Resolve to avoid all public speaking. Realize this is not a sustainable resolution; resolve to mostly avoid public speaking. Do great at Resolution #2 until someone at work tells you that you have to present at a meeting in two weeks. Resolve to ignore this for at least one week. The meeting is tomorrow. You … Read more
It’s that time of year again—the merry-go-round of holiday parties at the office, in the neighborhood, at book club, at your spouse’s office, at the kids’ school…the list goes on and on. As an introvert, that packed calendar, full of occasions when I will have to make small talk with people I don’t know, makes … Read more
Seriously. If every speaker will remember that their job is to create an experience for their audience, you will never need to hire a coach. Here’s what that means in practice: Create your content with your audience in mind. What do you want them to walk away thinking about, talking about? Eliminate behaviors that distract … Read more
A recent NPR story ( http://www.npr.org/2015/07/23/425608745/from-upspeak-to-vocal-fry-are-we…) explored the idea that we “police women’s voices,” complaining when they use “vocal fry” and “up-speak” despite the fact that men also use both of these derided habits of speech. Since I make my living teaching people to present themselves powerfully, every friend who heard the NPR story posted … Read more
“This just doesn’t sound right.” “It looked good on the page, but when I said it during my presentation…” My clients often tell me how perplexed they were when the words that they polished so lovingly on the page failed to come to life when they said them out loud. The simple fact to remember … Read more
We’ve all heard the advice, “Just picture everyone in the audience naked!” I’ll just tell you now–this probably won’t work. Oh, you can look out at the audience and imagine them without clothes on, but then…you’re thinking about your audience with no clothes on. You’re not thinking about your presentation. (Unless you are planning to … Read more
When we think about speeches or presentations we have seen that were terrific, we think about how the speaker made us feel. A great speaker can make us feel excited, motivated, intrigued, moved, or compelled. The same is true when we think about presentations we endured that weren’t so great—they make us feel impatient, bored, … Read more
“What’s the Point of PowerPoint?” It’s ubiquitous, everywhere from TED Talks to teachers’ classrooms. When done well, PowerPoint is a great complement to a speaker’s presentation. When done poorly…unfortunately, we can all finish that sentence. I just spent two days coaching the presenters for the Ignite Asheville event. The format of an Ignite talk is … Read more
No, you’re not. Sure, you may have occasional “knock-it-out-of-the-ballpark” occasions when all the stars align and you feel incredible about your performance. But if you want to be consistently effective and powerful, you have to, (I hate to say it), practice. “But when I practice, I sound rehearsed!” Yes, that can definitely be a danger. … Read more
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