About Six Minutes

Six Minutes is a public speaking and presentation skills blog.

We offer regular feature articles on speech writing, delivery techniques, PowerPoint and visuals, and speaker habits. In these articles, you will find tips, insights, and strategies which help you become a confident and effective speaker.

In addition, we also also deliver special features including:

speech critiques enhanced with video;
public speaking book reviews; and
weekend recaps of the best public speaking articles from the public speaking blogosphere.

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If you follow me on Twitter, you will also receive article updates, and other helpful resources of interest to public speakers.

About Me

I’m Andrew Dlugan, and I’m the founder of Six Minutes.

I am passionate about the power of effective communication. I have two decades of communications experience: teaching courses, delivering keynotes and seminars, coaching speakers, and emceeing events. I am an award-winning public speaker and speech evaluator. I have been a Toastmasters member since 2005; you can read more about my Toastmasters accomplishments here.

I have bachelor’s degrees in both engineering and computer science. Earlier in my career, I devoted nine years to cancer research and medical imaging. More recently, I am involved with satellite data analysis, aviation, and web technologies.

When I’m not solving engineering problems, speaking to an audience, or working on Six Minutes, I enjoy reading, traveling, photography, woodworking, and spending time with my family.

I am happily married, and we have one daughter. We live just outside Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

Contacting Me

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About This Website — sixminutes.dlugan.com

Six Minutes is built on the WordPress platform. The original theme was MistyLook, but it has been substantially rewritten and customized over the years. I designed the look and feel, and also wrote custom software to enhance the usability of the site.

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Fraser Barnes @fraserbarnes — Sep 20th, 2010

Had a fabulous meeting about Public Speaking with Andrew Dlugan of @sixminutes. check out his site bit.ly/du9rL3. Thanks Andrew!

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HPS Toastmasters @parkspeak — Sep 15th, 2011

Jim recommended this Website, 6 Minutes: t.co/TCDJnXFo. Follow related tweets at @6minutes or subscribe to our PublicSpeaking List.

Featured Articles

Speech Critiques

Majora Carter (TED, 2006)
Energy, Passion, Speaking Rate
Hans Rosling (TED, 2006)
6 Techniques to Present Data
J.A. Gamache (Toastmasters, 2007)
Gestures, Prop, Writing
Steve Jobs (Stanford, 2005)
Figures of speech, rule of three
Al Gore (TED, 2006)
Humor, audience interaction
Dick Hardt (OSCON, 2005)
Lessig Method of Presentation

Recommended Books

Title: Multimedia Learning
Author: Richard E. Mayer
What is it About: An academic review of cognitive research which provides guidelines for the design of visual presentation aids.
Who Should Read It: Teachers, trainers, instructors, and speaking coaches who want to understand the cognitive theory behind modern slide design.
Book Review: Read the Six Minutes Review of this book

Title: slide:ology: The Art and Science of Creating Great Presentations
Author: Nancy Duarte
What is it About: The book on effective visual presentations from the expert whose design firm created the graphics for Al Gore's Oscar-winning film, An Inconvenient Truth.
Who Should Read It: Everyone who wants a classic reference text for presentation design. You'll read this again and again.
Book Review: Read the Six Minutes Review of this book

Title: Back of the Napkin: Solving Problems and Selling Ideas with Pictures
Author: Dan Roam
What is it About: Insightful and essential lessons for all communicators. Everyone can benefit by improving their visual thinking skills with the help of this book.
Who Should Read It: Smart people who want to improve their visual thinking skills.
Book Review: Read the Six Minutes Review of this book

Title: Clear and to The Point: 8 Psychological Principles for Compelling PowerPoint Presentations
Author: Stephen Kosslyn
What is it About: Well-written book full of practical tips and techniques that can be applied immediately to design your slides more effectively.
Who Should Read It: All speakers who want their visuals to complement and reinforce their message.
Book Review: Read the Six Minutes Review of this book

Title: Confessions of a Public Speaker
Author: Scott Berkun
What is it About: An irreverent insider's view of public speaking. You'll be both entertained and educated.
Who Should Read It: Any aspiring speaker who seeks honest insights about public speaking.
Book Review: Read the Six Minutes Review of this book

Title: Universal Principles of Design
Author: William Lidwell, Kritina Holden, and Jill Butler
What is it About: Elegantly written and thought-provoking. Packed with creative ideas for improving your presentations. A classic reference!
Who Should Read It: Speakers who want to learn from related disciplines of design, psychology, and usability, and anyone fascinated to understand the world around them.
Book Review: Read the Six Minutes Review of this book

Title: The Quick and Easy Way to Effective Speaking
Author: Dale Carnegie
What is it About: Practical and plain public speaking advice. Covers a wide breadth of topics. This book contains the foundation for the Dale Carnegie speaking courses which have been completed by millions of people.
Who Should Read It: Novice speakers or anyone whose fear of speaking leads them to believe that they cannot excel as a speaker.
Book Review: Read the Six Minutes Review of this book

Title: The Wealthy Speaker: The Proven Formula for Building Your Successful Speaking Business
Author: Jane Atkinson
What is it About: An insider's view of professional speaking with loads of tips and insights for positioning yourself in the industry.
Who Should Read It: Established speakers ready to take the next step professionally and new speakers who are curious about the possibilities.
Book Review: Read the Six Minutes Review of this book

Title: Better Beginnings: How to Capture Your Audience in 30 Seconds
Author: Carmen Taran
What is it About: One-of-a-kind! An engaging and thorough treatment for one of the most essential public speaking skills -- how to open your speech.
Who Should Read It: Every speaker will benefit from this book, whether you speak with visuals or off the cuff, to investors or children.
Book Review: Read the Six Minutes Review of this book

Title: Boring to Bravo
Author: Kristin Arnold
What is it About: Non-stop gems for engaging your audience and keeping your presentations alive.
Who Should Read It: Speakers, trainers, facilitators, coaches, and managers.
Book Review: Read the Six Minutes Review of this book

Title: Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die
Author: Chip Heath and Dan Heath
What is it About: Best-selling business book delivers on its promise to show how to communicate your ideas so that they will be remembered.
Who Should Read It: All speakers with a message that they want the audience to remember. In short, everyone.
Book Review: Read the Six Minutes Review of this book

Title: The Story Factor: Inspiration, Influence, and Persuasion Through the Art of Storytelling
Author: Annette Simmons
What is it About: Makes a strong case of the power of storytelling to influence and inspire, in both public speaking and business communications.
Discusses the different types of stories that every speaker must be able to tell. Weaves numerous stories through the book.
Who Should Read It: (1) Anyone who is not yet convinced how powerful storytelling can be.
(2) Speakers looking to enhance their story repertoire.
Book Review: Read the Six Minutes Review of this book

Title: Speak Like Churchill, Stand Like Lincoln: 21 Powerful Secrets of History's Greatest Speakers
Author: James Humes
What is it About: 21 chapters averaging about 10 pages each. Each chapter introduces one simple speaking technique. Historical and contemporary examples are used throughout.
Who Should Read It: Speakers looking to elevate their speechwriting and delivery from good to great.
Book Review: Read the Six Minutes Review of this book

Title: Presentation Zen: Simple Ideas on Presentation Design and Delivery
Author: Garr Reynolds
What is it About: Bestseller which teaches presentation design. Emphasizes designing around the message rather than designing around the slides. Includes numerous full-color examples of slides, both good and bad.
Who Should Read It: Every speaker, particularly those who want to break free from the "Death by Powerpoint" mold.
Book Review: Read the Six Minutes Review of this book

Title: Thank You For Arguing
Author: Jay Heinrichs
What is it About: Reveals a collection of time-tested tools which will make you a better speechwriter and a better speaker.
Who Should Read It: All speakers will benefit from understanding the simple, yet not-so-obvious techniques for persuasion and persuasive speechwriting.
Book Review: Read the Six Minutes Review of this book

Title: Advanced Presentations by Design: Creating Communication that Drives Action
Author: Andrew Abela
What is it About: A comprehensive approach to planning and designing presentations focused on selling ideas and persuading your audience.
Who Should Read It: All presenters, particularly those who present in a business or scientific context. You will love this book if you like an interactive, workshop-style format.
Book Review: Read the Six Minutes Review of this book

Speechwriting Speech Critique: Dan Pink (TED 2009) Bookending Your Speech: A Master Technique How to Ace the Short, Impromptu Speech [view all...]	Public Speaking Book Reviews Boring to Bravo Back of the Napkin: Solving Problems and Selling Ideas with Pictures Thank You For Arguing [view all...]	Public Speaking Weekend Reviews 2012-01-05 2011-12-01 2011-11-18 [view all...]
Delivery Techniques How to Ace the Short, Impromptu Speech How to Thrive When Speaking Outside How to Weave Statistics Into Your Speech [view all...]	Speech Critiques Speech Critique: Dan Pink (TED 2009) Speech Analysis: Gettysburg Address – Abraham Lincoln Speech Critique: Elizabeth Gilbert @ TED (Author of Eat, Pray, Love) [view all...]	Resources for Speakers Gifts for Every Speaker… from Zero to Eighty Dollars You are Invited to the Outstanding Presentations Workshop Speeches that Changed the World [view all...]
Visual Aids How Many Slides Should You Have? How Many Slides Do You Need? Stop, Prepare, THEN PowerPoint The 10-20-30 Rule: Guy Kawasaki on PowerPoint [view all...]	Interviews Interview with Kristin Arnold, National Speakers Association President