A Winning Speech Structure: 1-3-1
“Life’s . . . a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.” These are the despairing words uttered by Shakespeare’s Macbeth, after hearing of Lady Macbeth’s death. I’ve often thought they could apply to some speeches I’ve heard. Sitting in the audience, I’ve despaired over the loss of my time, […]
7 Tips on Using Speech Notes Effectively
One of the biggest fears that people have about public speaking is the fear of forgetting what they are going to say. Using notes can reduce that fear greatly, but at the same time create a barrier to audience engagement. Here are 7 tips on using speech notes more effectively so that you can engage and […]
Back to “School” for Speakers!
It’s back to school time for kids, but what about you? Are you taking intentional steps to improve your speaking skills, to start a speaking business or to grow your speaking business? While there are excellent books on speaking skills and on building a speaking business (one of my favorite is World Class Speaking by […]
3 PowerPoint Photo Tips (Video)
You can take your PowerPoint slides from ordinary to awesome with 3 simple tips shown in this video (4:22): 1. Make your picture BIG! 2. Remove the picture background 3. Match the font of your text to a color in the picture Bonus Tip: If you want to grab the colors from something online, you can […]
Persuasive Speech Structures
In a recent discussion on the Official Toastmasters International Members Group Facebook Page, member Merv Olsen, asked “What are your thoughts on the ‘Monroe Motivated Sequence’ approach to persuasive speaking?” You might think that this question doesn’t apply to you because you don’t give persuasive speeches. Don’t be too quick to dismiss. Ultimately, almost every […]
Free ebook for Summer Reading: Public Speaking Lessons from TED Talks
Learn some public speaking skills this summer! This week and next, I am giving you free ebooks on public speaking (next week is “12 Ways to Be a Confident Speaker”). Get your free Kindle version (US link, Canadian link, UK link) of the short e-book, Public Speaking Lessons from TED Talks: The Good and the Bad from the 10 Most-Viewed […]
Virtual Communication Skills–Bridging the Digital Divide (Video)
Virtual communication, communication using technology to communicate across continents, cultures, languages and time-zones, is quickly becoming the norm. You can discover practical methods for collaborating and presenting virtually in the video below (34 min, presentation given at a conference at the University of Copenhagen last month–don’t worry, only my speaker introduction is in Danish).Ready. Set. […]
Content vs. Delivery: Which is More Important?
Some people say, “It’s not what you say, it’s how you say it,” regarding the relative importance of content vs. delivery in a presentation. Is delivery more important than content? My most recent experience as a presenter at a conference at the University of Copenhagen on Virtual Communication (the conference title was “You Lost Me […]
Be a Confident Speaker: Recorded Interview
Grab a cup of coffee, sit back and learn my top tips for being a confident speaker! Last week, Regina Barr, Founder of Women at the Top, interviewed me as part of her “Author Interview” series on how to be a confident speaker, based on my book, 12 Ways to Be a Confident Speaker. Here are the […]
PowerPoint on iPhone or iPad: Practice and Present
If you have an iPhone or an iPad and you do PowerPoint presentations, you will want to get the free SlideShark app. I’ve used it on my iPad to do one-on-one presentations and I’ve also used it on my phone to practice presentations. You can also broadcast your presentation to the web and connect your […]