We all know someone with expert knowledge on a particular subject? Someone who is so well informed that their grasp of fact and history leaves us completely gob-smacked. More often than not, we regard an individual as an expert, mainly because of how much we recall what they have told us, rather than understanding the impact of the way in which they actually presented that information.

Great teachers acquire this reputation because of the results their students achieve. We remember our best teachers because they made their subject interesting and we managed to recall so much of what we were taught, that we actually excelled in that particular subject. It’s why we enjoyed their lessons and why we had such high regard for that teacher. It’s the reason they are remembered long after we finished school. But the fundamental value most overlooked when trying to compare a bad teacher to a good one, is that a great teacher is a great presenter and a bad teacher, is just plain bad at it.

An academic subject is only boring because of the way in which a bad teacher presents the subject. Dry fact is about as appealing as a bowl of dry, high fiber cereal. However, high fiber doesn’t sell because of its taste appeal. It sells in massive volumes because of its health benefits – along with the way we are enticed to buy it. This is in no small part reliant on the way in which the product is presented on the packaging. The suggested serving shows fresh milk, strawberries and honey being poured onto the wholesome cereal, disguising its blandness – fact, delivered with appeal.

It’s all about the presentation. We spend our lives making ourselves presentable, but some people just don’t get it. They dress in a particular way, not to make themselves more attractive, but rather just to blend in. They do so because it is socially expected, not because they are socially competitive. These people would make bad teachers.

We paint our homes, cut the lawn and grow beautiful flowers. Why? To make our surroundings beautiful. We buy magazines that show us and tell us how best to decorate and present our homes. The top restaurants are rated not only because of their superb cuisine, but by the way it is presented on the plate and even the surroundings in which it is served.

The advertising and marketing industry spends more time exacting the presentation of their client's brands, than they do in delivering the facts of how the product is manufactured, although even these facts are most often presented in a dynamic, interesting and meaningful way.

Having the facts and even being regarded as an expert does not automatically equate to being a great presenter. In fact, the very opposite is true. More often than not, people that have achieved expert reputation in a particular field almost invariably turn out to be poor deliverers of their expertise.

There is a skill, a talent and a passion for delivering a subject in an expert, impactful manner. It is this unique ability that makes a great presenter stand out above the monologue that often spews from a nutty professor, delivered in a monotonous fashion, despite the accuracy or factual content of the presentation.

A great speaker is invariably an enthusiastic presenter. A great speaker can be an expert in their subject, but what makes them an expert presenter, is how they deliver the information in a way that outlasts the occasion of a corporate function or public event.

Being able to articulate, delivering eloquently and presenting information with enthusiastic energy are prerequisites that make a presenter spectacular or spectacularly disappointing.