On 24 November 2024, I delivered a workshop at the annual IATEFL BESIG conference in sunny Malta, exploring how strong visual communication transforms presentations.
Inspired by my Think Visually: Slide Design course, the session offered practical tips on how to create engaging slides to amplify your messages.
Visuals are more than decoration—they’re essential for making messages clear, compelling, and memorable. Whether you're teaching, leading, or pitching, great slides amplify your impact.
Thrilled to be invited to speak at the IATEFL BESIG Online AI Symposium on September 28th, 2024, where the focus was on using AI tools to create customised content for learners.
How to make a PowerPoint Stand Out?
How to make slides look good?
How to make a good PowerPoint presentation?
If you’ve ever asked these questions.....
Exciting news – we’ve got a new course for you!
I'm thrilled to introduce the first-ever video showcasing the services I offer to help you conquer the stage—whether it's a boardroom, a virtual meeting, or a major conference. If you've ever struggled with presentation anxiety, or if the mere thought of public speaking makes your heart race, this video is for you.
This Strong Starts and Powerful Ends at Executive level workshop brought together Finance leaders from around the globe for their annual conference, where I served as their Business Communication Coach.
During a recent retreat at the stunning Radisson Blu Resort in Malta, participants engaged in a public speaking and presentation skills workshop led by me! The sessions focused on boosting confidence, refining presentation style, and mastering impactful communication.
With hands-on activities and real-time feedback, attendees left with practical skills, including body language tips for public speaking and fun presentation ideas to make their presentations stand out.
At Colliers Belgium, delivering compelling client presentations is crucial to their success. When HR Business Partner, Marie-Laure Antoniou, wanted to elevate their approach, she turned to Melanie Hussell’s Think Visually: Slide Design Workshop. This hands-on workshop empowered the team to create fun presentation ideas and impactful visual presentations that truly resonate with their audience. Through practical tips on visual storytelling and PowerPoint design ideas, Colliers' team gained the skills and confidence to craft presentations that not only engage but inspire action.
'Boom! Make an impact!’
'Use colour to keep the attention’
‘Make it simpler and easier for your audience to understand your message’
‘Think before you start’
‘Bigger is better’
‘A new way to create presentations with an impact on the audience by highlighting’
Above are takeaways from my first 'PowerPoint Slide design/Think visually Top 10 Starter Tips' workshop.
When you present, do your key points arrive bang on target every time?
In my journey as a Communication Coach, I've noticed a common challenge many speakers face: the effective use of visuals in presentations. Despite excelling in content and delivery, their PowerPoint slides often lack the power to truly engage the audience, leading to a disconnect from the core message.
I'm thrilled to introduce a unique blend of Digital Learning and AI tools, specially designed to transform you to be a more confident and influential speaker. This method is not only efficient and cost-effective, but is highly praised by my clients for its effectiveness in turbocharging their speaking skills.
In the domain of public speaking, a common question often emerges:
Are extroverts inherently better speakers than introverts?
It's a widespread notion that public speaking is more feared than death. However, this is a contested idea.
While public speaking is indeed a common fear, death still tops the list for many. But it's not just speaking in public that unnerves us; it's the fear of public humiliation.
Understanding that fear when presenting is normal is vital. That intense feeling of anxiety. It’s normal!
In Part 1, we explored the first 2 pillars of my powerful communication strategy: Language and Pronunciation. We uncovered their integral roles in executive communication.
This blog post will focus on the remaining 2 pillars: Presentation Techniques and Voice & Body Language.
Every compelling conversation, persuasive presentation, and engaging executive communication can be distilled into 4 foundational pillars:
1. Language
2. Pronunciation
3. Presentation Techniques
4. Voice & Body Language
In the evolving world of digital communication, many of my clients, including corporates and associations, are increasingly turning to in-house video production.
Here are my 12 top tips for making engaging videos, focused around three of my powerful communication pillars: presentation skills, language, and voice and body language.
Yoodli has introduced a new subscription pricing onto the platform. You can still use Yoodli for 10 presentations/interviews/meetings and now if you find it valuable, you can sign up to Yoodli using a special code (MELANIE20) and you will get 20% off.
Learn how key body language is in speech.
In this fifth and final video from my 'Peek Inside Persuasive Presentations' course series, I explain the importance of body language and share crucial insights about maintaining the right posture.
Learn why to pause when public speaking. There is a wealth of tips here, but this is my number one practical piece of advice to help reduce your stress levels.
Also to not be nervous for a presenation, you need to learn to breathe!
This highly effective vocal technique, The Powerful Pause, is in this fourth video from my 'Peek Inside Persuasive Presentations' course series where I explain why to pause.
Learn how to speak concisely. In this third video from my 'Peek Inside Persuasive Presentations' course series, I explain why brevity is key. I want to ensure every word you say carries weight. So I've developed a three-step process – Simplify, Support and Strengthen to help my clients achieve this.
In this second video from my 'Peek Inside Persuasive Presentations' course series, I'm going to show you how to define your communication goal. We're going to consider your audience and their current state, and plan the journey you aim to take them through during your presentation. What's the transformation from beginning to end?
Learn how to acquire effective presentation skills. In this first video from my 'Peek Inside Persuasive Presentations' course series, I'm going to guide you through the 4 crucial stages to mastering effective presentation skills.
In this video, Dr. Davide Ziveri, a global expert in Planetary Health & Health Equity, tell us about his experience with my public speaking course and his sessions with me as a business communication coach. And how these have transformed his devlivery - to give impactful presentations.
In this video, Meriem Afif, Inside channel manager for Benelux, Milestone tell us about her experience with my presentation skills course and her sessions with me as a business communication coach. And how these have pushed her out of her comfort zone to become a confident public speaker.
As a non-native English speaker, you may experience more fears and thoughts of self-doubt related to your ability to communicate in English. It is perfectly natural to have these feelings. However, you can push yourself to develop the skills needed to overcome these obstacles and become a confident speaker.
Not having good communication skills and confidence can hurt your company's strategy and profits through a lack of impact. Your valuable ideas might not land or are not adopted because they are not presented well. In our busy, competitive business world, it's critical that people hear your voice and ideas. If you don't communicate effectively, your company might miss valuable opportunities to grow.
In this article, you will learn about the 10 common fears in public speaking and how you can overcome them.
How many PowerPoint slides should you include when preparing for a presentation? You may have heard all kinds of suggestions. Some experts might say you should have a specific number of slides per minute. However, this isn’t the best way to approach your presentation. This article will share the 4 factors that impact how many PowerPoint slides you will need for your presentation.
Imagine that you must give an executive presentation in the upcoming weeks. You must ensure that your PowerPoint slides are well-designed and professional to engage your audience. But, if you’ve never presented at an executive level before, it can seem like an intimidating task. That is why I recommend following my 7-step process to slide design.
When you conclude an executive presentation, how do you want your audience to remember it? What action do you want them to take? The answer is to create an effective call to action (CTA). A CTA should be memorable and persuasive, so that your presentation has the desired impact on its recipients.
Imagine you must attend a business meeting where you must present a unique solution to your fellow executives. Your strategy will help the company move forward and grow. However, you are not quite sure if your fellow executives will agree with your ideas. How would you feel about presenting your ideas to your colleagues? Would you be anxious about persuading your audience? Or would you feel confident in your persuasive skills? How do you persuade an audience?
When it comes to executive presentations, business storytelling is one of the most powerful tools you can use to convey your message. Storytelling allows you to hold your audience's attention and share the experiences that occurred. In this article, I will share with you the benefits of business storytelling and how it can take your executive presentations from good to great.