A Blog with Tips & Tricks for Enlightened Presenters
Other People’s Scars
Other People's Scars The advice is real. The experience behind it isn't yours. Eric Harris April 03, 2026 She Knows Her Material Cold Alex stands at the front of the room, twelve pairs of eyes anxiously glued to her. She has prepared for this. She has over-prepared for this. She knows the data, the stakeholders,…
The Tool is not the Work
The Tool is not the Work The rubric has been wrong for forty years Eric Harris March 27, 2026 The Surgeon, not the Scalpel A scalpel is a scalpel. In the hands of a surgeon, it saves lives. In the hands of a mortician, it prepares a cadaver. In the hands of a biologist, it…
We, Not You
We, Not You One syllable that decides whether your audience follows Eric Harris March 20, 2026 The Reflex to Audit There’s a habit so embedded in how leaders speak that most never notice they're doing it. They stand at the front of a room and begin describing the future. The strategy. The transformation. The ask.…
The Tool That Ate the Room
You’ve likely been taught a good presentation requires a good deck. That slides organize your thinking. They give people something to look at. They signal preparation. You open your laptop, pull up the file, and begin. “Can everyone see my screen?” But have you ever really thought about what the screen does to the audience…
The Presentation Paradox
The Paradox Nobody Talks About We mapped out the actual, messy, adrenaline-soaked reality of what happens when we need to sell an idea that matters. Here’s what we know to be true: It’s an idea economy. Nothing in business happens unless someone offers a solution to a challenge. No matter how brilliant you are at…
Your Idea is a Force of Nature
What Makes an Idea Real Every day, leaders walk into high-stakes moments carrying ideas that deserve to win. A transformation plan the organization desperately needs. A strategy that could reposition the company before a competitor does. A budget proposal that would unlock the next phase of growth. A sales pitch that could change the trajectory…
You Handed Them a Puzzle and Called it a Pitch
There’s a particular kind of presentation that feels thorough when you build it and falls flat when you give it. You prepared. You organized. You anticipated objections. And still… the audience didn’t move. The decision got deferred. The energy stayed flat. Something didn’t land, and you struggle to name exactly what. Here’s what usually happened:…
The Real Saboteur
The Defaults are Eating Your Ideas Alive When the stakes rise, most presenters don’t pause to design the moment. Understandably, in times of distress, they reach for what’s familiar. The deck. The room they were given. The slot on the calendar. The version of themselves that knows how to perform under pressure. None of those…
Conversation > Presentation
Four Teams Followed the Rules. One Accepted Responsibility. Several years ago, I led an agency-of-record search for one of the world’s biggest brands. On paper, it was an enviable assignment. In reality, it was a pressure cooker. Sales were sliding fast enough to make everyone nervous. Our advertising had lost its edge. After multiple attempts…
You Are the Medium Now
When the Deck Disappears Two presenters walk into two very similar rooms. Same company. Same level. Same stakes. The first presenter arrives early, clicks through her slides, acknowledging one of her slides is “a bit of an eye chart.” She keeps one eye on the screen behind her, one hand on the clicker, and one…