The Good Deck

Ever feel like the audience notices every tiny mistake you make? That's the 'spotlight effect,' a major cause of presentation anxiety. Learn the mindset shifts and practical techniques to overcome it and stay focused on what really matters: your message. We’ve all seen it happen. A smart, engaging colleague who you could chat with for hours over coffee steps into the spotlight. The camera light blinks on, the slides go live, and... they transform. The natural, funny human is gone, replaced by...

The first five minutes of a high-stakes meeting are the most expensive. Everyone is leaning in with peak curiosity, ready to hear the "so what." Most presentations use that initial window to build a bridge of context—agendas, history, and methodology. This approach is logical and thorough; it’s the safe path, and usually, it’s just fine. It works. But what if you don’t always need the bridge? What if you skip the chronological build-up and jump right to the climax? This is in media res. A...

In today's edition, we're unpacking the Isolation Effect—a powerful psychological trigger for memory—and giving you a simple framework to add weight and clarity to your most important ideas. How do you ensure your audience walks away with the three points you need them to remember, and not a random assortment of details? Most communication leaves this to chance. We present the information and expect the audience to do the work of prioritizing it. This is a critical mistake. The most effective...

Your brain tells you more evidence is better. But a psychological principle known as the 'dilution effect' reveals that weak arguments don't just add noise—they retroactively damage your strongest points. In today’s edition: a simple test to help your strongest ideas stand out. When we hear a list of points in a presentation, we don’t judge each one on its own. We form a quick, overall impression—almost like averaging them. So if you lead with a strong point, then follow it up with a few that...

Your strategy is solid, but does the client feel the vision? This edition breaks down why pitches that focus only on features fall short, and how to use aspirational imagery to close the emotional gap. Learn to make the future you're proposing feel tangible, exciting, and inevitable. Aspirational imagery is a picture that represents a future someone wants to experience. It evokes a feeling of: “I want that life,” “I want to feel like that,” or “That could be me if I do/buy this.” It’s not...