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, […]

7 Days, 42+ Speeches: Differentiate or Die

Differentiate or Die.  With all the speakers out there, you need to be different to stand out and be remembered.  Ideally, you would have a unique presentation on a unique topic. That’s the number one thing I learned last week when I listened to 42+ speeches in 7 days.  Live.  And, I analyzed and wrote […]

How to Start and End Your Speeches

People remember best how you start and how you end! Do you know what parts of a presentation are best remembered? The interesting parts, right?  Well, yes! And some parts are remembered better because of their locations in the speech.  Numerous studies have shown (with lists of items) that people recall the items near the […]