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I went to a talk last week.
The title was fine. Slide two. Nine bullet points. That’s not a presentation—it’s a confession.
💡 ONE IDEA WELLToo often, we treat presentations like a dumping ground for everything we’ve ever learned. We forget that our job isn’t to say everything—it’s to help the audience remember something. Nine bullet points don’t show how clever you are. But here’s the truth: nobody remembers bullet six. The best talks aren’t information-rich—they’re message-clear. So here’s a better way to think about your next talk: What’s the one thing you want your audience to remember three days from now? You’ll say less—but you’ll mean more. 🧰 LESS MESS, MORE MESSAGEHere’s a quick fix you can try: Now reframe the slide around that. 🔄 Before:
📸 Here’s what that shift might look like in practice: 🧭 ASK YOURSELF THISWhat’s the one thing you want your audience to remember three days from now? Everything else supports it—or distracts from it. |
One idea a week to help you teach and present with more clarity, confidence, and calm. No fluff. No scripts. Just practical tools that land.
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At a recent talk in Hobart, I had 90 slides. Thirty minutes. Ninety slides. If you’re doing the maths, that’s three slides a minute. Which sounds… fast. By most presentation advice, that’s a problem. Too fast.Too much.Too many chances to lose the room. Afterwards, no one mentioned it. Not one comment about pace.Not one raised eyebrow about slide count. Because they hadn’t noticed. 💡 ONE IDEA WELL The “one slide per minute” rule has been around for years. It sounds sensible. Clean. Reassuring....
Most presenters don’t realise when they disappear. It usually happens the moment they step behind the lectern. Not their voice. Their presence. Because nothing obvious changes. The slides are still there. The microphone still works. The words still come out. From the audience’s point of view, the talk continues. But something else quietly drops away. The energy.The connection.The sense that this is a person… not just a presentation. And often, it’s not deliberate. It’s instinct. When the room...