Hits:

Mitch Joel’s presentation was as close to flawless as humanly possible. He took the audience on an information loaded ride that followed a focussed track – all from a place of comfort and heart. For those who want to learn how to listen to the internet and understand how to harness it’s relentless rabbit hole of opportunity, Mitch’s insight cuts sharp and deep. One recommendation Mitch, you need to slow down a bit. Some of your words were unrecognizable because of your rapid fire delivery.

Not for the easily offended, Gary Vanerchuk’s F bombs are not for delicate ears. Powerful delivery – check. Information packed – check. Intimate with his subject – check. If you get the chance to hear him, should you? Absolutely, and if your ears are delicate park them at the door and listen to the invaluable message Gary shares.

The lovely, geeky Avinash Kaushik is a dream come true for a public speaking coach. Is he a suave George Clooney? Not close. Did he bring the best version of Avinash to the stage? Damn straight he did. He charmed us with his love of numbers and analytics. Avinash exuded enthusiasm for his craft and convinced the naysayers – a coach could not ask for more.

Misses:

Oh Bill Taylor…you rambled, were off topic, obscured your content, and lost the audience. Did you notice people fidgeting, falling asleep, and/or leaving? I was expecting greatness and was disappointed.

The day ended with an underwhelming presentation from Guy Kawasaki. Disclaimer: I’m a fan of Kawasaki, which made this tough to write. What went wrong? Too much information – a common error that many of us make. You got so charged with wanting to share information that you crammed in too much. Three main points are enough – ten are too many.

Top highlight:

Gary Vanerchuk wearing a Vancouver Canucks hockey jersey.

Sour pickle:

There was not one woman speaker. Sorry, I don’t accept the excuse there are no high profile women in IT / Marketing or that all the women who were asked declined. Poppy cock! Organizers take note: It is your responsibility to represent the “other” 50%. The audience was made up of at least half women after all.

To Your Voice,

Janice

TED curator Chris Anderson was recently interviewed by James Daly. Anderson shared presentation insights that aspiring presenters can use in their own presentations.

Women speakers take note, Anderson is on the look out for interesting women speakers for upcoming TED talks.

We’re always looking out for interesting women. It’s an easy critique of any technology conference that there are aren’t enough women speakers and it’s true. But it certainly isn’t for want of looking and trying. We’d like to have (PepsiCo CEO) Indra K. Nooyi.