Unmasking Confidence: Lessons from Halloween for Public Speaking

Can you feel it? The crisp air, the leaves crunching underfoot, and the unmistakable sense of mischief and magic that comes with the Halloween season (well, not so much now that I live in Texas, but I was back in Minnesota recently). It’s that time of year when we dig deep into our closets and […]

Top 7 Most-Desired Public Speaking Skills

Do you relate to these public speaking concerns? In the video below, I address the top 7 responses to my recent survey question, What do you most want to improve in public speaking skills?

Impromptu Speaking Book only $0.99 through 2/21/23

“Not only will this book help people improve their public speaking, readers will also improve their personal communications. I particularly liked the chapters on handling difficult situations. Diane offers terrific tips to deal with real-world examples. This book is a must-read for anyone who talks to people — which is everyone!”–Dan Janal “This book provides […]

Be a Fascinating Conversationalist: The Conversation Résumé

In-person gatherings are finally happening again! Have your social skills gotten a little rusty? Maybe your interview skills could use a boost. Or, maybe you are a bit of an introvert, and your idea of a conversation is asking the other person questions, so they do all the talking. Don’t make other people do all […]

Speak with Confidence Today!

Do you have a presentation coming up, maybe in the next day, maybe in a couple of hours? Then, the video below is for you. I’m not going to talk about strategies for building content or creating awesome slides. I’m going to focus solely on what you can do to build confidence on the day […]

Speech Zero to Hero–Step 7: Focused Practice

Time limit: 5 minutes Ideally, you would have time to practice your presentation both in parts and as a whole a few times, but if you are truly in a hurry, you will need to focus your practice on the 2 parts that will make a first impression and leave a lasting impact: your opening and […]

Speech Zero to Hero: Speech Delivery Tips

1. Don’t read. Don’t read your notes. Don’t read your slides. Follow the rule “Talk to People Not to Paper.” If you speak from an outline or brief keyword notes (in a large font), pause, stop speaking, mentally grab the next point, look up at the audience and then speak. When you read, you lose […]

Speech Zero to Hero–Step 6: Speech Notes

Time limit: 5 minutes If you are running out of time, you can simply take your notes from steps 4 and 5 and use them as your speech notes.  However, I suggest that you condense your notes onto one page Make sure to write or type your notes so that you can easily read them at […]

Speech Zero to Hero–Step 5: Open, Close

Time limit: 10 minutes The opening and closing of your presentation are critical components, and the only parts I suggest memorizing. Your opening is the first impression and your closing is the final impact. By memorizing them, you will sound and feel more confident. You want to open in a way that gets the audience’s attention, […]

Speech Zero to Hero–Step 4: Support Points

Time limit: 15 minutes Now we have come to the meat of your presentation, supporting your points. A few common ways to support your points include: Anecdotal evidence: essentially telling a story or offering a case study—make sure they are relevant! Empirical evidence: research and statistics Logical: reasoning based on facts Demonstration: show how something works […]