STRONGBRANDS    Professor Tim Calkins, Kellogg School of Management

I am now in my fourth week of teaching on Zoom; so far I’ve taught 21 class sessions and I’m starting to feel more settled. I also did a round of student feedback. Here are some observations on the transition. It Works My biggest learning is that Zoom teaching works. I can present material, answer […]

Like many professors, I’ll now be teaching remotely. Northwestern has cancelled in-person classes for a while and shifted everything online. The move brings up a lot of interesting questions about communication and presenting. I’ll share my learnings as I navigate the transition. Here are three initial observations. This Won’t Be Easy A few of my […]

This fall I tried a new approach to grading papers: recording audio clips instead of writing comments. I was amazed by the positive results. I think audio is an idea to consider for anyone who gives feedback, whether the feedback is on papers, proposals, or individual performances.   The Grading Challenge Grading is one of the […]

I recently taught a course in Denmark to a group of business executives, and in the process I was reminded of one of the most basic presenting tips: show up early. The Scene My presentation was scheduled for 8:30, so I arrived at 7:45. I actually got to the neighborhood earlier and enjoyed a cup […]

This week President Donald Trump provided an important lesson for anyone gearing up for a business presentation: only present rock solid data. The Mysterious Line During a press briefing on Hurricane Dorian, Trump held up a weather that featured what appeared to be a black line drawn by hand. You can see the chart here: […]

Over the past few months I’ve been traveling around talking about my new book, How to Wash a Chicken – Mastering the Business Presentation. I’ve hit quite a few cities along the way: Los Angeles, Houston, Boston, Toronto, Chicago and others. This week I’ll be in Atlanta and New York. The events have been great […]

It is time for resolutions; the start of a new year is a natural time to think about new goals and priorities. Even people who “don’t do resolutions” often become reflective as this time of year rolls around. The most common resolutions won’t come as a surprise. Number 1 on the list is apparently getting […]

My tennis game has not gotten better over the years. Indeed, anyone watching me play would probably conclude quite the opposite; I am getting worse as time goes by. The good news is that I’ve figured out the problem: my racquet. It is aging, so the flawed racquet is missing all the shots. It is […]

There is a pretty simple way to put an audience to sleep: Just present a collection of random facts and charts. You might start with a page showing sales over the past several years, then move on to margin trends, then a look at sales by region and product line. People might be engaged for […]

Last year Kellogg opened up its new Global Hub, a massive and fabulous building that is now perhaps the top business school facility in the world. The building is full of light and incredible vistas of Lake Michigan, with a mix of meeting spaces and areas for quiet work and reflection. The classrooms are modern and spacious. […]

There is a simple way to dramatically increase the odds that your next presentation will go well: pre-sell it. Before you actually get to the presentation, you should meet with all the key people who will be there. If you do this, you will walk into the room with confidence and the meeting will probably be a success. […]

All too many presentations lack punch. The document becomes a dense collection of facts with a plodding tone and structure. This does not make the recommendation interesting or compelling. It simply doesn’t work well. There are many steps to creating a powerful presentation: be clear on the recommendation, include an executive summary, find the story, […]