November is National Nonfiction Writing Month, also known as the Write Nonfiction in November Challenge. During this month, you are personally challenged to start and complete a work of nonfiction in 30 days. This can be an article, an essay, a book, a book proposal, a white paper, or a manifesto. It’s an honor to […]
Read More...Public Speaking – How to Recognize and Reject Unhelpful Feedback
An outside perspective on your presentation or public speaking skills is often the best way to discover where you can improve your content or delivery. However, ask yourself: “Is this person giving their advice truly qualified to help me? Does this person have my best interests at heart? Am I asking for their input, or […]
Read More...Great Ways to Connect with Your Audience – Expert Advice
The Secret of Connecting to Your Audience When your message is memorable, your communication clear, and your presentation powerful, you will position yourself for greater success. If you want to excel as a public speaker you must make an emotional connection with your audience, regardless of your subject, setting, or message. The most powerful communication […]
Read More...Public Speaking – Delivery Strategy
After you have crafted and rehearsed your presentation, review your delivery strategy. Public speaking can create an adrenaline rush – so, when you are about to take the stage you may feel charged with energy or a bit nervous. Your audience will feel comfortable, when you look confident. Remember, nobody knows how you feel; they […]
Read More...Do You Alienate Your Audience? Make A “You” Turn
If we focus too much on ourselves in our presentations, we run the risk of losing our audience and failing to get our message across – even if our content and delivery is strong. I share some insights on this from my friend and fellow presentation expert, Darren LaCroix. How many times have you been […]
Read More...Public Speaking – How to Best Present Yourself And Your Ideas in Any Situation
Good presentation skills are no longer a nice skill to have; they can mean the difference between career life or death. Do you have great ideas, but don’t have the confidence to share them? Are you someone with true expertise, who is unsure how to let others know? Is there a natural leader trapped inside […]
Read More...Public Speaking – The One Secret to Delivering A Successful Speech
A few months ago, I received an email: “I am a great fan of yours. Could I interview you for my blog?” I was busy, and my first instinct was to reply, “Please contact me again in three months.” However, before I hit “send” I thought twice and decided to click on the link to […]
Read More...Public Speaking – How Many Hours of Rehearsal?
A successful presentation requires you to devote much more time to preparing your presentation than you will spend in delivering it. Even experienced speakers must prepare for a presentation; this includes rehearsal. My friend and colleague, Rob Biesenbach names inadequate rehearsal as one of the “11 Deadly Presentation Sins.” In his recent book with this […]
Read More...Do You Know How to Deliver A Wedding Toast? Toastmasters’ Tips for The Perfect Toast
In 1924, Ralph C. Smedley held the first meeting of what would eventually become Toastmasters International, created to train young men in “the art of public speaking and in presiding over meetings.” In those days, the word “toastmaster” referred to a person who proposed the toasts and introduced the speakers at a banquet. Smedley named […]
Read More...Practice Does Not Make Perfect – Are You Reinforcing Bad Habits?
Are you practicing to improve? Or are you inadvertently reinforcing bad habits? Sure, the old adage says that practice makes perfect. But in fact, practice makes permanent. Practice can help you become a better speaker, but it can also make you more comfortable with your public speaking mistakes – unconscious language or gestures that detract […]
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