Famous Speakers Presentation Strategies

  • Bill Gates presentation style

    Catching attention with an interesting statement , to build connection with your audience Using gestures Showing investment in the subject Asking effective questions Pausing after making a powerful point and after asking a question When creating slides, thinking: big font, limited text Emphasizing the right word(s) Citing examples Using conclusion to motivate.

    This 10 Minute TED Talk by Bill Gates Will Teach You Everything You Need to Know About Presenting

  • Cite examples

    When you speak about an idea or process to your audience, you know exactly what you're talking about. But the audience doesn't.  These concepts can be very abstract without concrete examples to illustrate. Give them examples, and you'll keep their attention.

    This 10 Minute TED Talk by Bill Gates Will Teach You Everything You Need to Know About Presenting

  • Ask effective questions

    When you make a statement to your audience, they're passive. Asking questions gets them involved mentally, making them active.

    This 10 Minute TED Talk by Bill Gates Will Teach You Everything You Need to Know About Presenting

  • Gestures animate a speech

    Emphatic gestures : express feeling and conviction; Descriptive gestures : help express action, or to show dimension and location.

    This 10 Minute TED Talk by Bill Gates Will Teach You Everything You Need to Know About Presenting

  • Steve Jobs' presentation style

    A "Tweet-friendly headline"  that summarises the product you're presenting: e.g.: "iPod: One thousand songs in your pocket." Showing your passion : He acted excited and used words like "cool" or "amazing". Ditching the power point:  He kept the audience's eyeballs on him to keep them engaged. Tailoring to the audience , in a manner that makes them more receptive listeners. Preparing the presentation in advance : He wasn't born being a great communicator, he worked hard at it.

    7 Things Steve Jobs Can Teach Us About Delivering a Powerful Presentation

  • Tweet-friendly headlines

    Steve Jobs's intro sentences were so great because they clearly outlined what the product did while creating intrigue. Rather than rambling on, he used them to perfectly convey his message as compactly as possible. Examples of one sentence summaries of the product he was presenting: "Mac Book Air: the world's thinnest notebook", and "iPod: One thousand songs in your pocket."

    7 Things Steve Jobs Can Teach Us About Delivering a Powerful Presentation

  • Tailor to the audience

    Whether you're networking or presenting, it's important to realize that it should never be a one-sided conversation. Your audience is in the room for a particular reason. It's critical to understand why they're listening to you so you can tune your presentation in a manner that makes them more receptive listeners,

    7 Things Steve Jobs Can Teach Us About Delivering a Powerful Presentation

  • 3 elements of a persuasive presentation

    ... that are core to making it a success, according to  Aristotle: Persuasion requires appealing to ethos (trust), logos (intellect), and pathos (emotions), no matter who your audience is.

    Sheryl Sandberg Mastered 3 Presentation Skills in 3 Minutes. And You Can, Too

  • Sheryl Sandberg and the importance of an engaged audience

    From sharing a company's successes and telling a powerful personal story to using meaningful data and citing the experts -- as well as delivering a message with passion -- there are multiple ways to shift listeners from feeling bored to getting on board. Sheryl Sandberg does that, in her  speeches.

    Sheryl Sandberg Mastered 3 Presentation Skills in 3 Minutes. And You Can, Too

  • Sheryl Sandberg presentation techniques

    Involving the audience intellectually and emotionally from the start . Her questions required people to participate physically, intellectually, and emotionally. Making an evergreen topic fresh and evocative by connecting it to today's headlines . This will most likely generate an emotional response from an audience. Being personal and vulnerable. This builds trust and empathy with her listeners. 

    Sheryl Sandberg Mastered 3 Presentation Skills in 3 Minutes. And You Can, Too

  • Michelle Obama and the appeal to emotions

    Michelle Obama displays the art of evoking the generative emotions of hope and optimism in her audience. Her approach is simple, yet grounded in brain science: start with an image that evokes an emotion, and then back it up with the logical implication. Your audiences' decisions become a natural by-product.

    The Michelle Obama Speaking Technique You Can't Afford to Ignore

  • The feelings economy

    People make decisions for emotional reasons, and justify them with rational ones. So if you want to influence a group of people, take time to identify the emotion that matters most to them,  and then create an image that will evoke that emotion.  Add just enough logic to help them rationalize what they already feel , and you will make it easy for your audience to decide in your favor.

    The Michelle Obama Speaking Technique You Can't Afford to Ignore

  • What makes Obama's speeches memorable

    Transcendence . By using concrete and tangible language, he can transport audiences to another place and actually paint a portrait that they can see in their minds’ eye. Repetition . Used artfully, it helps to clearly emphasize one idea and make it memorable.   Gestures and voice . He uses gestures to punctuate nearly every sentence. He also uses his voice effectively: He slows it down, lowers his volume, and pauses for impact. 

    Barack Obama: A Master Class in Public Speaking [Video]

  • Oprah's presentation technique

    Start with a story : It illustrates shared values. Be personal and vulnerable . Give credit to others : Sharing appreciation is not just a nice component of your speech, it is table stakes for taking the stage. Speak about important topics . Keep it short : Short speeches can also be more memorable. Cast a vision : No matter what you’re talking about, make sure your message is positive and future-focused

    Oprah Just Gave A Master Class in Public Speaking. Here's What CEOs Should Learn From It