How to Make a Boring Topic More Interesting
“You can talk about ‘Succession Planning’” said the person in charge of the conference. My first thought was Ugh! That sounds boring! Fortunately, the allotted time for the topic was only 5-7 minutes early in the morning and the audience was a couple hundred positive Toastmaster club officers. I challenged myself to deliver useful content, […]
Presentation Skills from a Tour Guide in Mexico
I just returned from a vacation to Cancun, Mexico, where I enjoyed fun, food and . . . learning presentation skills from unlikely sources: timeshare sellers, tour promoters, street vendors, restaurant servers and a tour guide! It was the tour guide at the Mayan ruins, Chichen Itza (the picture above, using an app called Waterlogue) […]
Gift Books for Presenters
With the holidays fast approaching, you may want to gift yourself a book on public speaking skills. I’ve read many books on public speaking, but only a few more than once. Consider adding to your library (physical or ebook) one of the 5 books on public speaking that I own and have read more than […]
Create Content Experts in 20 Minutes
Workshops are designed to give people practical takeaways, but all too often, there is just too much content to cover. Of course, the easiest solution is to reduce the content, but sometimes the content to be covered is prescribed, such as training employees on new methods and procedures or, covering all the officer duties for […]
Re-engage Your Audience with a “Snowy Owl Moment”
The audience was losing interest quickly. They were shifting in their seats. They were talking. Some were even crying. Of course, more than half the crowd was under the age of five. Yesterday was Member Monday at the Minnesota Zoo and I had brought my twin two-year old granddaughters to the bird show. One, Zoe, […]