How to be a Presentation God: Build, Design, and Deliver Presentations that Dominate!

Foreword

Readers of my column and my blog know that the need to have regular human moments at work is similar to the need to stand up and stretch on an airplane: your well-being depends on it. On top of that, a workday with regular face-to-face contact is more energizing than a day full of contacts exclusively via computer and phone.

Working at the computer or talking on the phone for a long time is as exhausting as staring at the TV. The brain starts to crave rest from input overload and fuel from human contact.

So when you're feeling tired at work, try creating a human moment for an energy boost. It doesn't have to be earth-shattering and intimate. It can be short and professional. You just need to be paying attention.

Even better: use all those meetings you have every day to create your own opportunities for such human moments. Scott's giving you the driver's license crash course right here—he'll show you how to speak like you want to change the world. He's got monsters to fight, and you get to be the hero. Use what Scott explains so well to connect with just one person in the audience (maybe that attractive one from Accounting). Just look him or her in the eye, right? That's the usual advice.

But it's so hard to look someone in the eye. Especially if you don't have confidence from knowing what you're doing up there. And most public speakers are not particularly naturally engaging. That's why going after just one person is a great way to test yourself—to see if you're really ...