Presentation

I have finally recovered from our company's retreat at Big Cedar. I haven't learned as much relevant/do-it-now or die/change your life/are you doing this yet? info in one day as I did last Thursday when Tony Louw talked to our firm about presentation. Not just PowerPoint, don't say "you know"or "like," don't burp in public presentation stuff. We talked about how to present ideas in all forms: client e-mails and phone calls, conference call meetings, internal strategy, etc.

My top five take aways:
1) think of your audience
2) keeping thinking of your audience
3) present to all the senses
4) organize your thoughts to maximize your time
5) involve and engage your audience - always try to create opportunities for participation and dialogue

Few are the professional development opportunities when you can truly walk away better than you arrived. Thanks to Toni - who is brilliant - for his insight and guidance.

The retreat couldn't have been a retreat without the requisite imbibing. Here's a picture of me, after a few cocktails, reinacting the taxidermy-meets-head collision I had earlier, while attempting to sneak out of the meeting for a bathroom break. I instead had to apologize to Toni, the group and the dead bird.

Also below is a picture of the view of the cabins at Big Cedar. The area is beautiful. The only thing I'd prefer is that the lodge's interior decorators lower their quota for in-room placement of dead stuffed things. Antlers above the mantle make me think of the rustic outdoors. Stuffed squirrels in my bedroom make me think of rabies.