Patricia Fripp Blog

Executive Speech Coach and Hall of Fame Keynote Speaker, Patricia Fripp

As you strive for excellence in all areas of your business communications, remember that good speakers can benefit from learning the secrets of good writers. Developing a successful presentation begins with thoughtful structure and word choices. If you want to improve your public speaking, why not gain the advantage of improved writing skills? Make it a daily discipline. Read and write.

Become the best writer you can be. Here are 10 techniques to improve your writing skills (quickly) from Amandah Tayler Blackwell and Ragan Communications.

Woman Speaking at Podium — How you stand represents the stability of your ideas and your company.

Is your audience hearing what you are attempting to communicate? If not, perhaps this is because your delivery is distracting from your message. After all, it is not only what you say – it is how you say it.

As a speech coach I am frequently asked, “I have my presentation together. Can you just coach me on the delivery?” To which I usually reply, “Why would you want to perfect a badly-structured and poorly-scripted presentation?” We always start with the presentation structure and good word choices.

Once you have your sales presentation or speech together – the structure, the stories, and the PowerPoint – then you can internalize your new Frippy way of presenting and make it second nature. When you deliver your talk, you want to be able to focus on your audience, not on your performance.

THE Executive Speech Coach, Patricia Fripp, CSP, CPAE

When you receive feedback and advice on how to improve your presentation skills you need to ask yourself:

Is the person giving this advice truly qualified to help me improve?
Does the person giving me feedback have my best interests at heart?
Am I seeking advice or are they motivated to give it to me?

Unsolicited feedback says more about the giver than the recipient.

Hall of Fame Keynote Speaker and Executive Speech Coach, Patricia Fripp in Action — Hall of Fame Keynote Speaker and Executive Speech Coach, Patricia Fripp Visiting NSA New York City Chapter

Public speaking instruction often focuses on eye contact, voice projection, and what to do with your hands while you’re talking. Equally important to mastering these physical techniques is developing and deploying good and original content. As an executive speech coach people ask me, “What do I talk about?” “How do I start my speech?”

Business Conference — “Every audience has a responsibility.” – Robert Fripp

What should we do if we find ourselves in an audience listening to someone who has not yet learned how to structure and deliver an engaging presentation? “Every audience has a responsibility,” says my brother, the legendary guitarist Robert Fripp. Bill Gove, the first president of the National Speakers Association taught NSA members, “You are responsible to your audience, not for your audience.” I share this advice from my Las Vegas friend and colleague Amy Ayoub, popular professional speaker and speech trainer:

Be the Audience You Want to Have
by Amy Ayoub

Imagine you are invited to speak at a luncheon to give an update on an important law (or company policy) that was recently passed. The audience is largely made up of people who will be directly affected by this law, and are extremely interested in what you have to say. You aren’t the most dynamic presenter,

Executive Speech Coach and Hall of Fame Keynote Speaker Patricia Fripp, CSP, CPAE — Executive Speech Coach & Hall of Fame Keynote Speaker, Patricia Fripp, CSP, CPAE

Are you practicing your public speaking to improve…or to reinforce bad habits? We hear people say, “Practice makes perfect.” In reality, practice makes permanent.

It is helpful to get an outside perspective on your presentation to reveal any areas in which you might improve your content or delivery. Practice in front of an audience. Ask one or two perceptive people for their feedback. Make it clear that you want constructive criticism, not just praise.

Use technology to enhance your message, not to eclipse it.

Two executives came to me to give a speech about a new product. They spent some time describing it, but their explanations were so complicated that it was challenging for me even to begin to understand what they were selling.

I knew that if I couldn’t “get it” through our conversation, the non-technical audience they were attempting to sell to would not either.

Finally, I asked them, “How will this change how your customers do business? Tell me about the impact this will have on their lives.” At the end of our work together, they walked out with a great speech supported by their PowerPoint slides.

One commented, “What a great process! Usually, we put together 40 PowerPoint slides and then decide what to say in between.”

presentationsmaller You have a competitive edge when your sales presentations are more powerfully persuasive in your than your competition’s.

Are you losing sales you feel you deserve to make?
Would it be helpful if your prospect remembered what you said?
Would it be beneficial if three weeks later, your prospect could repeat your key ideas?
Would it be profitable if your prospect vividly knew why others selected you as their vendor of choice?

hollwoodsignwithfrippsmaller — Executive Speech Coach and Hall of Fame Keynote Speaker, Patricia Fripp Brings Hollywood Storytelling Magic to Las Vegas

For the fourth time Hollywood and NSA Royalty collide! Officers of the National Speakers Association Northern California Chapter (NSANC) are excited to present a very special program on Saturday, May 3, 2014 in the San Francisco Bay Area. Patricia Fripp and Michael Hauge give both another reason to celebrate that special show business bond.

Registration: 8:30am
Program: 9:00am-12:00noon and 1:00pm to 3:00pm

Michael Hauge, Hollywood Story Consultant, Author, and Screenwriting Coach Brings Hollywood Storytelling Magic to Las Vegas

This program has been delivered to sell out crowds of professional speakers, business executives, sales professionals and individuals who want to make their message more exciting and memorable.

Hollywood story consultant, author, and screenwriting coach, Michael Hauge joins forces with me to help speakers and business leaders improve their stories and examples for more effective presentations. I often say, “Stories are the best way to explain the complex, and also help the audience ‘see’ your message.”

Michael Hauge & Patricia Fripp Join Forces May 3, 2014 for the NSANC chapter of the National Speakers Assocation.

Expert Advice about Presentation Skills
from Patricia Fripp

To Become a Better Speaker, Learn to Write More Effectively

Is Your Audience Hearing What You Want to Communicate?

Expert Feedback to Improve Your Presentation Skills

Do You Know How to Develop and Deploy Compelling Content?

Be the Audience You Want to Have

Are You Practicing to Improve…or to Reinforce Bad Habits?

How to Use Visuals So They Support Your Presentation

6 Mistakes Sales Professionals Make in Their Sales Presentations

Public Speaker Improve Your Stories with Hollywood Techniques

What Are the Secrets Behind Good Stories? Michael Hauge & Patricia Fripp Join Forces May 3, 2014

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Expert Advice about Presentation Skills from Patricia Fripp

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Expert Advice about Presentation Skills
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