tomorrow is the final day. If sales don’t increase immediately, we have to pull the plug. The...
Definition: to meet briefly, especially to discuss progress Examples: Next week, I will be traveling in Europe. However, let’s touch base each day, so you can update me about the project. Your boss needs to hear from you. If you don’t already have a...
Definition: to contact someone, to call or email someone (an informal, casual phrase) Examples: We are old friends, but we haven’t talked in three years. I will drop her a line to say hello. When you are finished at the meeting, drop me a line, so we can discuss...
Definition: to be obvious, straight-forward Examples: I trained Murat on the new procedure. He thinks it is difficult, but I think it is extremely simple, as clear as day. The boss loves him, and every year they give him more responsibility, and more money. I think it...
Definition: something in the past; something that is over, finished, forgotten Examples: We had a big fight last year, but we are good friends again. I don’t even remember what the fight was about — it is water under the bridge. I made a huge mistake last...
Definition: to make a deal, to negotiate a settlement, to make a compromise Examples: We’ve been negotiating for months. It is time to end this. Let’s cut a deal and be finished. I don’t know why they chose our competitor. He must have cut an amazing...
Definition: to be stubborn, to be tough, unwilling to compromise Examples: My boss refused to let me take vacation in July. He said absolutely not. I tried to persuade him, but he was really hard-nosed. This customer is a really tough negotiator. They are really...
Definition: to overestimate the importance of something; to take something small, and make it more important than it needs to be Examples: Yes, she made a mistake. But it’s really not that big. When you say we should fire her, I think you are making a mountain...
Definition: to take a short break, to rest for a short time Examples: We’ve been working really hard this morning. Let’s take five, and then meet again at 11:00. It’s been a rough day. You need to rest. Take five and go to Starbucks for some coffee....
Definition: to be important or famous, but in a small group (note: this is not a positive idiom — if you tell someone they are a big fish in a small pond, they will get angry at you!) Examples: I am a top manager at this company, but the company is really small....
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