When you receive feedback and advice on how to improve your presentation skills you need to ask yourself:
Unsolicited feedback says more about the giver than the recipient.
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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?”
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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:
Read More...Be the Audience You Want to Have
by Amy AyoubImagine 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,
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.
Read More...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.”
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You have a competitive edge when your sales presentations are more powerfully persuasive in your than your competition’s.
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
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.
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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.
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Before I became a successful professional speaker and executive speech coach, I was one of San Francisco’s top men’s hairstylists. As I said on 60 Minutes – and if you’re on 60 Minutes someday, you WILL tell EVERYBODY – “I used to work on the outside of peoples’ heads, now I work on the inside, so there’s only half an inch difference.” Years after I’d retired from hairstyling, I was cutting my brother Robert Fripp’s hair.
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I first had the honor of speaking at the Ragan Speechwriters Conference in 2003. It was an exciting experience and I made many new friends, including John Howze who kindly allowed me share his “best of” conference notes with my readers. Consider how you might incorporate some of these ideas into your public speaking and writing. Remember, many of the presenters at the Ragan Speechwriters Conference literally write for history.
Receive free, on-going Fripp webinar invitations, sales and presentation skills information, and special discounts from Executive Speech Coach, Sales Presentation Trainer, and Professional Keynote Speaker, Patricia Fripp, CSP, CPAE. As an added bonus, sign up now and receive a free copy of Patricia Fripp’s How to Present and Teach in the Virtual World.
