As a thank you for attending one of our programmes, below are links to books, online talks, videos, and blogs which we think you will find helpful.
We hope you are putting into practice all you have learned from us and that you are “on your feet” presenting at every opportunity! If we can be of further help to you, do please get in touch.
Programme Notes
We have put together in-depth programme notes for you to download and use when you are preparing for and giving a presentation. Click the thumbnail image of whichever section you would like to download and the PDF will open in a new tab.
Checklist
We have put together a simple checklist to help you when giving virtual presentations or video calls. Click the button below to download your free copy.
Virtual How Tos
Below are a few How To guides on certain features in Zoom and Teams. These will come in handy during your virtual meetings. Click on the links to open the PDFs.
How to use the Annotate Tool in Zoom.
How to get participants into Speaker View in Zoom.
How to share PowerPoint slides in Teams.
How to set up Polls in Zoom.
How to set up Polls in Teams (as at Dec 2020).
PowerPoint Tips
The following YouTube channels have good videos all about PowerPoint presentations:
Bright Carbon
PowerPoint School
One Skill
Create an animated PowerPoint graphic using SmartArt.
The video below links to a SmartArt recommended playlist.
Books
The Jelly Effect
by Andy Bounds
Great book for sales and pitches. A wonderful quote from the book is “most people talk too much, too much of the time!”
Presentation Zen
by Garr Reynolds
This is a brilliant book on how to help you do better presentations (in particular with regards to PowerPoint slides).
Presence
by Amy Cuddy
We cannot recommend this highly enough for everything to do with body language, how it affects how others perceive you but also how it affects you internally.
59 Seconds – think a little, change a lot
by Richard Wiseman
It is not so much about presenting but more of a general personal development book which helps a great deal with general people skills. It includes reference to why putting a pencil in your mouth makes you feel happier!
Videos
The video below proves if you think about stress in a positive way that it is actually good for you.
Steve Jobs’ Stanford University speech is well worth looking at.
This is a brilliant video about Body Language by Amy Cuddy which shows that how you stand affects your confidence.
A really great talk about how you can use Impostor Syndrome to your benefit.
When the pressure is on, why do we sometimes fail to live up to our potential? Sian Leah Beilock explains below.
This great video by Sir Ken Robinson is, apparently, still the most viewed TED talk ever!
Matt Abrahams strategic communication expert Stanford – 1 hour recording of him giving a workshop around speaking off the cuff.
How to speak so that people want to listen, Julian Treasure, includes vocal tips.
The Toastmasters Champion of Public Speaking 2014 Dananjaya Hettiarachchi gives a 20 minute and 7 minute version of the same speech. Notice how the short one is significantly more impactful than the longer version.
The video below shows the Diaphragmatic Breathing Technique.
The video below shows some great before and after slide examples.
The video below is the Wharton Commencement Speech by LinkedIn CEO Jeff Weiner.
The video below is the Nobel Lecture by Malala Yousafzai in 2014.
This is the TEDx talk by our founder Barbara Moynihan: “You probably are more intelligent than you think you are”
Former FBI agent & body language expert Joe Navarro explains how we can project confidence through our body language
Positivity
The video below is a TED Talk by social psychologist, Elizabeth Dunn.
This is the TEDx talk by psychologist Shawn Achor: “The happy secret to better work”
Lessons from the longest study on happiness – a TED Talk by psychiatrist Robert Waldinger
Blog Links
Below are a list of blog posts which we think may come in handy. A couple of them are external links, and the remainder are a selection of our most popular blogs. You can access all of our blogs by clicking here.
A fascinating article on the Art of Persuasion.
Insights on first impressions within 1 tenth of a second.
Insights on research done on TED talks.
Importance of facial expressions during hybrid presentations.
Tips for when you give presentations sitting down.
Tips for speaking to raise your profile.
Tips for preparing to give a virtual presentation.
Tips on preparing for Q+A.
Tips for group presentations.
Tips to help boost your confidence when presenting.
Miscellaneous and Kit
Below are a few tools which we find useful when giving presentations, in-person or virtually:
Solo Speed Test Exercise – download here.
The Logitech R700 Wireless Presentation Remote presenter that has a built in timer – link on Amazon UK.
The Logitech C920 Webcam – link on Komplett.ie.
The Yeti Blue Nano Professional Microphone – link on Amazon UK.
Light Ring for using with smartphone (rechargeable) – link on Amazon UK.
Light Ring for using with video including tripod – link on Amazon UK.
Standing Desk – link on AJ Products Ireland.
Tool to help with eye contact and teleprompting – link on Plexicam*.
(*Please note: this is an affiliate link. If you purchase through this link, we will receive a small commission at no extra cost to you.)
