Leslie Belknap
SlideShare
Nashville, TN, United States
Contact Leslie
Discover and connect with journalists and influencers around the world, save time on email research, monitor the news, and more.
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Past articles by Leslie:
5 Videos To Help You Master Presentations
If you love watching videos online, you’re not alone. 75% of business executives watch at least one work-related video each week, and 54% of senior executives share at least one work-related video with colleagues every week. In addition, 76% of millennials follow brands on YouTube. The popularity of online videos inspired Ethos3 to create video tutorials to empower presenters and public… → Read More
5 Videos To Help You Master Presentations
If you love watching videos online, you’re not alone. 75% of business executives watch at least one work-related video each week, and 54% of senior executives share at least one work-related video with colleagues every week. In addition, 76% of millennials follow brands on YouTube. The popularity of → Read More
How to Close the Last Minutes of Your Presentation
The last few minutes of a presentation are some of the most valuable moments for a presenter. To make a lasting impact on the audience, use the end of your presentation to deliver a powerful conclusion. Here are some suggestions to help you close your presentation on a high note: Don’t end with a Q&A session. Q&A sessions can drain the enthusiasm from an audience. Since Q&A sessions typically… → Read More
The Visual Element Your Presentation is Missing
When you design presentation slides do you often feel as if something is missing from your presentation design even if you’ve included photography, text and typography? If so, what you’re likely missing is iconography. Icons are typically small in size, yet they can have a substantial impact on your overall presentation design. You can purchase icons from paid sites such as Adobe Stock, iStock,… → Read More
6 Principles of Influence to Enhance Your Presentations
Great presentations are inherently influential; they make an impact in a meaningful way by altering the perspective of the audience. To create influential presentations, develop your presentations in accordance with the 6 Principles Of Influence, developed by Robert Cialdini, Regents’ Professor Emeritus of Psychology and Marketing at Arizona State University. 6 Principles of Influence Principle… → Read More
3 Tips for Writing Compelling Presentation Content
WIIFM may be one of the most important acronyms you need to keep in mind as you create a presentation. After all, it’s what audiences are constantly thinking when determining if your content is helpful. In other words: What’s in it for me? Taking inspiration from WIIFM, my personal mantra – and one you should also keep in mind when creating presentations — is the question, So what? Every time I… → Read More
15 Research Tools and Resources For Presentations
Creating great presentations is hard work. It takes creative content, an enticing title, beautiful slides, and effective promotion. Perhaps most importantly, the success of your efforts will also be determined by the value of the information provided on your slides. It can be difficult to find fresh, credible stats and facts to support the overall message of your presentation without sifting… → Read More
Why Learning Styles Don’t Matter in Presentations. It’s About Experiences
Many respected organizations and writers (myself included) have spread the idea that 65% of people are visual learners. But turns out, the whole concept of learning styles may not hold much water. The four VARK learning styles — visual, aural, verbal, and kinesthetic — are apparently not supported by scientific research, according to an article published Vanderbilt University. In 2009,… → Read More
Less is More: Minimalist Design Principles for Visual Content
Most marketers and business professionals know they need high-quality visual content to communicate their message effectively and connect to their target audience. However, employing a team of full-time graphic designers can be pricey. The good news is it’s possible to create your own visual content with very little or no design training. The key is to embrace the beauty and power of minimalism.… → Read More
Quotes To Inspire Your Next Presentation
Public speakers need inspiration and the occasional pep talk to get in the right mindset for creating and delivering an effective presentation. Often the best inspiration comes in the form of quotes. Quotes are the perfect package for wisdom because they are concise and easy to process and store to memory. To help you get inspired before your next presentation, here are 6 quotes – as well as… → Read More
The Simple Trick to Avoid Overwhelming Your Audience
You can quickly burn out an audience by presenting too much information too quickly. To keep from overwhelming your audience, practice the art of progressive disclosure when designing your slides. Progressive disclosure is an interaction design technique often used in human computer interaction to help maintain the focus of a user’s attention by reducing clutter, confusion, and cognitive… → Read More
How to Build a Connection With Your Audience
Many speakers think the best way to start their presentation is to establish credibility through a listing off of credentials, honors, and titles. While this is important, a display of intellectual prowess is not the best way to start your talk. Instead, use the first few moments of your time in the spotlight to build a connection with the audience. As Amy Cuddy explained in an interview for the… → Read More
How to Build a Connection With Your Audience
Many speakers think the best way to start their presentation is to establish credibility through a listing off of credentials, honors, and titles. While this is important, a display of intellectual prowess is not the best way to start your talk. Instead, use the first few moments of your time in the spotlight to build a connection with the audience. As Amy Cuddy explained in an interview for the TED blog, you have to connect with people and build trust before you can influence or lead them. → Read More
How To Pick A Color Scheme For Your Presentation
When viewers look at your presentations online, they’re judging you based on obvious factors like content and images. Perhaps less obvious is the fact they’re judging you on your design scheme, too. So how do you put your best foot forward? Establish a color scheme, and consistently utilize that color scheme throughout the entire presentation. With a consistent color scheme unifying all of your… → Read More
2 Unconventional Ways to Eliminate Presentation Anxiety
“According to most studies, people’s number one fear is public speaking. Number two is death. Death is number two. Does that sound right? This means to the average person, if you go to a funeral, you’re better off in the casket than doing the eulogy.” -Comedian Jerry Seinfeld Does this famous stand-up line from Seinfeld surprise you? Or can you relate to one of the 40 million adults in the U.S.… → Read More
2 Unconventional Ways to Eliminate Presentation Anxiety
“According to most studies, people’s number one fear is public speaking. Number two is death. Death is number two. Does that sound right? This means to the average person, if you go to a funeral, you’re better off in the casket than doing the eulogy.” -Comedian Jerry Seinfeld Does this famous stand-up line from Seinfeld surprise you? Or can you relate to one of the 40 million adults in the U.S. who struggle with anxiety, either chronically or in response to certain situations, such as public speaking? Speech anxiety, also known as glossophobia, affects an estimated 75% of all people. → Read More
7 Sites for Free (and Beautiful!) Stock Photos
By now, many of us in the presentation business have heard the mantra, “visual is viral.” But just how seriously should we be taking it? Pretty seriously, it turns out. The proof is in the numbers. Content with relevant images gets 94% more views than content without (images used in SlideShare decks from 2013 to 2014 increased by a whopping 53%, according to CMO.com). And infographics on… → Read More
How To Excel at B2B Marketing Using Presentations
As a B2B marketing professional, I understand the challenges of connecting with the often-elusive B2B buyers. With so many digital marketing channels available for marketing professionals, developing an online presence can be overwhelming. I want to give you some creative solutions to help you overcome some of the challenges of B2B online marketing. These solutions are built around one main… → Read More
How To Tell Great Stories During Presentations
By now, most of us have heard how crucial storytelling is to a presentation. But it’s not always the easiest thing to do: Which story do you choose to illustrate your message, and what parts do you leave out? What’s the best way to deliver the story once you’ve chosen it? I’ve provided an easy 5-step formula for crafting compelling stories below. Step 1. Know the Why. To create compelling… → Read More
Want to be a Successful TEDx Speaker? Here’s How
TEDx speakers are increasingly claiming some of the top spots on the list of the most popular TED talks of all time. A couple examples: > How Great Leaders Inspire Action, a talk delivered by author Simon Sinek at TEDxPugetSound, has more than 23 million views and is the 3rd most popular talk on TED.com. Best-selling author Brené Brown’s talk, The Power of Vulnerability, has more than 21 million… → Read More