Speaking tips blog
Communication matters. What are you saying?
Misuse of pronouns in public speaking: Are your I’s too close together?
One of the easiest traps to fall into as a speaker is the misuse of pronouns. We were taught in grade school that pronouns make communication easier by shortening references to characters in a story. They can be viewed as pro-nouns, used by elite communicators. But in...
Virtual Communication: Three Tips for Online Success
Virtual Communication and online meetings are our new reality. (**article written during Covid-19 quarantine**) Well, that changed quickly, didn’t it?! Since our last monthly connection, the world is a different place. Travel is curtailed, toilet paper (?!)...
Visual Aids for Speech: Have a purpose
Visual aids for speech and presentations are used by most presenters. Last month we talked about PowerPoint Templates and how they were wonderful at keeping things consistent – provided the template was well-formed. This month, I’d like to challenge anyone who fires...
PowerPoint Templates: Great Idea or Pain in the Mouse?
PowerPoint templates can be a great help or they can create a challenge. As I write this, I’m on my way to speak at a national conference. Great opportunity to do a lot of good for a good cause. It checks a lot of boxes for why I do what I do. But checking boxes is...
How to Become a World-Class Speaker
Being a world-class speaker takes a lot of work. But regardless of whether you’re on the big stage or in the small conference room, the elements that make great communication don’t change. Last month I had the privilege to work with world-class speakers at the...
The Twelve Days of Speaking
As we careen towards the holidays and New Year, I am forced by a teenage daughter to listen to Christmas music at every turn. I am able to deny her until Thanksgiving (she uses headphones until then), but ‘Tis the Season as they say and now her smiling face cannot be...
What I learned from speaking through an interpreter
What I learned from speaking through an interpreter. Last month I had the privilege to travel to Eastern Europe – Kiev, Ukraine to be exact (and no, I was not on government business and no one there seemed to care about the US political brouhaha). I spoke ten times...
7 Types of Public Speakers
Public speakers have many names. I was recently invited to speak at a conference. Like I normally do, I had a discovery call with the client to understand the audience and uncover connect points and common language, and to make sure that we were creating outcomes and...
Four Tactics that Engage Your Audience Better than Verbal Polls
Engage your audience without using verbal polls How many of you use verbal polls in your presentations? OK, that was a set-up. In our workshops, one of the most popular ways for people to get started (we’re usually prompting them with a topic they have not prepared)...
Using Notes in Public Speaking–Three Tips
Using notes in public speaking seems simple, but using them well sets good speakers apart. There are three changes you can make to your notes that will make you a better presenter. It’s August, and that means back-to-school time. The stores are already prepared. ...
Become an expert in your field
To become an expert in your field, you must have an attitude of excellence. I’ve just finished a few seasons of life that are the kind that cause you to reflect, reminisce, and regret. First, we moved. The house that was Home for 15 years is someone else’s now; a...
Public Speaking Don’ts: What NOT to Say
In a series of Public Speaking Don'ts, I wrote last month’s article, The Graduation Speech No One Wants to Hear. I got a number of notes (which I love getting!) giving me first-person accounts of various graduations. “The student speaker was amazing!” “The invited...
