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 […]
Is Communication Really 93% Non-Verbal?
Have you heard these statistics?: “Effective communication is only 7 percent verbal and 93 percent non-verbal (the non-verbal is 55 percent body language and 38 percent tone of voice). They are often accompanied by a PowerPoint pie chart: Maybe you have even quoted those statistics. I’ve heard so many speakers quote those numbers (including a […]
Tips for Speaking Using an Interpreter on a Web Conference
Imagine speaking via a web conference to an audience half-way across the world who doesn’t even speak your language. As our world grows more connected, it is likely that you will have this experience, if you haven’t already. How can you avoid some pitfalls? In a word: preparation. On Sunday, I presented via Adobe Connect […]
Improve Your Speaking with Improv
Aside from participating in Toastmasters, the most beneficial activity I have done to improve my speaking was to take a couple of improv classes several years ago. The idea of speaking without preparation may be terrifying to you. It’s still not my favorite thing to do, but practicing improv in class, in Toastmasters and even […]
Free ebook–Public Speaking Lessons from TED Talks
Free until Saturday, March 8, 2014 Get your free Kindle version of the short e-book, Public Speaking Lessons from TED Talks: The Good and the Bad from the 10 Most-Viewed TED Talks Imagine giving a powerful, TEDTalk-Style Presentation. You can learn insightful tips from this ebook, a compilation my past 10 posts on the top 10 most-viewed TED Talks. The […]
Speaking Tips from TEDTalk #1: How Schools Kill Creativity (Ken Robinson)
TEDTalk countdown: the #1 most-watched video on TED. Video and Transcript The Big Idea: “Creativity now is as important in education as literacy, and we should treat it with the same status.” The overall construct of the speech: Loosely persuasive, using humor and stories/examples to increase receptivity for his message. Not perfect: Some digressions. This […]
Speaking Tips from TEDTalk #2: How Great Leaders Inspire Action (Simon Sinek)
TEDTalk Countdown: the #2 most-watched video on TED. Video and Transcript The Big Idea: People don’t buy what you do. They buy why you do it. The overall construct of the speech: Persuasive, using logic, research and anecdotes Not perfect: His opening rhetorical question took me off-track at the start. “How do you explain when things […]
Speaking Tips from TEDTalk #3: The Power of Vulnerability (Brenè Brown)
TEDTalk Countdown: the #3 most-watched video on TED. Video and Transcript The Big Idea: To be fully alive is to be vulnerable. Embrace vulnerability. The overall construct of the speech: A somewhat chronological retelling of events leading to insight. Not perfect: Honestly, I was so engaged by this talk that I found it difficult to find fault. […]
Speaking Tips from TEDTalk #7: Your Body Language Shapes Who You Are (Amy Cuddy)
Video and transcript here The Big Idea: Amy Cuddy shares how “power posing,” standing or sitting in a posture of confidence, even when you don’t feel confident, can affect testosterone (dominance hormone) and cortisol (stress hormone) levels in the body, causing you to feel and be perceived as more confident. It’s not “fake it till […]
Speaking Tips from TEDTalk #8: Underwater Astonishments (David Gallo)
This is the third in a series of 10 posts, looking at public speaking lessons from each of the top 10-most viewed TED Talks. video and transcript For five and a half minutes, I was transported to the wonder years of my childhood. Mesmerized by the biodiversity of undersea life just as I was as […]