Speaking with Authority

Last week I presented the first in a series of InterMizzi seminars. I was coming off the back of a successful talk on Digital Signage and thought that my topic "Selling to, and for, C-Level Executives" would hold the interest of the audience. It will become obvious that even if you are an experienced presenter, there are a few rules that you must to follow.

I have presented on over 200 occasions over the last five years. This has given me a greater appreciation of the skill of some of the greatest presenters. I started this presentation with a short video of the poet Taylor Mali and his spoken word piece titled "Like you-Know" in which he questions the wisdom of the bumper sticker "...it is not enough to challenge authority, you gotta speak with it too." Then I went on to stumble over my words.

It is hard to talk with conviction and authority about something that you have never before vocalised. You can be passionate but not necessarily authoritative. So one of the rules about presenting, at least for me, is to rehearse out loud.

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