Speak with Confidence & Save $99!

No-Fear Public Speaking online course It’s back to school time!  It’s time to speak with confidence and boost your career or business. Build your speaking confidence 3 ways in this self-paced online course: Look confident, sound confident and feel confident. Bonus material includes: killer keynote template, plus a free video evaluation, and more. Special for students […]

8 Lessons on Public Speaking from Judging a Speech Competition

What can you learn about public speaking skills from high school students? A lot, if you pay attention! Today, I had to pay attention as 7 high school students each stood before me and spoke for 5-7 minutes in the Prepared Speech category in a regional competition of the Business Professionals of America. I was […]

Create Business Stories that Click

Wow! That data was fascinating!” Nope. Those words were never said. Data alone is dull. Data in context can be interesting. Data wrapped in story can be fascinating. Imagine that you are giving a business presentation to prospective clients or to upper management. You want to provide information that will help them make a decision […]

Checklists Reduce Speech Disasters

The meeting planner had a panicked look on her face as she frantically searched through her bag in the hall outside the main conference room I had just finished speaking in. There were 5 minutes left before the next speaker. “Is something wrong?” I asked. “The remote is dead.” The presentation remote had worked fine […]

Speech Zero to Hero–Step 1: The 2 “Knows”

Time limit: 5 minutes Before you plunge into creating your speech there are a couple of critical things you should know to save time and frustration later: #1 Know: The requirements These may be obvious, but these are things you don’t want to overlook! Date: Time: Location: Length of presentation: Topic: What you are expected […]

FREE ebook: Public Speaking: A Very Short Course

Free Kindle Book: Public Speaking: A Very Short Course: 7 Lessons for the Classroom, for Workshops, or for Individuals Free until Saturday, 12/12/15! You don’t even need to have a Kindle–you can use a Kindle reader app or download a free Kindle reader for your pc. Book Description: This short course in public speaking will […]

Using Quotes in PowerPoint–Video

You get two tips today! Tip #1:  Make your quotes look better in PowerPoint.  Click below to see the 4-minute Jing video I made on using quotations in PowerPoint: BonusTip #2:  Create short videos to explain “how to.”  For the above video, I used Jing, a free screen capture tool.  Not all of your presentations may be […]

Who Are You?

Every now and then, I get an email inquiry about my presentation coaching services from someone I never met before.  Recently, I received an email that was direct and to the point:  I am interested in some coaching–can you give me some information about you, rates, and your philosophy? I’ll share my answer below, but I’d […]

10 Take Aways from the National Speakers Association (Platform) Convention

Inspired yet overwhelmed is how I felt when I left the National Speakers Association annual convention last week (the association’s new name, Platform, was announced last Wednesday). I went through my notes and picked out 10 nuggets to take action on (mostly regarding business development): 1. Doug Stevenson: Step-in to your story (act your story) for […]