A Blog with Tips & Tricks for Enlightened Presenters
The Dinner Table Test
The Dinner Table Test If you can't say it there, get it out of the boardroom. Eric Harris April 24, 2026 Rehearse for Ownership Many of us have been conditioned to believe rehearsal is all about performance. The perfection. The polish. The nothing-can-go-wrong mindset of a middle school drama teacher. And then there are the…
Presenting is a Team Sport
Presenting is a Team Sport Still hero-balling it? Your idea deserves better. Eric Harris April 17, 2026 ❝ “No one can whistle a symphony.” ― H.E. LUCCOCK Real leaders don't just present ideas and hope they land. They design moments where belief can form. And building belief, it turns out, isn't a solo act. Hero-balling…
The Campfire is Lit
The Campfire is Lit The circle is open. Eric Harris April 10, 2026
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:…