Heart Comes First
When you’re planning a presentation, it’s helpful to ask yourself: What’s the heart of the matter here? What am I really trying to say? Sounds simple, doesn’t it? But it’s the hardest, darn thing to actually do.

Forget the Preamble
Preamble is everything we say before we start to say what we really want to say. It’s not necessary, though it kind of eases us into our topic. But with the ever-dwindling attention spans of our (especially virtual) audiences, you’re losing precious seconds when you don’t hook your audience right up front. Be bold and lead with your heart!

You Have To Care
about your material. Or why it’s important. Or why your audience will benefit from it. Think of this as a heart-connection with your content. Not to be glib about it, but if you don’t care, how can you expect your audience to? Even the driest data can use a little love.

Heart-Shaped Presenting
can be a way of organizing your material. Check out the shape. That little indent at the top of the heart is your key message. It’s your opening; it’s central; it’s got a point! It then stretches out with supporting data, ideas, anecdotes, expanding broadly and, most importantly, curves down to a natural conclusion that is also pointed and mirrors the opening above it.

Draw a dotted line from the top indent to the bottom of the heart, and that’s your through line, connecting your presentation from top to bottom, from start to finish.

Heart Matters
Isn’t it amazing how many ways the word contributes to our language? This organ is vital to our verbiage:

At heart = basically
By heart = memorized
Heavy heart = sadness
Lose heart = discouraged
Big heart = generous
Take heart = be brave
Heart-stopping = shocking
Heart-to-heart = honest
Good-hearted = compassionate

Are there other examples you can share with me?

Here’s to More Light-Hearted
times ahead. The days are longer, spring is coming and Omicron seems to be winding down. Do the best you can to take care of your own heart and those around you. We’re all in this together. From my heart to yours…

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