Presentations Training:
Barack Obama Presentation Skills Training Seminar - Speaking in Bulleted Lists

I've been a presentation skills training seminar instructor and keynote speaker for over 15 years, and am frequently asked how to communicate ideas more effectively and persuasively, especially when giving a presentation skills training seminar. My response is that there are many things you can do to improve your effective professional communication skills, of course, and you might begin where I'm beginning with this presentation skills training seminar - with focusing on a master communicator.

In this case, that master is President Barack Obama. When you watch him speak, look for evidence of the communication techniques and tricks that I'm about to point out in this presentation skills training seminar. It makes no difference whether or not you voted for him, you can still master the skills he employs - as soon as you learn them in this presentation skills training seminar, of course!

You'll notice that when Barack Obama is telling the world what his plans are, he rarely uses connecting words such as and or then. Instead, he speaks as if he's reading from a bulleted list. For example:

He could say something along the lines of, "We are going to be very busy rebuilding America in the coming months and years--building roads, and focusing on green power alternatives, and fixing the economy, and improving our schools. And we are all going to be playing a part." Watch for people who explain their thoughts and ideas in a presentation skills training seminar using connecting words and phrases such "as" and "and then". People do it all the time, using sentences that run on and on and on, defying diagramming. I hope you don't do this. If you do, STOP. It actually diminishes the power of the presentation skills training seminar message.

Instead, President Obama chooses to speak in bulleted list form, and present the message more like this: "We are going to be busy rebuilding America in the months and years ahead: building roads, finding green power alternatives, fixing the economy, improving our schools...and we are all going to be playing a part." Clean, crisp, to the point - a bulleted list. You can easily imagine his easy-yet-erect posture and the gesturing that would accompany these points.

Choosing bullet points instead of run-on, connecting sentences is a subtle public speaking trick used by many professional public and keynote speakers in the presentation skills training seminar for clarity, emphasis, and effect. This is a basic speaking principle that I go over in great detail in my presentation skills training seminar.

The next time you are giving a presentation skills training seminar, or detailing a plan to anyone, remember to speak in verbal bulleted list form whenever possible. If it works for Obama - it can work for you too.

Source: Daniel T. O’ Connor http://www.powerdiversity.com

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