Nancy Duarte's Blog, page 8

How to Create a Presentation Using Free Stock Photos

Ideally, every presenter would have a photographer on-hand to call whenever they need to create a new presentation. This would afford them access to beautiful, one-of-a-kind photos that match up exactly with the message in their deck. Unfortunately, most professionals aren’t lucky enough to have a photographer at their disposal, and many must turn to [...] continue reading

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The Top Soft Skills Employees Need Right Now

The top three soft skills needed right now are: adaptability, communication, and collaboration. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, good communication increased connections, reduced uncertainty, improved safety, and opened the door to opportunities—serving as a powerful, and mandatory, tool for individuals, teams, and organizations. This is likely partially why, in a 2020 study conducted amongst Learning & [...] continue reading

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The Anatomy of a Skilled Speaker [Infographic]

After 8 months of remote work, most of us have accepted virtual communication as our new reality. We’ve become more tolerant of distracting backgrounds, noisy environments, and awkward camera angles. We’ve trudged through company-wide meetings, marketing presentations, and digital events. And it hasn’t been easy. Kudos to all of us for making it this far! [...] continue reading

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The Dangers of Combining PowerPoint Presentation Slides

We call them “Frankenslides.” You know, the kinds of slide decks made up of bits and pieces of presentations. The kind where you borrow a slide from here, a chart from there, then throw everything into one big PowerPoint® file and present it to your staff. Those are Frankenslides. You may think of Frankenslides as [...] continue reading

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7 Helpful Tips for English as a Second Language (ESL) Speakers

As a corporate speech-language pathologist (SLP), I’ve worked with many clients who speak English as a 2nd or 3rd language (ESL speakers). Some of these people approach our work together with the goal of reducing or eliminating their non-native accent. While I’m certainly trained to help them do that, my advice as a SLP goes [...] continue reading

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Creating Meaningful Connections Through Snail Mail

Last Tuesday, the metallic clink of my front porch mailbox closing snapped me out of an hours-long trance of staring at my computer answering emails, completing design tasks, and participating in video calls. I took that as my cue to get up and stretch (It’s already 2:30 pm?!) and was overjoyed to find a letter [...] continue reading

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3 Steps to Becoming Everyone’s Favorite Panelist

If you’ve ever received an invitation to speak on a panel and found yourself hesitating to accept, you’re not alone. Panel discussions can be disorganized, poorly-moderated, and filled with unknowns. What if you say the wrong thing? What if the other panelists look smarter than you? Your time is valuable. How do you make sure [...] continue reading

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Communicate Like MLK and Change the World

Thanks to the proliferation and growth of social media and live video today, nearly everyone has a public platform that they can use to convey a message to a large audience. It’s possible to see more clearly than ever who can give a talk that moves people and changes minds. But in a completely different [...] continue reading

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How to Make a Great Impression When Speaking to Senior Leadership

“What the hell am I looking at here?” We were only 5 minutes into our meeting with the CEO when things started to go sideways. I was the newly hired Sales Trainer at a software company, and my boss and I had prepared a comprehensive plan for training an incoming wave of new sales recruits. [...] continue reading

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5 Things You Can Do Today to Improve Your Public Speaking Skills

Every one of us wants to communicate better. Whether we’re presenting in a virtual environment, participating in a team meeting, or just talking with a friend, spouse, or stranger—we all want what we’re saying to be delivered well. “Delivering well” means you’re saying what you want to say in a way that lands just right [...] continue reading

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