Presenting Quotes

We’re all going to experience bloopers on stage. For most of us, millions of people around the world won’t be watching. But our ability to exhibit grace and resilience under pressure and a sense of humor, and to understand that we’re all human, will go far to entertain and satisfy our audience – and perhaps give our presentation that extra luster that people will remember long after it’s over.

Lisa Braithwaite in her book, Presenting for Humans: Insights for Speakers on Ditching Perfection and Creating Connection

The desire for more positive experience is itself a negative experience. And paradoxically, the acceptance of one’s negative experience is itself a positive experience.

Mark Manson in his book, The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck

People need to be aroused by surprising statements about their behavior and by questions that make them stop and think about what they are saying. If you break through their mental frames, they will stare at you for a moment as their brains look for ways to make sense of what they are considering. Then a burst of adrenaline could cause an emotional reaction, anything from nervous laughter to anger before an insight emerges. If you act on this moment by helping to solidify the new awareness, their minds will change. If you do not facilitate this process, a strong ego may work backward to justify the previous behavior.

Dr. Marcia Reynolds in her book, The Discomfort Zone: How Leaders Turn Difficult Conversations Into Breakthroughs

One of the most important functions of your unconscious is the processing of data delivered by your eyes. That’s because, whether hunting or gathering, an animal that sees better eats better and avoids danger more effectively, and hence lives longer. As a result, evolution has arranged it so that about a third of your brain is devoted to processing vision: to interpreting color, detecting edges and motion, perceiving depth and distance, deciding the identity of objects, recognizing faces, and many other tasks. Think of it–a third of your brain is busy doing all those things, yet you have little knowledge of or access to the processing.

Leonard Mlodinow in his book, Subliminal: How Your Unconscious Mind Rules Your Behavior

Look around you. Your clothes, language, furniture, house, city, and nation all began as a vision in someone else’s mind. Your food, drink, vehicles, books, schools, entertainment, tools, and appliances all came from someone’s dissatisfaction with the world as they found it. Humans love to create. And creating starts with an idea that can change the world.

Nancy Duarte in her book, Resonate: Present Visual Stories that Transform Audiences