Marketing

Marc Benioff ‘s Master Class in Public Speaking

Carmine GalloLeave a comment

Marc Benioff_Dreamforce2017

Salesforce CEO and billionaire Marc Benioff opened his keynote at DreamForce 2017 by doing something very few presenters have the courage to do. He delivered the presentation as he walked among the audience. It’s a technique that Benioff has mastered over years of hosting the blockbuster conference/party in San Francisco.

More than 170,000 people are registered for DreamForce this year. It’s a massive conference that Benioff kicks off with a two-hour presentation where he introduces new ideas, features customers who are in the audience, and introduces other speakers.

The ability to walk around a massive conference hall while delivering a presentation requires 1). courage and 2). practice. It takes courage to walk out from behind a lectern, and to make eye contact with people who are standing right next to you. It takes practice to know your slides and message so thoroughly that you’re not tied to notes.

Marc Benioff is a storyteller and an engaging/energetic presenter. It’s worth watching one of his astonishing keynotes as a master class in public-speaking.

Carmine Gallo is a keynote speaker and author of the bestselling books “Talk Like TED” and “The Storyteller’s Secret.”

Logitech Spotlight Reimagines The Art of Presentations

Carmine Gallo1 Comment

logitechspotlight

It’s been eight years since Logitech introduced a wireless remote to advance presentation slides. What could possibly change in eight years? Plenty. In fact, the new Spotlight by Logitech will transform your presentations, offering a powerful and personal tool that will help you stand out in business and in your career.

Sixty percent of business professionals say they present regularly. But while 1 billion presentations are given every year, only 2 million presentation remotes are sold annually. This tells us that many people who should be using remotes to deliver their presentations are going along without one.

After getting an early opportunity to test Spotlight by Logitech, I can tell you that it’s a game-changing tool to deliver presentations confidently and fearlessly.

You see, it’s not just a pointer or a clicker. For example, say goodbye to the red laser-pointer. Instead, Spotlight literally shines a spotlight on the portion of the slide you want to highlight. If an image is small, no problem, just magnify it and make it larger – again, all with the remote in the palm of your hand.

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If you’re playing videos and the volume is too low or too high, again, it’s no problem. Spotlight has gesture control and allows you to adjust the volume without touching your computer. The remote also gives you on-screen cursor control to play and pause videos. There’s no need to break your flow or go anywhere near a mouse or laptop.

I spent much of last week on tour with Logitech. We visited three cities—San Francisco, New York and Boston—and met with dozens of technology reporters and bloggers. They were impressed. According to ZDNET, Spotlight is “an elegant tool for professional presenters.” You can read the entire review here.

 

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Spotlight represents a new standard in presentation control. It’s elegant and comfortable. Every feature is made to empower confident, fearless presenting. Whether you prefer PowerPoint, Prezi or Apple Keynote, Spotlight will transform the way you present. Don’t sell your ideas without one.

For anyone who presents as part of their job – to pitch ideas, engage teams, or inspire employees and customers—the Spotlight wireless presentation remote is an elegant and useful tool that will take your presentation to the next level.

Carmine Gallo is a popular keynote speaker, communication advisor and bestselling author of eight books including The Presentation Secrets of Steve Jobs, Talk Like TED and The Storyteller’s Secret. 

How Pampers Draws Massive Attention With This Tiny Ad

Carmine GalloLeave a comment

pampersdiaperad-1

Congratulations to Pampers for designing an eye catching ad for a good cause, World Prematurity Day. The ad ran in major newspapers across the U.S. It was effective for several reasons:

1). It makes clever use of white space. The ad shows the actual size of a diaper created for premature babies. By placing the ad in the middle of the page and leaving most of the rest blank, it focuses your eyes on the impossibly small image (the asterisk clarifies that it really is the actual size of a diaper).

2). There is very little text. A short paragraph at the bottom explains why the diaper was created and why the ad is running on November 17th, World Prematurity Day.

3). By positioning the page in newspapers like the New York Times which are heavy in text, the ad stands out even more.

Less clutter draws more attention to your product or idea.

Professional designers are not afraid of white space. In fact, they embrace it and use it creatively to catch your attention. Business professionals might want to take a lesson from the Pampers ad the next time they create a PowerPoint, write an email, or suggest design ideas. Reduce the ‘noise’ and grab more attention.

Carmine Gallo is a popular keynote speaker and communication advisor. His new book, The Storyteller’s Secret, explains why some ideas catch on and others don’t (St. Martin’s Press).