This interview is a new one with Don Collliver, and we go deep on effective presentations. There are a lot of best practices and rules you have heard that he breaks. His approach is not simply to be different. He has seen the value in using his approach for business presentations that focus on getting the point (or series of points across). The goal is communication, in this case, rather than entertainment. However, his background in entertainment makes him an entertaining speaker as well.
Effective Presentations Get The Message Across
There are a number of factors that Don considers in putting together a presentation. These help him focus on his message, the audience, and show respect for their time. That helps us avoid things like the cat “hang in there” slide or other superfluous slides and gimmicks you often see. The approach and guidelines he provides are for putting together a professional and focused presentation.
About Don
Don Colliver is a teacher, speaker, writer, and comedian with over twenty-five years of experience. He enjoys passionately engaging audiences and helping them engage with one another. Don’s mission is to help every speaker profoundly impact their audience through the power of courageous vulnerability, confident authenticity, and the joy of connection. Thanks to his popular public speaking courses delivered internally at Google and worldwide, hundreds of nervous speakers have transformed into more effective and joyful communicators, reaching a deeper level of audience connection than they ever thought possible.
In addition to teaching, Don can be found on the trade show floor, where he writes and delivers presentations for companies including Adobe, Cisco, and Medtronic. On the screen, Don has written and directed hundreds of hours of nonfiction television for shows, including House Hunters, $40 a Day with Rachael Ray, and Roker on the Road.
Before teaching others to take the spotlight confidently, Don toured internationally as a theatrical Clown for the contemporary circus company Spiegelworld and performed briefly with the Blue Man Group. Also, he is listed in the Cirque du Soleil performer database. He is a founding member of the award-winning sketch and clown groups DJ Faucet and the Innocents. His troupes have received awards, including the Improv Olympic Del Close Award for Best Sketch Comedy Troupe and the Hollywood Fringe Award for Best Physical Theater. Don won the 2017 Toastmasters International District One Tall Tales Speech Championship.
Don graduated Summa Cum Laude with a BS in Communications from Boston University. He holds certifications in Design Thinking, Applied Improvisation, and Instructional Design. He lives in the San Francisco Bay Area. When he’s not helping speakers engage with their audiences more deeply, he can be found hiking through the redwoods.
