Best of the Blog 2020: Top 5 Posts of the Year
For many, 2020 cannot end soon enough. But before this tumultuous year slips into the history books, we want to share five of our favorite blog posts of the past 12 months.
It turns out that our five favorites were among our readers’ favorites, as well – as measured by all the clicks.
It’s been a year of uncertainty, adaptation, discoveries, and challenges to the status quo. What remains the same, however, is our belief that with the right tips and strategies you can weather any challenge you face as a presenter or spokesperson.
No. 1 – Coronavirus: How to Deliver a Dynamic Virtual Presentation When You Can’t Go to Work
Who suspected in March, as COVID-19 pandemic shutdowns began, that our home offices (including those on kitchen tables) would be our only office nine months later (…and counting).
Suddenly, managers, sales representatives and educators who were not familiar with video conferencing and live streaming needed to take a crash course in how connect with their audiences digitally.
In this post, we offered tips and strategies on everything from technical needs to how to best gesture to your online crowd. Knowledge is not only power, but it can increase confidence, too, which is a valuable commodity for any presenter – virtual or in-person.
No. 2 – 11 Ways to Design Better Slides for Virtual Presentations
Now that they were better presenters, could they be better visual designers, as well?
When projecting slides in a conference or lecture hall, most presenters have a wide canvas upon which to work. During a remote and online presentation, that’s hardly the case. Sure, some audience members may be on fairly large monitors, but woe the attendees who are trying to make sense of that small font on their smartphone screens.
In this post, we outlined several ways that designing slides for smaller screens, such as hand-held devices, required a re-focus, if you will, to ensure that images and texts looked like you wanted them to.
No. 3 – How to Fight Disinformation With a Truth Sandwich
As COVID-19 spread, there was no lack of information – though not all of it was accurate.
A public overwhelmed with the challenges of adapting to life in a pandemic often found it hard to find reliable sources to debunk rumors and unfounded theories.
Sifting through the misinformation was no easy task for spokespersons or subject matter experts. In this post, we offered up some enduring advice on how best to counter false or dubious claims by wrapping them in the truth.
No. 4 – How to Answer Tough Questions: Pandemic Edition
Along these lines, we offered some additional advice for leaders, spokespersons, and other institutional and corporate representatives who were challenged to provide authentic and truthful answers amid an ever-evolving pandemic.
We asked then and it remains true now: What can you say if you don’t have the answers people are looking for? How can you provide reassurance without overpromising? How can you instill confidence during a time filled with fear?
In this post, we offered a three-part framework to guide interviewees through the best responses for the toughest of questions.
No. 5 – Why a Textbook Crisis Apology Failed to Satisfy Book Critics
Earlier this year, the release of the best-selling book “American Dirt,” by Jeanine Cummins, elicited both praise and controversy. Although several literary heavyweights came out in support, critics said the story – that of a Mexican mother and her son escaping a ruthless drug cartel – was stereotypical and racist.
An apology by the publisher followed, but it fell flat among those who had called for it.
Why didn’t it work?
Here’s a preliminary reveal: To the critics, he didn’t sound as if he was really sorry.
In this post, we took a deeper dive into what makes a public apology effective.
We here at Throughline are grateful for our readers’ support this year, as well as their interest in the work we do. We have and will continue to get through the challenges together. We’ll see you in 2021!
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