Friday, March 10, 2006

Seth Godin's Presentation Idea ... Needs Toastmasters!

I have to start out by saying that I am a big fan of author, Seth Godin. His books on marketing, "The Idea Virus", "The Purple Cow" and "The Big Moo" have all helped me immensely in my "day job" as Marketing Manager for a Fortune 200 company.

But today... Seth really missed the mark!

Today, Seth put a post on his blog about his idea for a way for people to move away from giving BAD POWERPOINT PRESENTATIONS.
Ever since my early warning shot about Powerpoint, I've noticed an increasing tide of writing about:
a. how much people hate giving presentations
b. how bad they are at it

He offered the following from a book that he read:

Part of what Andy points out is that presentations to groups of 50 or more are usually done by people who aren't comfortable doing them, and they're not usually very well received.


Seth goes on to suggest a way to jump right to the Q&A section and bypass the whole presentation! This is not necessarily a bad idea, but it completely misses the BIG PICTURE!

If you want to impress your boss, your client or advance your career, you need to develop your presentation skills! Looking for tips that will get you OUT OF the presentation might work once in a while, but it won't work all the time!

This is why professionals everywhere should be busting down the doors to get into Toastmasters clubs ! Toastmasters is clearly the best kept secret in the personal development field! And the best value too !

I know Seth lives in Westchester County, NY so if he reads this maybe he will visit one of our clubs! Like all professionals looking to improve their presentation, communications and leadership skills, he is always welcome at a Toastmasters club!

Speak UP!

Dave Wheeler
Area A4 Governor, 2005-6

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Hi Dave.

Toastmasters have been around for a long time (doing good work, too). And yet, presentations are still horrible.

So my idea was to shake up the perception that it's something you HAVE to do, and instead give those in misery a different path.

Not sure if you saw my presentation on google video, but would welcome your feedback.

thanks for reading my blog.