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What people are saying about This Book

“When it comes to speaking in public, few people know as much as Michael Trigg about the topic and fewer still have the ability to put it into words with the accuracy and grace of the man. I applaud him and highly recommend reading every word he writes and listening to every word he says.”

— Jay Conrad Levinson “The Father of Guerilla Marketing”

“This book is to the point on the most important and most overlooked areas of excellent presentation skills. For those looking for last minute advice it can be consumed quickly and yet cover all you need to know. For those who are already experienced in presenting I guarantee there is something in this book that you had not thought of before nor realised you were lacking. I highly recommend it.”

— Michelle Darcy

“A super book, practical advice to implement immediately. Michael Trigg gives you what you need to become a true professional. Quite simply, excellent. If you are looking for a practical, clear and concise guide to presenting - one that will not only greatly improve the quality of your presentations but also significantly reduce the time you take preparing - then Blow Your Own Horn by Michael Trigg is the book to buy. I challenge anyone who reads this book not to notice an immediate improvement in their ability to deliver effective presentations.”

— Luke Thomson. Director, Head of Markit Economics

“Michael Trigg's latest book is an extremely helpful guide as to how to prepare for and make the perfect business presentation. It is essential reading for all those wanting to make a career in Sales and Marketing and importantly to win more business!”

— David Rosier, Chairman .Thurleigh Investment Managers

“Blow Your Own Horn is quite simply a brilliant book, written by a master in this field. Clear practical advice which is tried and tested and hugely successful. Anyone who truly values their career and wishes to develop themselves as a person should buy this book. It’s that simple.”

— Lisa Suter, MD Acorn to Oak

“I found this book to be well written, easy to navigate and a great source of knowledge that is worth every penny. The book steers clear of technical jargon and as a result is very readable and quick to learn from. It's definitely improved my presenting skills and the lessons learnt have already proved invaluable. The simple diagrams in the book help give structure to my presentations and have certainly improved my confidence when presenting. The skills learnt are not just for high level presenters but will be of value to any professional. A must buy.”

— Will Thomas, Indiumonline

“Presenting is something that is feared! Take the advice given here and fear no more. It is not very often that you come across a book that delivers so succinctly on its core objective; so much so that you can open on any page and a little gem of an idea or action comes out. A gem of a book, for anyone wanting to communicate better, at any level.”

— John Greenshaw. MD, Merlin Communications

“Trigg's approach to writing in 5 words what others write in 50 makes this book, like his previous one, a joy to read and understand. Presenting WELL is a difficult and potentially complex topic - so much of it is counter-intuitive at first, which is why so many people do it badly and so many people have massive fear issues over doing it. I attend dozens of conferences every year and hear hundreds of absolutely awful presentations. Not awful content: Awful presentation. Yet so many of us NEED to present well in our jobs or our hobbies. And we've all listened intently to the few good presenters who keep us engaged and enthralled. As Trigg teaches in this book, its not that those people were born to present that way - they have learned the same basic principles that Trigg has researched over many years and have experimented over the years to find what works best and what doesn't. You see most people that present have never had any training on how to. Sadly there's also a lot of poor training out there that is far below the standard Trigg explains in this book. Above all, for my money, I come back to the fact it's got everything you need to understand in the minimum number of words - so its an easy read on the train or over coffee. So if you want to stop being another excruciatingly boring PowerPoint presenter and find out how to be the interesting guy or gal who keeps the audience enthralled - invest the price of two drinks to buy this books and learn from a master!”

— Phil Turtle , MD, Data Center Industry PR

“I’ve just completed "Blow Your Own Horn" by Michael Trigg. This is a refreshingly straightforward and immediately useful book on presenting. Michael writes in an easy to follow style that gets to the point. What's really nice about this book, is that Michael leads you through a structured process, clearly setting out the 'how' and 'what' of presenting, in any context. There's also a very handy summary section at the back of the book, for quick reference. If you're serious about raising your game and taking your presenting skills to a new level - buy this book!”

— Hassan Sheikh, MD, Peoplematrix

“Beautifully presented and containing so many useful techniques assisting us to engage with our audiences. If you want to be heard, then buy the book!”

— Mark Flawn, Founder & Owner. The F10 Group

“This is exactly what I was looking for - a book that provides the tools and techniques to bring fresh ideas into presenting that will bring management closer to my subject, making my job and delivery seamless.”

— Danielle De Laine

“What a great book - Michael gets to the heart of the matter and gives practical tips and advice I can use immediately. Clear and challenging at times a great book getting back to the most successful form of communication in sales. All the twitter in the world doesn't have the same power as a great presentation.”

— John Kerr

Why now?

At the time of writing we are going through really challenging times – socially and economically. Many commentators are talking about a “lost decade”. Whatever the reality turns out to be, most businesses are going to face a very tough period as well as massive change. The impact of social media has yet to be fully realised as we are still in the wild west days of its growth and influence. Yet it is already having a profound influence.

Additive manufacturing - or 3D Printing - is just beginning, with its potentially huge impact on storage and distribution.

The concept of a career is on the way out, rather like fax machines. The US Department of Labour estimates that someone who enters the work force today will have 10-14 jobs by the time they are 38.

In one generation, we will have grown from just over 2 billion people on the planet to 9 billion.

The list of such changes is long and both exciting and frightening, depending on how you view it. Such changes will challenge our thinking in almost every area, especially when you reflect on a phrase of Einstein's : “One cannot solve a problem with the same sort of thinking that created it.”

Yet whatever the changes and challenges we face, the need to communicate clearly, openly and effectively has never been greater. The ability to present your offering to a potential client clearly, honestly and skillfully; to give clear and congruent direction and inspiration to your team, staff or company...and the ability to do all of this brilliantly and at short notice...is no longer an option. It is vital. And of course it is the most portable of skills.

Those who choose to master the vital art of presenting will be far more likely to survive and prosper in the coming maelstrom. Those who do not will find the going tough.

It would probably be fair to say that presenting is very rarely top of people’s favourite things to do. And many of us go to extraordinary lengths to avoid having to give one. Why is this so?

For some of you reading this, what I’m about to say will make no sense at all. The remainder will recognise it in varying degrees. The reason is fear. What sort of fear? Fear of failure. Is that all? Fear of failure through ridicule - being made to look stupid, bumbling, unprofessional. Fear that our nerves will show, that our voice will crack, the sweat will pour and that we’ll be judged in a critical and negative manner.

You would expect me to be biased and I am! Research continually shows that being able to present coherently and naturally and to ENGAGE with any audience is a skill worth mastering. Failing to do so damages promotion prospects in most organisations, loses both existing and potential clients, gives woolly confusing messages, de-motivates staff and in many cases does your self-esteem no favours.

Getting most of it “right” can go a very long way to winning business, getting your ideas accepted, building other people’s trust and faith in you and improving their perceptions of you - both personally and professionally.

Is there one way of doing it - a foolproof magic pill or method?

Frankly, no. We are each of us unique, with our own personalities and style. And I would ALWAYS encourage you to let your natural style - the real you - come out to play. But it will normally only feel safe to come out and play if you feel you have the tools and the techniques to do justice both to yourself and the subject you are talking about.

That’s what this book is about. It is a distillation of the most useful techniques and attitudes that I have been teaching and also learning from my clients for over 20 years. They all work. They work time and time again and in almost every context. Try them for yourself, and experience the difference that even just a few of them can make. It can be the difference that makes the difference.

“If we did all the things we are capable of, we would literally astound ourselves.”

— Thomas Edison

Why me?

Have you ever sat back and wondered “How the hell did I get to be here today, doing what I'm doing?!”

Churchill once said “ The secret of being great is knowing what you want and going for it”. Well, I definitely failed on that one!

For years, I hadn't a real clue of what I wanted to do. Yet nearly everything I’ve done has contributed to make me one of the most effective presentation coaches around. And I say this with no sense of ego - more with delight and constant surprise! Delight and a genuine sense of fulfilment at what my clients are able to achieve after working with me...and surprise that this has become my path and vocation after being petrified for so long by the very things I now teach.

At school I was scared stiff at standing up and speaking in public. Although I loved theatre from an early age I never volunteered to take part in school plays.The very thought of looking out at all those people made me sick with nerves. My parents put strong pressure on me to develop my debating skills, but I studiously avoided ANY chance to do so. Ridiculous though it may sound, for many years I wouldn’t get married because of the thought of walking down the aisle looking at all those faces. Hardly an auspicious start!

Yet I must have had something of the performer hidden in me. I was a very good pianist in my late teens, and got enthusiastic applause on the rare occasions I performed on stage.

My confidence grew more once I joined the Army. After completing an instructors course, I did well enough to be recommended to become one of the instructors at the school itself.

After 5 years wearing khaki, I found myself in a small merchant bank for 2 years where I made some good friends but learned very little!

After the Army, my next most formative and powerful influence was the 6 years I spent with Procter & Gamble. I had no idea of the calibre of the organisation I’d joined, and I certainly had no more than a fleeting interest in soap or the retail trade. But I had been told by many wiser than me that it would be excellent training and stand me in good stead for almost any business I chose to join afterwards. And they were right. I have worked with over 50 different organisations since leaving P&G, and I’ve yet to find one who manages, coaches, trains and motivates their people better.There was no HR dept to speak of - I think 3 people. And no training department as such. As managers we were all trained to train and coach and manage our people, and at least at junior level we were measured and promoted on 2 principal things.....our ability to produce the business and our ability to produce the people. Luckily I seemed to do both well, and found myself in Head Office.

Yet in my final few months there, I received a sharp warning about my lack of presentational ability. I had been promoted from the field to a small and elite team in Head Office - part of the job being to launch and relaunch brands. One particular launch was huge. It involved going into a whole new market strongly dominated by a major competitor.

The launch was very innovative and by P&G standards - spectacular.

I very nearly got thrown off the presenting team for being by far the weakest link in the chain. I sounded wooden and lacklustre and just couldn’t get it right in rehearsal. Yet on the day I managed to pull the rabbit out of the hat and do justice to the product, the event, and my team.

I share this hopefully brief vignette with you for one principal reason. So that you can feel confident that I have made nearly every single presenting mistake its possible to make! And that I have endured the torments of Hades at the very thought of standing up in front of others. I’ve “been there”, which gives me a valuable and empathetic insight when helping others excel in this crucial business, managerial and leadership ability.

“Many of the things you can count, don’t count. Many of the things you can’t count, really count.”

— Albert Einstein

Some fundamentals

Let us start this journey together with exploding a modern myth. When you say “presentations” to people, around 90% will immediately think of PowerPoint. How many slides they can produce and how much should go on them. They then spend an age composing those slides, with hardly a thought of how they will talk about them.

To them, the slides are the presentation and they are merely the voice accompaniment. This is completely wrong and more importantly, will almost always FAIL TO ENGAGE your audience. Did you ever see Barack Obama, Churchill, Nelson Mandela or Tony Blair ever use slides? So leave any thoughts of PowerPoint behind for now.

If you will, think of a few examples of some really good public speakers and presenters - people who have impressed and engaged you. What do they DO? What do they DEMONSTRATE or seem to POSSESS? Do this exercise below now before reading any further.

What do impressive speakers DO?

What do they DEMONSTRATE?

What do they POSSESS?

Everything to do with spoken communication essentially falls into two baskets - “what” you say, and “how” you say it. Now, if you review the list of qualities from the exercise you’ve just done - in which basket do most of those comments belong? Most belong in the “how you say it” basket, do they not?

It is often quoted that less than 10% of the meaning of your communication is carried by your words. Over 90% of the meaning you wish to convey is carried by your voice and how you use it, and by your physiology - how you stand, move and look at people.

With this in mind let’s compare 2 famous orators from antiquity - Cicero and Demosthenes. Both are said to have had their audiences in awe at their eloquence, brilliance passion and skill.

Cicero first - he was once asked what it took to be a great orator. His reply: “You need the mind of a philosopher; a lawyer’s memory, the voice of a tragedian and the consummate bearing of an actor” Such talents are probably beyond the reach of most us modern mortals.

Yet when Demosthenes spoke, his audience not only marvelled at his brilliant and engaging oratory, they also said on at least one occasion “Let’s march!” So he could arguably have been the more effective of the two. And when asked for his advice on how to make a speech, his reply was short and to the point: “There are only three things you need to remember. Delivery, delivery and delivery.” The delivery is the “How.”

This is not to imply for one moment that your content is unimportant. It is vital. What it DOES mean is that you can have the best content in the world but if you can’t deliver it in an engaging fashion then it has very little chance of being remembered or acted upon. So you need good content as well as the ability to deliver well.

“Pockets are the most sensitive parts of a human being. So we must touch hearts and minds first.”

— President Lula da Silva of Brazil

When we consider what good or great speakers did or demonstrated or seemed to possess we discover that their qualities fall essentially into 2 parts - “What” they say and “How” they say it.

Every time that I’ve asked my clients the same question, the “How” qualities outnumber the “What” by about 10:1

The “How” really breaks down further into two - VOICE and PHYSIOLOGY. So let’s tackle the former first. It is worth sharing a small “health warning” at this stage. There is no magic pill or one way of doing this. We are each of us unique, with our own peculiar strengths, qualities and areas for improvement. So take all of what you are about to read about Voice and Physiology as guidelines, not rules.

But first, what are the 3 ‘duties’ or obligation that a speaker has towards his audience?

The 3 duties of a speaker

Any speaker or presenter has three “duties” or obligations to their audience:

1. TO BE INTERESTING

The first duty is to be interesting. How? By using your voice and physiology to good effect and being engaging. It also helps if you are interested in your subject. But sometimes you won’t be. There are times in all of our lives when we have to deliver material that bores or fails to engage us - that’s life. In which case be brief. Your lack of interest then has less chance to “leak.”

2. GET THE MESSAGE ACROSS

The second duty is to get your message across. How? Certainly by being interesting and engaging, and also by structuring it well. Nearly every talk needs a “shape” or a narrative. You also need a message, something that most talks simply don’t have. Too many are just dumps of information. Structure will be covered in more detail later.

3. BE AUTHENTIC

The last of these three duties is to let your personality come across - to be you, to be authentic. There is something instinctively engaging about a presenter when they are being themselves. This is most easily achieved when you know your subject, have a clear message and have minimal but powerful and visual notes that support you.

People are attracted to charismatic, and authentic speakers and messages