A Road Map to Developing Your Speech One of the areas where many emerging speakers struggle is how to start creating content for a speech, or presentation. There are many steps in the process of developing content for an audience, then verbally delivering it. Let’s start by breaking down the content development process into smaller, […]
Communication Skills
Speakers – Stop using Pesky Filler Words
Discover how to Eliminate Filler Words from your Presentations Those verbal sounds (ahs, ers, ums, you know, like, etc…) we make during our conversations – actually make up about 5% – 8% of the words we use every day, according to Michael Erard, linguist and author of Um…Slips, Stumbles, and Verbal Blunders. Erard also notes that […]
How Successful Speakers use Visuals to Communicate a Complex Concept
A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words – How Successful Speakers use Images in their Presentations Over the past six months, I have worked with several speakers who have asked to be able to communicate a complex idea or concept to their audiences. My response is – DRAW IT. Instead of trying to craft the […]
How to Make a Connection
Making a Valentine’s Day Connection Whether you celebrate Valentine’s Day with a significant other or not, this is a day for making a connection with someone. You never know what kind of impact you will make. Successful speakers know how critical it is to make a connection with their audience for their message to be […]
Are you Afraid of Public Speaking?
Tips and Techniques to Minimize Your Public Speaking Fear “I hate public speaking!” a potential client announced. “Yet, I have to do it because of my job.” “Tell me why you hate it.” I was curious. “I’m afraid I’m going to forget what I’m going to say. I’m afraid I’m going to look foolish – […]
6 Tips for Creating a Powerful Ignite Presentation
How to Create an Impactful Ignite Talk I was recently chosen to present at an Ignite conference. For those who are not familiar with Ignite, it is a fast-paced public speaking event where you speak for 5 minutes with a slide deck where the slides advance automatically every 15 seconds. This type of presentation can greatly […]