No comic sans. Ever. Not even if you run a comic book store.
No clip art. Are you 12?
Slides are VISUAL. Or at least they are supposed to be. You want speakers notes? Get a 3X5 card.
If you ever apologize for a slide, stating "I know this is an eye chart" TAKE OUT THE SLIDE.
Never, ever tell people "I'm a bad speaker" Let them find out for themselves. Or better yet, don't.
Anyone who says "Ill be quick" is NEVER QUICK. Don't say this. Just be quick.
No one ever said of a speaker "She was too brief" or "He was too funny" But they DO say "she went too long" and "he was boring"
Always assume no one cares. You will be right. Make them care, or get off the stage.
Talk TO people, not AT them. Never "present" anything. TALK.
If you need slides to present your material, it sends a signal that you are not expert in the subject at hand. Slides COMPLEMENT, they do not do the heavy lifting.
Watch Bill Clinton's 2012 DNC speech - one of the great speech deliveries of modern times... of which some 40% was ad libbed off prompter. Try to tell what parts those are. Good luck.
Lots and lots and lots of people dislike team building exercises and networking. Some that do like it are in it only for themselves, and are to be treated with caution.
Forcing people into teams where they don't know the other people can cause inefficiencies. Time is wasted being polite, when that time could be better spent engaging people's strengths, rather than trying to discover them.
Try to move past politeness and deference quickly. This does not mean be rude and disrespectful. It means be direct and honest and real.
Never, ever decide to have a town hall, and THEN start working on an agenda. Have a town hall when whatever is going on DEMANDS to be presented and discussed in person.
A lot of people ask stupid, inappropriate, ill-timed questions, or are simply looking for airtime. Deal with them quickly and move on.
People like casual. They like informal. They like self-deprecating. They want to like YOU. They do not like ego. They do not like pretentiousness. They do not like arrogance. Do you?
An uncomfortable speaker makes everyone uncomfortable. An audience lost is nearly impossible to get back. Don't lose them in the first place.
