It all started with the BIG question on the table.

Have we lost our edge when it comes to presentation skills?

This Coffee Chat centered on something many of us have noticed. With so much attention going to AI tools and digital platforms, it is easy to forget that connection and presence are still at the heart of great facilitation. Participants shared strategies they use to spark engagement, like starting with a playful question, calling people by name as they join, or choosing icebreakers that help everyone warm up without feeling awkward.

We also talked about what keeps a session lively once it begins. Simple tools like chat prompts, polls, and annotation help, but small human gestures often matter more. Reading the room, noticing who is quiet, acknowledging comments in real time, and keeping your tone approachable can turn a presentation into a conversation. A few trainer red flags came up too, like saving questions for the very end or reading directly from the slides.

The group shared ideas for keeping presentations fresh. Changing visuals to maintain energy, using a co host to help with tech, and keeping each slide focused on a single idea were all crowd favorites. We also laughed about what happens when things go wrong, whether the poll freezes or the audio drops. Great presenters stay calm, improvise, and keep the room connected through those moments.

In the end, presentation skills are not about performance. They are about building trust, showing care, and making people feel included. Technology can support that work, but it cannot replace the human element that makes learning come alive.

Stay curious!

-Shannon

Video

Transcript

Transcript Summary

Chatbox

Resources

Presentation Skills Self Assessment

250 Conversation Topics

Woodstock 1969 Playlist

The Learning Rebels’ 22 Tips To Level-Up Your Virtual Learning Game

How to Present Survey Results in PowerPoint

Bingo in the classroom: A fun & educational tool

Books

Presentation Skills 201: How to Take It to the Next Level as a Confident, Engaging Presenter by William Steele

The Confident Presenter: Ditch Your Fear of Public Speaking and Embrace the Stage by Ryan Millar

Think Faster, Talk Smarter: How to Speak Successfully When You're Put on the Spot by Matt Abrahams

Develop Your Presentation Skills: How to Inspire and Inform with Clarity and Confidence by Theo Theobald

DataStory: Explain Data and Inspire Action Through Story by Nancy Duarte

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Host: Shannon Tipton 

Podcast produced by: Obsidian Productions