Many months have passed between posts and as I begin to travel, meet and influence new audiences I decided to dust off this blog in order to share tips, techniques and anecdotes again.

Today’s post comes from a NY Times article I’ve been saving for the ideal time.

Too often, presenters who know their trade rely heavily on confidence and dedicate less time on practice. You know the speakers I’m referring to, they continue to deliver the same stale joke to audiences who never appreciated it in the initial delivery. In the software industry, can you believe presenters make reference of “CEO, the Chief Excel Officer” and expect a hearty laugh from the crowd.

For many years I’ve cornered my significant other or a friend, sometimes both, to listen to my presentation opening before I deliver it to my audience. In fact it has become required practice in my preparations to ensure my opening story was relevant to the topic or agenda. What better way to test your message on someone who doesn’t fully understand what you do for a living.

Don’t wag your tail and ignore this sage advice. The next time you are on stage and you see those tilted heads and blank stares from your audience, you’ll remember I tried to throw you a bone.