From Information to Influence: How to Make Any Technical Presentation Compelling

A common complaint I hear from technical presenters is that they have a dry topic.

 “You don’t understand, Diane. I talk about tax.”

“I’m an actuary. I talk about spreadsheets.”

They’re resigned to being boring and losing audience interest. These presenters don’t realize that they can turn dry into dynamic and deliver technical presentations that the audience wants to hear.

The ability to engage the audience means you increase your influence and get your message heard.

Years ago, I was training a group of presenters at a corporation. The exercise was to talk for one minute about something that they were passionate about. The last person to speak was Elliot. Elliot’s job was inventory control, and he wanted to speak about his job. I asked him, “But what’s something you’re REALLY passionate about?
 He replied, “Inventory control.”  I wasn’t going to argue so I let him proceed. Well! Elliot was so excited and animated. He captured our attention as he taught us about inventory control. Who would have thought?  Elliot taught us all an important lesson which I repeat to this day.

THERE ARE NO BORING PRESENTATIONS. ONLY BORING SPEAKERS.

How do you make a technical presentation sing? Follow these guidelines:

1.  Start with WHY. Ask yourself Why should the audience care? That’s your hook.

Instead of saying, “Today I’m going to go over the changes in the security regulations”

Say, “Failure to implement one change in regulations could cost the company thousands and put your career at risk.”

2. Tell Stories. Bring the facts and numbers to life by wrapping them in a story. Share a short anecdote about someone who made a mistake or how someone saved the day by following a regulation.

When it comes to persuasion, Facts Tell, Stories Sell.

3.  Use Specific Examples. There is no power in generalities. Don’t refer to vague limitations. Give real world numbers.

 Say, “Imagine a loss of $150,000 on one transaction.”

4.  Inject Surprise. The audience wants to learn something new. Create curiosity and anticipation.

For example,

“This one sentence in the rule book changes everything.”

“Most attorneys get this wrong.”

“Here is the one cybersecurity rule that most people don’t know.”

5.  Don’t Do a Data Dump. Too much information is overwhelming and is like drinking from a firehose.

•       Reduce bullets

•        Present 3 takeaways

•        Use one slide

•       One example    

6. Translate Technical Terms

Don’t assume people understand acronyms or technical words. Speak in everyday language.

For example,  

“The ordinance states…”

Say, “What this means to you is…”

7.  Create analogies. Analogies compare a technical concept to something familiar making it more memorable and simpler to understand.

“Tax planning is like a GPS it takes you in the right direction.”

8.  Engage the Audience with Interaction. Nobody enjoys listening to a talking head.

• Ask a question. “How many of you have experienced this?”  “What would you do in this situation?”  “What are your clients’ biggest challenges?”

• Put people in small groups to develop solutions.

• Launch a poll. 

9.  Vary Your Voice. It’s important to change things up. The brain perks up when there is a change.

Speak with passion and energy. Enthusiasm is contagious.

Get softer and then louder.

Insert strategic pauses. Don’t be afraid of silence.

Use purposeful movement by working the room. Walk to one side of the room and make a point. Then make another point as you walk to the other side of the room.

Gesture. Count off agenda items on your fingers. Use your hands to contrast and compare. Gesturing can help create energy in the voice.

10.  Focus on Decisions Not Details. The audience doesn’t need to know every code or regulation. Give them the big picture.

Explain

• What changed

• Why it’s important

• What they can do

• What they should avoid

• Technical presentations don’t have to be dull. Take a lesson from Elliott who made inventory control exciting. Remember: There are no boring topics, only boring speakers. Never be boring again!

  Connect with me on LinkedIn

  Subscribe to my youtube channel

  To work with me visit diresta.com

  Read Knockout Presentations

Frequently Asked Questions: Should I Hire a Speech Coach?

"I'm already a good presenter"

Congratulations. Most people fear public speaking and will avoid the platform. The question is, Do you want to be good or do you want to be memorable? As you advance in your career or business, the stakes get higher. The bar for excellence is raised. Your audience changes and you need to show up differently. A good coach will elevate your skills so that you can get promoted and reach the next level.

"Will this really improve my business or career?"

Yes. Yes. And Yes.

One client started a new marketing job and bombed in her first presentation. She hired DiResta Communications for coaching. As a result, the next presentation was a success. Her boss, her bosses’ boss, and the next level boss told her she did a great job in her presentation. She changed how she was perceived and got noticed in a memorable way.

A client was competing for a higher level job. The competition was stiff. She was fully qualified but her presentation was a boring recitation of her resume. She didn’t sound compelling in her interview. We worked on her energy and messaging. The result was she beat out all the other candidates and got her dream job.

A CEO wanted the executive committee to approve the construction of a health facility overseas. It would cost $300 million to build and there was no guarantee of success. He hired DiResta Communications to strategize and to deliver a persuasive presentation. The result was the committee approved the $300 million. Over time that initial investment turned into a 1 billion dollar profit for the company.

A restaurant owner and chef of a top restaurant was asked to give a commencement speech to his alma mater. He felt nervous about speaking and he had never written a speech. He hired DiResta Communications to help him write the speech and practice the delivery. The result was people at the graduation said it was the best commencement speech they had ever heard.

For more testimonials visit.DiResta.com.

  "Why should I hire a coach instead of practicing on my own?"

Practicing on your own is important for improving your speaking skills. But what’s missing is feedback. A coach can point out the strengths you can leverage and where to fine tune. While AI can provide analytics they are not always correct. You can watch your video but you may miss nuances that could help your presentation and it’s difficult to be objective about your own performance. Most importantly, a good coach can connect the dots through observation and intuition. The coach can brainstorm ideas to create engagement with the audience. Top athletes and performers work with coaches because they value their wisdom, skill, and encouragement to get to the next level. Who doesn’t want a cheerleader?

Speaking Human in an AI World

The temptation is great. Let AI write your speech and be done with it. After all, it’s faster, sometimes more eloquent, with easy access to research.

Don’t do it. Why? Here are five reasons why delegating your creativity and writing skills to AI will work against you:

1.Loss of Integrity

It’s not valid. You didn’t write the speech so you can’t claim a byline. If you’re going to produce AI generated articles and speeches you must acknowledge the source.

2.Legal Risk

AI scrapes the internet to respond to your prompt. While there may be some guardrails, you don’t know if the material is copyright and royalty free leaving you vulnerable to litiation.

3.Artificial Voice

Most people can tell when material is AI generated. Even if you trained AI to sound like you, it’s not coming from your core or your experience. Many content creators are unable to fully capture their client’s voice and AI is no different.

4.AI Doesn’t Know Your Audience

Even as you describe the audience it’s simply a data point to AI. There’s no emotional connection or understanding of who they are and how they respond to you.

5. Wrong Facts

If journalists need fact-checking so does AI and probably more so. It’s known that AI can hallucinate and make errors. It compiles information from the internet without judging the veracity of the data.

The Job of AI

So what do you do instead? How can you combine the benefits of AI without losing your humanity? Make Ai your assistant not the leader. You are the expert. Here’s are 5 ways AI can support you.

1.       Brainstorming. You can do this yourself or ask AI to generate additional topics and angles.

2.       Creating an outline. It can be challenging especially for creative minds to combine, synthesize and organize a message. AI can do this quickly and easily.

3.       Identifying what’s missing. AI can identify the gaps and anticipate the questions and objections of the audience. It can challenge the logic of the ideas.

4.       Providing research. It can find statistics or studies to support your ideas, simplify technical information, and provide reports with citations. It can also supply examples, metaphors, and analogies.

5.       Making it succinct. Like a good editor, AI will transform sentences and paragraphs to be shorter, simpler, and more eloquent for the audience.

6.       Generating compelling headlines. The title, headline, or subject line can grab attention, trigger interest- or be forgettable. AI can quickly generate several alternatives titles tailored to your audience.

7.       Optimizing the message for search engines. Create a prompt to rewrite or organize your document for optimization for SEO, GEO, AEO. You can write a great speech or article but if it’s not optimized nobody will see it.

These are a few of the ways AI can be used in speechwriting and content creation.

But what is the missing element? Humanity!

 Here’s where you come in and do what AI cannot.

 The Human Element

Tell your personal stories. These are your experiences and only you can tell them. Stories connect with the audience on an emotional level and allows  you to show vulnerability. Failures, mistakes, milestones, lessons learned are examples the audience can relate to.

Express an opinion. Machines don’t have opinions-they report on them. They can analyze the argument but it’s not human. Opinions open a window into the mind and heart of the speaker. It comes from a real place. Citing an opinion demonstrates leadership and expertise.

Speak in your own voice. An AI generated speech is written for the eye. It may read well but if it isn’t written for the ear, it will sound like a report instead of a speech. Only you can bring it to life with your unique colloquialisms, quotes, humor, vocal variety, energy, and emotion. Expressing emotion is uniquely human and is what bonds an audience to the speaker. Sharing your WHY can only be done by you.

AI can polish your speech or article but purpose comes from you. The human voice builds trust. When the tools of AI are combined with human skills, it’s a winning combination. And that’s how to speak Human in an AI World.

Connect with me on LinkedIn

Subscribe to my youtube channel

To work with me visit diresta.com

Read Knockout Presentations

Own the Silence: The Leadership Advantage in Speaking

An entrepreneur I know is very capable and I respect her ideas. The challenge is that as long as I maintain eye contact she keeps talking. She never comes to a stop, leaving me no alternative but to interrupt if I want to be heard. This scenario isn’t unusual. Most people would rather speak than listen. And this tendency can sabotage leaders and rob them of presence. Whether speaking one-to-one, leading a meeting, or presenting on a stage the secret to speaking mastery is to use strategic pauses.

Why use strategic pauses?

• To convey confidence

• To improve comprehension

• To eliminate verbal clutter

• To increase impact.

When do you use strategic pauses?

1. Before you Begin your Speech. Presenters often speak right away instead of holding the space. Walk out, scan the audience, and then say your opening line. It may feel like an eternity but it isn’t. It puts you in control and primes the audience to listen.

2. After a Major Point or Theme. When you pause for a few seconds after a point it allows the message to land. If challenged with a difficult question, don’t answer immediately. Take a moment to pause and reflect. This demonstrates thoughtfulness.

3. Before a Major Message. This creates anticipaton.

4. When Introducing a Q&A Session. Ask “What questions do you have?” And then pause for 5-7 seconds. People need time to process. Some people don’t want to ask the first question and will wait for someone else to make the first move. So give them time.

5. To Reduce Non-words. One way to eliminate /um/ is to pause.

6. When Transitioning to a New Point. “Now that we’ve discussed marketing. (Pause,) le’t talk about the numbers." This strategic pause allows the audience to follow your structure and signals that you are changing direction.

7. After Telling a Story. For the audience to feel an emotion they need time for it to get in. The pause creates the space to experience emotion. Otherwise, the message will lose impact.

8. When you Lose your Place.. Don’t panic if you forget where you are. Simply pause. I once saw a friend speak. I knew she forgot a word by her pausing but nobody else did. It seemed like a natural pause and it allowed her to remember the next line.

9. To Add Emphasis. A strategic pause after a word or phrase acts like a verbal highlighter. It tells the audience that this is important.

10. Before Your Ending Line. People remember the last thing you say. Highlight it with a strategic pause to make it memorable.

    Final Thought

    Don’t fear silence. Embrace it. Confident leaders don’t fill the space. They command it. Use strategic pauses to elevate your presence, sharpen your message and connect with the audience.

    Connect with me on LinkedIn

    Subscribe to my youtube channel

    To work with me visit diresta.com

    Read Knockout Presentations

Own the Wall: How to Command the Stage When the Screen Is Bigger Than You

How do you stand out without being overpowered by technology? Seasoned speakers know how to navigate the stage. But what happens when you’re in front of a floor-to-ceiling screen and you look small by comparison?

As an executive speech coach, I help clients own the room but that becomes more challenging with a giant screen as a background. The goal is to make sure that the room doesn’t own you!

Keep these tips in mind to command the stage.

Simplify & Scale.

•      A large screen amplifies every detail making slides look more cluttered.

•      Project one idea per slide.

•      Limit text to 3-5 words and make them super large.

•      Develop oversized visuals that will display to the back of the room.

•    Create contrast with a dark background and light text or a light background and dark text.

  Avoid these graphics to prevent the audience from reading.

•       Small charts

•        Complex diagrams

• Spread sheets

•       Paragraphs

Manage your Physical Space

•  Stand off center as to not block the slide.

• Use purposeful movement. Moving purposefully across the stage will bring the attention back to you.

• Move forward for an emotional moment. Step to the side to bring focus back to the slide.

• Stand 15-20 feet from the slide.

Match your Energy to the Size of the Screen

This requires a performance, not a standard board presentation.

•        Use bigger, wider gestures. Take up space.

•        Project your voice more strongly to make a greater impact.

•        Pause strategically and longer.

Partner with the Screen

Do not point. The audience won’t see your finger. Instead,

•        Use words to direct attention to the slide, “Take a look at the upper right hand corner..,”

•        Create Builds. By revealing one idea at a time you control the attention of the audience.

•       Go to black to tell a story so that the slide doesn’t compete with you. You can create a black slide by pressing the letter /b/ on the keyboard.

Get Out of the Shadows

Avoid being cast in a shadow being seen as a silhouette. Work with a lighting expert and ask for

•        Front lighting

•       Some side lighting for contrast

•       Dress rehearsal with lighting

Keep Transitions Simple

On a large screen fast-moving slides can jolt the audience.

•       Transition slowly

•       Don’t use flashy animations

•       Use simple fades

Structure the Talk like a Movie

• Start with a strong opening visual

• Add one memorable visual toward the end

• Keep the final slide clean with no clutter

 Own the Room

When presenting with a giant screen there are two choices.

You own the room OR

The room owns you.

Connect with me on LinkedIn

Subscribe to my youtube channel

To work with me visit diresta.com

Read Knockout Presentations

Diane DiResta Delivers High-Impact Keynote at City Club Summit in New York City

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

New York, NY — April 2, 2026 — Executive communication expert Diane DiResta, founder of DiResta Communications, delivered a powerful and engaging presentation at the City Club Summit hosted by the Club Management Association of America (CMAA) on April 1, 2026.

The event, held at the prestigious University Club of New York, brought together general managers and hospitality professionals from private clubs across the region for a day of leadership development and industry insights.

DiResta’s session, “Own the Room: Leadership Communication that Gets Results,” focused on helping leaders elevate their executive presence, build authentic rapport, and transform complex ideas into clear, compelling messages that drive action.

Despite being the final session on the last day of the conference, the program drew a strong audience and delivered exceptional impact. 100% of attendees rated the session as valuable, reflecting the relevance of communication skills in today’s leadership landscape.

One participant shared candidly:

“I was debating whether to skip the last session—and I’m so glad I stayed.”

DiResta’s interactive approach and practical frameworks resonated with attendees responsible for leading teams, communicating with boards, and delivering high-stakes presentations in the private club and hospitality industry.

“Leaders today don’t just need to communicate—they need to connect, influence, and inspire,” said DiResta. “When you can simplify complexity and speak with clarity and confidence, you don’t just deliver a message—you drive results.”

With more than 30 years of experience, DiResta is a sought-after speaker and executive speech coach who has worked with leaders across industries including financial services, healthcare, and hospitality. She is the author of Knockout Presentations and a Certified Speaking Professional (CSP).

About Diane DiResta

Diane DiResta is the founder of DiResta Communications Inc, a New York-based consultancy specializing in executive communication, leadership presence, and high-stakes presentations. She works with senior leaders to help them communicate with confidence, clarity, and influence.

Media Contact

Diane DiResta
DiResta Communications, Inc.

www.diresta.com

How to Give Feedback Without Causing Humiliation

How to Give Feedback Without Causing Humiliation

What is the number one fear people report?
Public speaking.

When I wrote my book, Knockout Presentations, I conducted an informal poll asking people why they feared speaking in public. The answers varied:

• “All eyes are on me.”

• “I hate being in the spotlight.”

• “I might lose my train of thought.”

• “I could freeze or trip on stage.”

But when I looked deeper, a common thread emerged.

The real fear behind public speaking is humiliation.
People don’t want to look foolish or feel judged.

This same fear appears in another workplace situation: performance reviews and presentation feedback.

A study reported in Harvard Business Review by researchers Bin Zhao, Rebecca L. Dunkailo, Judith Clair, and Ryan L. Boyd analyzed more than 400 responses about workplace humiliation. The results were striking:

• 81% of people reported feeling humiliated at work at some point in their careers.

• 78% remembered the incident years later.

The emotional impact lingered long after the event—and for some people, it caused them to shut down.

Now imagine giving a presentation and then receiving feedback. If handled poorly, feedback can reinforce that fear of humiliation.

The goal of feedback should always be growth, not embarrassment.

Here are practical steps to give feedback that improves performance while preserving dignity.

1. Prepare Yourself and the Speaker

Effective feedback begins with preparation.

First, prepare yourself.
Calm your mind and ground your body. Never give feedback when you are rushed, irritated, or emotional. If necessary, schedule the conversation for a later time.

Next, prepare the speaker.
Explain how the feedback process will work. If they requested feedback, ask what they hope to gain from it and how they prefer to receive it.

Some people want feedback on one specific aspect of their presentation. Others want a broader evaluation.

When people understand the process and your intention to help, they are more open to learning.

2. Ask the Speaker to Self-Evaluate First

Before offering your observations, ask the speaker:

“How do you think it went?”

Self-evaluation serves two purposes:

• It reveals their level of self-awareness

• It helps you tailor feedback to what matters most to them

Often speakers already recognize what worked and what didn’t.

Starting here creates a collaborative conversation rather than a one-sided critique.

3. Listen Before You Evaluate

It’s common for people to jump straight into giving advice.

Instead, listen holistically.

Pay attention to:

• Body language

• Tone of voice

• Word choice

• Confidence level

Do their words match their nonverbal communication?

Listening first demonstrates respect and helps you give more thoughtful feedback.

4. Start With Strengths

Begin with what worked well.

Ask the speaker:
What are the “keepers”?

When speakers know what they did well, they can repeat and build on those behaviors.

Many people focus only on what went wrong and fail to recognize their strengths. Highlighting those strengths builds confidence and makes the speaker more receptive to improvement suggestions.

5. Focus on “Next-Level” Improvement

Language matters when giving feedback.

Avoid labeling something as a weakness.

Instead, frame improvement as the next level of growth.

Everyone has a next level.

The goal is to identify:

• Where the speaker struggled

• What skills will close that gap

How this stage is handled determines whether the person feels humiliated—or empowered.

I learned this lesson early in my career.

When I was a graduate student studying speech pathology, I worked in a speech clinic with my first client—a 54-year-old man who stuttered. My supervisor observed through a one-way mirror.

Naturally, I was nervous.

When she asked how I felt about the session, I admitted my anxiety.

Her response?

“It showed.”

Ouch.

She could have said, “Everyone feels nervous the first time,” and then coached me on how to manage it.

Decades later, I still remember that moment.

Words matter.

6. Invite Their Response

After giving feedback, ask:

“What do you think?”

This keeps the conversation open and collaborative.

It allows the speaker to clarify misunderstandings, share their perspective, and process what they heard.

Feedback becomes a partnership rather than a verdict.

The Bottom Line

Most people want feedback. Done well, it becomes one of the most powerful tools for professional growth.

Done poorly, it can create humiliation that people remember for years.

When feedback is delivered with respect, clarity, and partnership, it transforms presentations—and confidence.

And that’s how people learn to deliver knockout presentations.

 Connect with me on LinkedIn

Speak Without Fear — Any Time, Anywhere

By Diane DiResta, CSP
Professional Speaker | Virtual Presentation Coach with AI | Executive Presence & Leadership Coach
February 5, 2026

Public speaking isn’t reserved for extroverts. Yet for many professionals, the fear of speaking up—whether on stage, on Zoom, or in a meeting—keeps their ideas hidden and their visibility limited.

Imagine delivering a presentation and feeling calm, focused, and confident. For many, that feels unrealistic. Public speaking consistently ranks as the number one fear, even surpassing the fear of death. According to Crown Consulting, 77% of people experience some level of speaking anxiety.

The goal isn’t to eliminate nerves entirely. The goal is to remove fear as a barrier to being seen, heard, and taken seriously.

Confidence doesn’t require years of practice—or standing on a physical stage.

Thanks to artificial intelligence, professionals can now deliver presentations, share ideas, and establish authority without the traditional pressures of live speaking.

One example is virtual presentation technology created by David Litwin, CEO of Detail Models and VOX AI, which allows speakers to present on a realistic, virtual stage using their own voice and image. Think of it as public speaking for introverts—or anyone who wants a low-stress way to be visible.

Curious, I tested it myself.

I sent a still photograph and recorded a short presentation on my iPhone using Voice Notes. Within days, I received a video of myself standing on a stage, behind a microphone, in front of an audience—wearing the same red dress from the original photo.

Speaker Video https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Mh2NyEHguTShbRnWL-CTDlXJcif2YP3F/view?usp=sharing.

What stood out:

• The audio quality was excellent—it was my real voice.

• The gestures and expressions were natural and engaging.

• There was no memorization, no pressure, and no fear of losing my train of thought.

• I could read from notes and record multiple takes.

This wasn’t traditional video editing. The entire presentation was generated from a single still image and voice recording—creating a polished, professional result with minimal effort.

An added benefit? This technology can be used to give prospective clients a preview of a keynote or presentation before booking—something that traditionally requires costly demo videos.

When fear is removed from the equation, professionals gain:

• Visibility without anxiety

• Confidence without years of stage experience

• Consistency in message delivery

• Credibility through professional presentation

Instead of avoiding speaking opportunities, leaders can now:

• Share ideas through email and social media

• Deliver presentations without stepping on stage

• Build a personal brand using their real voice and image

This approach doesn’t replace live speaking—it creates a bridge to it.

If you’ve been avoiding public speaking, start small and strategic.

1. Use virtual presentation tools to practice and publish your message in a low-risk environment.

2. Focus on clarity, not perfection. Your message matters more than flawless delivery.

3. Increase visibility incrementally—short videos, internal presentations, or client previews.

4. Get support when fear persists. Only 8% of people with public speaking anxiety seek professional help, yet coaching accelerates confidence faster than trial and error.

As an executive speech coach, I help leaders speak with authority—on stage, on camera, and in high-stakes conversations. If fear is holding you back, you don’t have to manage it alone.

To work with me visit diresta.com

Connect with me on LinkedIn

Subscribe to my youtube channel

You don’t need to eliminate fear to speak powerfully.
You need the right tools, strategies, and support.

Speaker Introductions: Set the Speaker Up for Success

Here are some tips to set the speaker up for success.

1.Do not use the speaker’s bio for the introduction. Ask the speaker to send their introduction.

2. Speak to the presenter in advance to get a feel for their personality and presentation.

3.Triple space the written introduction to make reading easy.

4.Write notes or create emojis to remind you to smile or pause.

5.Rehearse out loud and time yourself. It’s a performance not a reading.

6.Walk to the front of the room with energy. Center yourself and make direct eye contact with the audience and smile.

7.In the absence of a speaker introduction, use this format: TEPS:

-Topic: Present the title or topic

-Experience: Briefly cite the experience or credentials of the speaker

-Personalize: Tell the audience something to humanize the speaker

-Speaker’s Name: End with the speaker’s name. “Help me welcome Diane DiResta…”

Make sure you practice the pronunciation of the speaker’s name.

Connect with me on LinkedIn

Subscribe to my youtube channel

To work with me visit diresta.com

The Missing Piece That Can Sabotage Your Presentation

You may have good platform skills as a public speaker. But that’s not enough. It takes more than confidence and skills in the room or on the stage. The part that often gets overlooked is the piece that can sabotage your presentation.

The missing piece is STAGING. That's right. Staging is not just for a platform. If you're planning an event where people will be sharing their thoughts or accolades, how you stage the room will determine the success of the meeting or presentation.

Case in point: When I was a trainer for an investment banking firm in New York, we conducted a two-day off-site at a hotel. On Day One of the seminar there was a group of rowdy young men who sat together and could be disruptive. It took work to keep order. That night, my co-facililtator and I assessed the audience and the room. We decided that we would require participants to change seats on Day Two with one condition. We placed their name tags where we wanted them to sit and of course we broke up the rowdy group. We had more control and the seminar went smoothly.

 Recently, a client of mine planned his wedding in the middle of his coaching program. So we quickly pivoted to preparing him for any speaking he would do at the rehearsal dinner and at the wedding. One of the challenges was that family and friends wanted to stand up and say a few words. It turned out to be eight people which could have been unruly. In addition, his elderly grandmother couldn't attrend and he was sadly resigned to not hearing from her. Here is where staging comes in.

I suggested that he video record her best wishes and play the recording at the wedding so that her presence would be felt. Then we addressed the number of people who wanted to speak. It could have easily turned into a boring evening if he allowed all eight people to speak without any guidelines or plan. So we asked them to speak for one minute, knowing they would go over the time but it would not be a long speech.

Then we assessed their speaking skills. We determined the order by putting the skilled speakers at the beginning of the line-up, the average speakers in the middle, and the rest of the skilled speakers at the end. It was perfectly staged and the evening rehearsal dinner was a great success. Staging saved the day. Staging is not just for the theater. The next time you have an event where people will be speaking, plan a strategy and stage it for success. For more tips on staging, read chapter 9, Setting the Stage, in Knockout Presentations. #staging #publicspeaking #settingthestage #knockoutpresentations 

Connect with me on LinkedIn

Subscribe to my youtube channel

To work with me visit diresta.com