About me and my passion for effective communication
Introduction
Ever since the beginning of recorded time people have tried to influence and manipulate other people. It is interesting to discover why we remember certain things and forget so many others. We remember Eve, using her womanly wiles to influence Adams behaviour, Delilah influencing Samson, we remember the Greek and the Roman philosophers in the forum making passionate presentations to influence the mass in a particular direction, we remember the speeches of Churchill during the war when he urged the people with passion to fight the enemy in the skies, on the seas and in the streets. We also remember Martin Luther King’s passionate vision in his fervent presentation, “I have a dream of a little black girl walking hand in hand with a little white girl”. We remember the masterpiece, “The Prince – by Machiavelli” – his presentation to influence the foundation and the organisation of the nation state.
It’s interesting to ask why we remember these presentations, yet forget what yesterday’s presentation was about. Was it passion, vision, imagination or simply good delivery which triggers the process of recall?
My name is John Davies, and I'm obsessed with presentations. Throughout my 20 year career I have presented to large and small audiences within the SME and corporate community from software products through to management communication techniques. My interest and passion for great presentations led me to research why business presentations are ineffective as part of my MBA, which contested the way industry trains people in the art of presenting.
I now spend my whole life doing what I love, advising and training public and private organisations on how to communicate effectively.
Presentations form an important part of business life and they become meaningless if they cannot be understood nor remembered. On average a business professional is likely to be subjected to up to 2,500 presentations during his or her career, on a typicall MBA alone a student will be subjected to over 300 presentations and conduct over 40 in a brief, nine month period.
A survey of Standard & Poor’s 500 companies found 78% of CEO’s ranked communication as the most important skill of a modern manager, yet the majority of us will struggle to identify five memorable presentations.
The analysis of what shifts a mediocre presentation to an outstanding performance is one of the last bastions of business that has yet to be confronted. Great presenters possess an ability to take a creative approach to the construction of a presentation, however, this skill of creating concise, effective communication is available to all who find the courage to take the fresh approach outlined here.
