Blog posts

Think like a TV presenter?

Submitted by Jack Milner on April 6, 2020

I've been lucky enough to direct a few TV stars, coached some of the country's best selling key-note & TED speakers, as well as the presenters on award winning webinars. What they have in common, is that when it comes to talking to camera, they see the lens as their friend. That might sound a bit cheesy but it's the truth. The good news is that, with almost all of us now presenting online, selling or just meeting ON CAMERA, you can do the same.

The Power of Passion

Submitted by Jack Milner on March 6, 2020

Years ago I was working as an advisor on an ITV comedy reality show, “Stand Up Great Britain.” My job was to work with newer comics and get them up to a certain standard so they didn’t burn and die live on TV. In those days that was considered a bad thing. 

Winning Back Your Audience

Submitted by Jack Milner on March 6, 2020

This is a painful story to relate. A few years ago I was one of four speakers at a conference of engineers. It happened to come at a time of huge stress. I was juggling too many balls - speaker, coach, writer, director and Dad. The night before the event I hadn’t slept properly for weeks and then I decided to join one of my fellow speakers for a few drinks which became a lot more drinks. I didn’t sleep.

Delivering Someone Else's Presentation

Submitted by Jack Milner on March 6, 2020

I was helping a government NGO get their training presentations up to a decent standard so that the learning, which was honestly of national importance (even if the nation might not agree)  was consistent, understood and acted on.

The brief? “We’d like them to be more energetic, more confident, funnier - just better.”

Unfortunately, the presentations were written by another team who had micro-managed them to death. Literally every second was accounted for. “12.41 – slide 27 – bullet point four…. “ - that sort thing.

Why Jokes Matter

Submitted by Jack Milner on February 5, 2019

Why Jokes Matter

“The most viewed TED speakers deliver on average one joke per minute in their keynote speeches. The best deliver two jokes per minute.” Jeremy Donovan

The late great Sir Ken Robinson was a master of this. His TED talk, “Do Schools Kill Creativity?” – which averages more than 2 jokes a minute, is one of the most viewed in history.

Bringing the skills of Stand-Up Comedians to Speaking

Submitted by Jack Milner on November 27, 2018

Jack Milner

“The most viewed TED speakers deliver on average one joke per minute in their keynote speeches. The best deliver two jokes per minute.” Jeremey Donovan, ‘How to Deliver a TED talk’

A great speaker does not need to be famous (although it helps), they do not need to have conquered Everest in a kayak while singing the entire score of Sound of Music (but again it will help), however, more than anything their speech needs:

  • To entertain and amuse – a bit like a stand-up

Speaking So People Want to Listen

Submitted by Jack Milner on December 13, 2017

Jack Milner

I remember the early Golden Nuggets cereal adverts. It featured Klondike Pete an Appalachian old-timer miner who’d shout, “Thar’s gold in them there hills!”

How Do We Stop Doing This to Ourselves?

Submitted by Jack Milner on December 13, 2017

“We had a conference last month. 50 of us flew in.” A row of bankers turned to the Whistle-blower at the end of the line. “Two days of PowerPoint presentations. On the first day, after about 10 minutes, as another slide came up I thought, ‘I’ve got two more days of this, how do I cope!?’ Then I said to myself, ‘I’ll put a smile on my face, stare in the direction of the presenter, and think happy thoughts.’ So that’s what I did. I didn't listen to a single word… for two whole days.”