OptionPerfect - Presentations, Events and Speeches

Talking Education and Sport: Sport has still got a long way to go, Mr Gove

2012-05-15T09:29:00.001Z

Talking Education and Sport: Sport has still got a long way to go, Mr Gove

Peter Bowler is webmaster at Time to Market – a specialist provider of presentation skills courses throughout the UK.You can download a free eBook, 'Five Presenting Mistakes and How You Can Solve Them', when you sign up for 'Telling it Straight', the presentation skills newsletter that answers more of your presentation questions.

2011-05-12T11:01:00.000Z

Sustainable Farming the Future Says Prin http://amplify.com/u/a12i66

2011-05-10T23:01:00.001Z

Triesman: England 2018 Presentation a No http://amplify.com/u/a12aso

2011-05-09T22:33:00.001Z

Professor Lustig Speech Gets to the Bott http://amplify.com/u/a11ypg

2011-05-04T21:47:00.001Z

PowerPoint Presentation Add-in Developme http://amplify.com/u/a11g18

2011-05-02T21:31:00.001Z

Pentagon PowerPoint Presentation Points http://amplify.com/u/a1112g

2011-04-29T12:09:00.001Z

Trial Presentation Business on the Case http://amplify.com/u/b10tzt

2011-04-27T21:21:00.001Z

Silver Lining for SlideRocket Presentati http://amplify.com/u/b10lge

2011-04-26T20:44:00.001Z

Tandem PowerPoint Presentation Leaves Tr http://amplify.com/u/b10axn

2011-04-20T21:07:00.001Z

Florida Student in 24 Hour Marathon Spee http://amplify.com/u/bzrdl

De Niro Acceptance Speech On Cue. Just.

2011-02-04T13:05:00.000Z

Robert De Niro's speech after winning the Golden Globes Lifetime Achievement Award proved revealing.

First thing. His very funny and well-rehearsed acceptance speech was clearly scripted with an autocue. He deviated from the teleprompter near the beginning, throwing the prompter into disarray. He managed to recover the situation, but there's a point here for all presenters. If you use the teleprompter, don't ad lib. The prompter has no idea what you are doing or where you are heading!

Second thing. It's a really well-crafted speech. It's funny and just right for the occasion. It pokes fun at his profession and it pokes fun at himself. Or rather it pokes fun at his role within the Little Fockers.

The fun extends to comments about the industry in general, the role of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (the backers of the Golden Globes Awards) and American homeland policies. There's also some humility in the speech too. That's a rare commodity for a big name Hollyood actor.

Good fun and not derogatory. Yes, it was a choreographed speech and clearly autocued, but, as acceptance speeches go, it has to be one of the best.

Peter Bowler is webmaster at Time to Market – a specialist provider of presentation skills courses throughout the UK. You can download a free eBook, 'Five Presenting Mistakes and How You Can Solve Them', when you sign up for 'Telling it Straight', the presentation skills newsletter that answers more of your presentation questions.

Rapping Speech Hits The Heights For Miranda

2011-01-12T12:19:00.000Z

The much-applauded, Tony award-winning show "In the Heights," closed yesterday on Broadway. Writer Lin-Manuel Miranda took to the stage after the last curtain call for a speech delivered in rap. Some of the lyrics were a bit lame. And some pretty rude. But as a final speech marking the close of this very successful show it worked. Clever and innovative, much like the show.
The show now moves on to a nationwide tour of the USA, beginning with Rhode Island.

Peter Bowler is webmaster at Time to Market – a specialist provider of presentation skills courses throughout the UK. You can download a free eBook, 'Five Presenting Mistakes and How You Can Solve Them', when you sign up for 'Telling it Straight', the presentation skills newsletter that answers more of your presentation questions.

Union Cancels President's Speech

2010-12-03T12:38:00.000Z

Mahinda Rajapaksa, President of Sri Lanka

The Oxford Union has cancelled a planned speech by the President of Sri Lanka, Mr Mahinda Rajapaksa.

The President had been scheduled to speak at the Oxford Union, a debating forum, last night. But the event was cancelled by the Union because of security fears related to Tamil protesters disrupting the event.

There's probably more to this story than initially meets the eye. The Oxford Union has played host to some pretty unsavoury and odious characters in the past and they have all had a speaking opportunity. Denying this opportunity to speak appears clumsy.

For his part the President noted:

"I am very sorry this has had to be cancelled, but I will continue to seek venues in Britain where I can talk about my future vision for Sri Lanka."

Quite so. The Oxford Union has some small duty here to operate impartially and not be browbeaten by the endless public safety lobby.

Peter Bowler is webmaster at Time to Market – a specialist provider of presentation skills courses throughout the UK. You can download a free eBook, 'Five Presenting Mistakes and How You Can Solve Them', when you sign up for 'Telling it Straight', the presentation skills newsletter that answers more of your presentation questions.

Concession Speech No Tea Party For Christine O'Donnell

2010-11-04T21:58:00.000Z

Concession speeches, as much as victory speeches, are something of a political art form. And with the mid-term elections there are some fine examples of the art.

Christine O'Donnell's concession speech after her failure to secure a Senate seat in Delaware is a case in point. With 40% of the Delaware vote against the winner's 57% her speech suggested a victory and not a significant loss for the Republican Tea Party candidate.

Claiming a victory for her people and her ideals she remarkably set out the challenges for the new Democrat Senator.

Her final call to "lets party," suggested that this consummate career politician will still be attracting the media's headlines long after her concession speech is swiftly forgotten.

Peter Bowler is webmaster at Time to Market – a specialist provider of presentation skills courses throughout the UK. You can download a free eBook, 'Five Presenting Mistakes and How You Can Solve Them', when you sign up for 'Telling it Straight', the presentation skills newsletter that answers more of your presentation questions.

2010-09-03T10:02:00.001Z

New presentation skills E-Book: http://ping.fm/cOQax

Oosthuizen Open Speech Marks Mandela Birthday

2010-07-19T14:06:00.000Z

When you've just won the British Open at St. Andrews, you might think that your work for the day was done. No sooner had this year's winner, Louis Oosthuizen received the famous Claret Jug than he was presented with the microphone for his victory speech.

Speaking after winning the Open has to be one of the toughest gigs around. He'd finished several rounds of golf over the four days, fought off the likes of Paul Casey and Lee Westwood and then had to give a speech!

Confidence and preparation are everything in top class sport. But few sportsmen would have the mix of confidence and arrogance to prepare a victory speech for the final round of golf. That would be a mistake.

So listening to this year's Open winner was an experience. There was a silent hope that he didn't well up or fluff his unrehearsed lines. And did he? No, his brief and to-the-point speech thanked all those he needed to thank: the organisers, supporters, fans, sponsors, family, and Ernie Els. Even his early reference to Nelson Mandela's birthday worked. Nothing at all embarrassing. It was a good way to finish an amazing day.

Peter Bowler is webmaster at Time to Market – a specialist provider of presentation skills courses throughout the UK. You can download a free eBook, 'Five Presenting Mistakes and How You Can Solve Them', when you sign up for 'Telling it Straight', the presentation skills newsletter that answers more of your presentation questions.

A Eureka Moment For Sarah Palin California Speech

2010-07-01T12:34:00.000Z

Controversy and Sarah Palin go hand in hand; particularly since she quit as the Alaska State Governor and embarked on a round of keynote speeches designed to end with the Republican Presidential nomination process.
Her long-feted speeches inspire protesters to take to the streets...which seems odd since her speech content is typically tame.

Her speech at the California State University (CSU Stanislaus) was no exception. Protest began early and was picked up by many senior political figures in the State. Fortunately sense prevailed, and the organisers recognised that publicity was good publicity. The speech went ahead and generated $200,000 for the University foundation.

I've noted comments before about Sarah Palin's public speaking style. On this occasion it was her speech writer's research that let her down. After her thanks to the organisers, Sarah Palin noted the farming community and the entrepeneurs behind that community. She also noted Ronald Reagan. She noted his connection with Eureka College California, his residence in the State, his Governorship of the State and, of course, his Presidency. It was a classic example of referencing at the beginning of a speech.

The problem was that Ronald Reagan attended Eureka College, Illinois. There isn't a Eureka College, California.

A harmless mistake by the speech writer? Possibly.

But if her speeches are to attract further attention for all the right reasons her speech writing team should look to check the details.

Peter Bowler is webmaster at Time to Market – a specialist provider of presentation skills courses throughout the UK. You can download a free eBook, 'Five Presenting Mistakes and How You Can Solve Them', when you sign up for 'Telling it Straight', the presentation skills newsletter that answers more of your presentation questions.

Catherine Zeta-Jones and Michael Douglas Star in Tony Sleeping Shocker

2010-06-16T17:40:00.001Z

There's a certain danger to speaking to your adoring public knowing that you haven't prepared a single word.

Catherine Zeta-Jones was in that position at the Tony Awards this week. Her astonishment at winning the Tony Award for best leading actress in the Broadway musical, A Little Night Music, was evident. Or was that just acting?

Her speech took a familiar pattern with sincere thanks for the producers, writers, director, cast, crew and her co-stars in the musical. She spoke well albeit breathlessly and at rapid pace.

When a Tony Award winning actress begins to thank her family you can expect to hear a groan from the audience. But she handled this part of her entirely impromptu speech pretty well with a good humorous line:

"I'd like to thank them for making me the person that I am today. And I do forgive you."

But it was her final sentence that caused a sensation. Pointing to her husband, Michael Douglas, she noted:

"See that man there? He's a movie star and I get to sleep with him every night."

Yes, her theatre audience loved it...but she felt the need to be somewhat contrite the following day:

"I had no control of what was coming out of my mouth. Standing up there I felt speechless, but obviously I said something, but it was such a surprise that my brain didn't really connect to my mouth."

She's smart, there's no doubt. If she ever suspected that a good impromptu speech requires careful preparation and practice, now she knows it's true. Here's to her next Tony speech.

Peter Bowler is webmaster at Time to Market – a specialist provider of presentation skills courses throughout the UK. You can download a free eBook, 'Five Presenting Mistakes and How You Can Solve Them', when you sign up for 'Telling it Straight', the presentation skills newsletter that answers more of your presentation questions.

Leaked Speech Marks Ebb and Flow of Politics

2010-05-26T13:32:00.000Z

Last year we noted how one of President Obama's speeches generated huge controversy before he said a word.

Now it's the Queen's turn. By tradition it's the Queen's speech that opens a new Parliament and outlines the legislative programme of her new Government. Tradition also dictates that the contents of the Queen's speech might be guessed at or alluded to but not pre-released.

Well, in another departure from tradition it seems that the contents of this Queen's speech were pre-released. And pre-released or "leaked" to two national newspapers to boot: The Sunday Telegraph and the Sunday Mirror.

No-one's hurt. But reputations have taken a blow. After all, there had been a rather self-righteous contention that it was the previous government that span stories and leaked to the newspapers. Alas, it seems that the new government has the same problem...or at least, the same leaky civil servants. The tide might have turned but the ebb and flow is much the same.

Peter Bowler is webmaster at Time to Market – a specialist provider of presentation skills courses throughout the UK. You can download a free eBook, 'Five Presenting Mistakes and How You Can Solve Them', when you sign up for 'Telling it Straight', the presentation skills newsletter that answers more of your presentation questions.

No Rain on Baldwin Yankees Speech

2010-05-13T15:16:00.000Z

Alec Baldwin's Commencement speech to the new graduates of New York University at the Yankees Stadium this week was a model of restraint.

The jokes were few in number as his speech urged the new graduates to commit to their families, their own self-fulfilment and bettering society. His rain-bedraggled audience was in fine humour and clearly hold him in high regard.

It's good to see that a celebrity speaker, even with an Honorary Arts Doctorate, can still set the right tone for such an important graduation speech.

Peter Bowler is webmaster at Time to Market – a specialist provider of presentation skills courses throughout the UK. You can download a free eBook, 'Five Presenting Mistakes and How You Can Solve Them', when you sign up for 'Telling it Straight', the presentation skills newsletter that answers more of your presentation questions.

It's Criminal. Joe Bruno in Forty Minute Courtroom Speech Drama

2010-05-11T18:57:00.001Z

On most occasions brevity is the mark of a good speech. But it seems that different rules apply for the condemned man. Former New York Senate Republican majority leader Joseph L. Bruno found himself in that position last week. One of New York's most powerful politicians was presented with the chance to speak to the court before sentencing after his conviction on federal felony charges.

Some 30 minutes later Judge Sharpe asked the speaker to pause momentarily for a 10 minute bathroom break. Upon reconvening, Joe Bruno continued speaking for a further 10 minutes. Amazingly lucid, coherent and articulate this speech will remain in the lexicon of brass-necked speaker defiance for many years.

And the sentence? Two years in prison, pending a Supreme Court review. So, perhaps Joe Bruno might find himself making a further speech as an acquitted man before long. Keep it short, please, Joe.

Peter Bowler is webmaster at Time to Market – a specialist provider of presentation skills courses throughout the UK. You can download a free eBook, 'Five Presenting Mistakes and How You Can Solve Them', when you sign up for 'Telling it Straight', the presentation skills newsletter that answers more of your presentation questions.

2010-05-07T15:50:00.001Z

Test your memory of the election 2010 speeches: http://ping.fm/qvRBo

Obama Live at the Washington Comedy Store

2010-05-06T09:45:00.001Z

President Obama's put in a virtuoso public speaking performance at the 2010 White House Correspondents Dinner this week.
It was an excellent performance combining self deprecation, one-liners and witty jibes at political friends, foes and everyone:

"I admire Scott. A rare politician in Washington with nothing to hide."

His topical reference to Vice-President Biden's overheard remarks in March this year was superb:

"This is one ***** big meal."

Jay Leno followed. But we know who got the best laughs...

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Peter Bowler is webmaster at Time to Market – a specialist provider of presentation skills courses throughout the UK. You can download a free eBook, 'Five Presenting Mistakes and How You Can Solve Them', when you sign up for 'Telling it Straight', the presentation skills newsletter that answers more of your presentation questions.

2010-04-21T07:51:00.001Z

New. Confident presenting skills podcast: http://ping.fm/4o6An

Oscar Speech Chaos For "Music by Prudence"

2010-03-09T09:47:00.000Z

Most speakers have to deal with hecklers at some stage of their careers. But how many have to deal with another speaker who wants the limelight?

Roger Ross Williams, the director of Oscar winning documentary, "Music by Prudence," had to contend with that scenario on the night of the Academy Awards.

The winner of the short film about a disabled Zimbabwean singer songwriter was no more than one sentence into his acceptance speech when he was joined at the microphone by the documentary's former director and producer, Elinor Burkett. The Zimbabwe-based journalist felt the need to accept the award despite the fact she left the documentary project over a year ago.

Her interruption capped a series of long-running creative disagreements with the production and creative teams.

Note to organisers: aim to award the prize to someone, rather than a project.

And the response of Roger Ross Williams? Calm, assured and professional. He received the plaudits and got the chance to finish his speech later.

Peter Bowler is webmaster at Time to Market – a specialist provider of presentation skills courses throughout the UK.
You can download a free eBook, 'Five Presenting Mistakes and How You Can Solve Them', when you sign up for 'Telling it Straight', the presentation skills newsletter that answers more of your presentation questions.