Like some of my clients, I can get lost in how much content I need to provide. Then I remember the ‘less is more’ approach. Although my first impulse in developing content for a presentation is to share as much as possible about a particular topic, it is not the best route for an engaging […]
audience engagement
3 Ways to Speak with Power
When you speak with power, you engage your audience while elevating your confidence. Over the past several months, I have worked with several clients who were looking to speak with more confidence. Jonah Berger’s most recent book, Magic Words: What to Say to Get Your Way, calls this ‘speaking with power’. Our use of language […]
3 Ways Your Numerical Communication Can Be More Memorable
Knowing the basic principles of numerical communication can help us become more effective and persuasive communicators. A couple of months ago, I read “Making Numbers Count” by Chip Heath and Karla Starr who observed that we could lose our audience “when we don’t translate numbers into an instinctive human experience.” These translation techniques serve as […]
3 Ways to Influence Emotions In Our Audience
As speakers, we need to be intentional about how we use our emotions for influence. I am often asked by clients how they can be more influential with the emotions of their audiences. Some have an ask for their senior leadership, others want their audience to accept a change within their organizational processes or procedures, […]
3 Factors to Gain Credibility with your Audience
Recently I worked with a client who posed an interesting question: “What could she do in to gain credibility with her audience?” Speaker credibility has its roots in Aristotle’s teachings over 2,000 years ago as he wrote about a speaker’s character, otherwise known as ethos. According to Aristotle, a speaker’s character was just as important as […]
4 Steps to Enhance your Presentation with Visuals
An easy way to keep an audience engaged during your presentation is through your visuals that enhance your words. Although the prospect of speaking to in-person audiences this fall has dimmed due to the virus, virtual events are still abundant. Here is where adaptability and flexibility are needed. If a picture is worth 1,000 words, […]