[...] one of my absolute favorite blogs on public speaking. One of my favorite posts by Dlugan is titled “Average Speakers Suck. Don’t be Average.” It’s one of my faves because it employs one of Dlugan’s most powerful rhetorical tools, [...]

[...] Needless to say, presentations themselves were mostly forgettable. It was clear to everyone present who had bothered to practice and who had not taken the assignment seriously. During our post presentation Q & A, we all agreed that I did not have to lecture them on the importance of practice and rehearsal. They were first hand witnesses to what happens when you don’t rehearse or practice, when you believe “winging it” will give you that Ken Robinsonesque level of comfort and conversational tone. Now, in a perfect world, these students will learn from this lesson and always practice in the future. However, I know from observing their final project business pitches that they don’t practice when the stakes are higher, that there is a great divide between theory and practice when it comes to rehearsal. The average presenter devotes little time to practice and rehearsing, perhaps from nervousness, perhaps from overconfidence. But, my students are amazing people; I want them to be amazing presenters. Presentation skills are not cookies. Chocolate chips won’t compensate for you being an average speaker. Your audience spends a lifetime in meetings listening to people who are average speakers and wishing they were somewhere else. –Andrew Dlugan, Six Minutes [...]

Average Speakers Suck. Don’t be Average. http://t.co/xLYFJsso