Kiss and Cry. In figure skating it’s the little booth in which the skater and coach await the results. They kiss, they hug, they drink water, they hold roses and Teddy bears…. but most of all they come to grips with the performance. As presenters, we all need a kiss and cry moment after delivering a talk. For me, it’s usually when I’m driving home or back to a hotel at the end of the day. I always ask myself: “What two things went really well, and what two things would I do differently next time?” When I return to …

Shaun White has it. It! Olympic Champion, innovator, media darling. He has it! Here are some tips you can use in your next presentation – inspired by Shaun:
1. Do the McTwist 1260 Shaun had a surprise for the audience – a trick they had not seen before. Instead of doing the same old boring PowerPoint presentation, why don’t you surprise the audience with something unexpected? You could change your presentation to a discussion format, take in an interesting prop, do a top-10 list, tell a compelling story or example. Get the drift?
2. Smile more If you’ve seen Shaun, you have …

Canadian figure skating champion Patrick Chan had a mediocre performance in his short program. He suffered a full point deduction for not ending his routine when the music stopped. Ouch! The judges place a high value for ending on time. So does your audience. Respect the fact that your audience wants you to end on time. If you are crunched for time, cut to the message and a few remaining points. When the music stops…… the message stops.
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Besides watching all of the terrific Olympic events, I have fun listening to the athlete interviews. TV commentators often ask them about nervousness. Notice how they answer the question:
Apolo Ohno said “When I’m ready to compete, I just flip the switch.”
Charles Hamelin, the Canadian short track skating hopeful, was asked if he felt nervous carrying the whole weight of his country on his back. He replied, “I feed off the energy.”
As you are listening to the interviews, pay attention to how the athletes turn nerves into pumped-up, electric energy – they welcome the surge of adrenalin. Presenters can do the …

What do you do when your torch …… or technology fails? Here are 3 tips:
1. Find an expert
Maybe someone in the room can fix your problem, or maybe an audiovisual technician is available. Take a break and try to get the problem resolved
2. Apologize and proceed
If nothing can be done to fix the situation, apologize once and go on with the show.
3. Have a back-up plan/
Always have a hard copy of your notes so that you can continue with your presentation – no matter what. During the preparation phase, ask yourself this question: “What will I do when the A-V …