Leon Sergent

Last week, I witnessed somebody skidding off the road! A presenter inadvertently defied a rule that every seasoned speaker has known for a long time. Unfortunately, what was supposed to happen, happened. The presenter froze in front of her team and could not restart. The cause of the accident? She had memorized her presentation word-for-word! Sometimes you just have to experience it for yourself. Here are the symptoms, causes and remedies: More… »Why memorizing your presentation could be perilous... and tips to avoid the worst.

Of course, we've all heard of the professional athletes who refuse to shave their beards before the playoffs are over or put on their lucky socks before the championship game. Performing artists also have their little obsessions to ward off fate before entering the stage. And even if there is no scientific and logical evidence for superstitions, could there be lessons to be learned from the habits of these professionals before your next presentation? Here are 5 ideas to incorporate into your preparation. More… »Public Speaking-Are You Superstitious? 5 ideas to try.

You've probably noticed that some speakers can't help but season their speech with um, uh, and words like like, honestly, uh good, and uh good, and other filler words. If you're that host or speaker who relies a little too often on those crutches, the consequences on your performance are more significant than you think. More… »How to get rid of those dreaded fillers when we speak.

Comment ne pas idéaliser l’abnégation de ces athlètes olympiques, qui travaillent sans relâche pendant quatre ans pour offrir, au monde entier, une performance qui repoussera les limites physiques du corps humain. Si leur capacité de dépassement de soi est un idéal à suivre pour plusieurs d’entre nous, ce n’est pas… More… »Communicating in public is a sport!

One of my very wise mentors once joked that there are only three types of business presentations: the first type is the presentation you have imagined and put together; the second type is the presentation you delivered before an audience; and finally, the third type of presentation is the presentation you deliver behind the wheel of your car on the way back to the office! Although this witticism may make us smile, it describes a reality that is very specific to communication. There are often differences between what you wanted to communicate and what your listeners heard and remembered. Would it not, however, be in our best interest to have these three presentations align more exactly? Here are three ideas to make sure the message you've composed is the one that's heard and understood. More… »The 3 key business presentations.

It is difficult for me to understand why some professionals invariably arrive at the last minute before their presentation time. Isn't it a perfectly avoidable stressor? There are only advantages to arriving early before your presentation, here are my eight reasons:

When it comes to presentations or public speaking, perception is more important than what you believe to be reality. There is quite a gap between what you think you're giving off and the impression you've left on your audience, and of course, what really matters is what your listeners perceived. Why is it useful to make this distinction? Other people's perceptions probably work in your favor more than you think, and here's how! More… »The perception and reality of presenting in public.

A question I am often asked, whether during workshops or coaching sessions with professionals, is about memorizing a presentation. "Do you have to memorize your whole presentation?" My answer is, more often than not, "Please don’t, not the whole presentation!" Even if you managed to memorize all your text, here are some of the pitfalls that lie ahead for you should you convince yourself to make the unnecessary effort to recite from memory: More… »Business and technical presentations: The only parts you should memorize.

In the last few days, I have had to deal with a phenomenal amount of information and details to insert (by force!) into two speeches or presentations in front of an audience. It was a tall order. The aim was to ensure that the messages to be communicated were clear and memorable without getting lost in the minutiae and losing the narrative of the presentation. Writing a script or composing slides without a solid framework would have been perilous because I could be at risk of forgetting key details and I would need a lot of time to rewrite. This is where we need another tool to control the large amount of information: heuristic diagrams or Mindmapping. Rather than lists and text presented in a linear fashion, all information is presented in the form of a diagram that mimics how the human brain works. More… »Why and how to use Mindmapping to write your next presentation.

Hand gestures are just as important, and sometimes even more so, than any words you use to convey messages to an audience. Many participants in our training workshops in business or scientific presentations and our candidates in individual coaching tell us that they do not always know what to do with their hands. You are neither the only ones nor the first to struggle with this. Here are the most common mistakes. More… »Business presentation skills: I don't know what to do with my hands!