The Elephant in the Room

Presentation Skills

You have to talk about the ‘elephant in the room’ – the big thing that everyone knows but doesn’t want to talk about. But if you do that, the colossal animal becomes so much smaller.

For example: If I, as a speaker, know that there is anxiety in the room: verbalise the anxiety. If there is a conflict in the group – tell me you know about it. If someone thinks I’m too old for my position: mention it, preferably with a twinkle in my eye, as when President Biden recently said that he “although it doesn’t show, been around for a while”.

This was one of many simple techniques we talked about during two half-day workshops on presentation skills at Lund Municipality. Thank you for the trust – and good luck in your important mission in the service of citizens.

Ordrum // Nyheter, tips & tricks // The Elephant in the Room

Other news

Why is e-learning only so-so?

The vast majority of people who enrol in self-paced e-learning never actually complete it. This is not necessarily because the content is poor. It’s because nobody notices when they stop.

A skill, not a personal trait

In late October, Smögen treated us to sunshine and Kalles Kaviar. We spent 24 hours with a fantastic group of doctoral students from Chalmers University of Technology and all…

Which role do you take?

Three hundred people in Chalmers’ largest lecture hall. Everyone is standing, talking over one another, and laughing. Some are being negative, blocking everything that is said. Deliberately. And they’re doing…