How to Be an Authentic Speaker: Keep It Real
At a recent Toastmaster contest, a young man told a story from his childhood, one in which he was left home alone one day while his mother, a single parent, went to work. My heart went out to him. When the winners of the contest were announced, he didn’t win, but several supporters congratulated him […]
How to Write an Inspiring Speech
When I was 17, at the start of my senior year of high school, my parents got a divorce. Not only did their marriage crumble, but so did my hopes of college. How would I ever pay for it? I descended to the valley of despair. And then one day, waiting at the dentist, I […]
Post-It Note Speech Planning
Use the lowly sticky note to bring your presentations to new heights! The little squares of paper can help you design a presentation for maximum effectiveness, while allowing the flexibility of changing your mind and trying out new approaches. 1. Brainstorm with sticky notes. This can be done alone or in a group. You can […]
Digging Up Stories: Ask Questions
A great way to dig up stories that could be used as speech material is to ask yourself some questions. You can also ask other people these questions (great for interviewing older family members or retiring employees). Here are a few to get you started: What did you want to be when you were a […]
Digging Up Stories: Highs and Lows Graph
Another way to recall stories, is to draw a “Highs and Lows” graph, or as David Sibbet discusses in his book, Visual Meetings, Peak and Valley Experiences. Decide on a time period (your whole life, a year) and draw a horizontal time line across the middle of a blank sheet of paper. Then mark off time segments […]
Digging Up Stories: Memories from Floor Plans
You can mentally dig for stories in your own back yard! Or, at least a drawing of your backyard. One exercise that can help with your recall of stories is to draw the floor plan of one of your childhood homes (or even a “map” of the back yard). For example, when I drew the […]
Digging Up Stories: Every Face Tells a Story!
Almost any presentation, even business presentations, can be enhanced by using personal stories to anchor your points. But, how do you recall and apply those personal stories? One technique is to look at photos, specifically photos of yourself and try to recall where you were at in life and/or the story behind the photo. Often […]
Why Do Some Speakers OWN the Stage? Tips from a Champ!
In August 2001, out of 25,000 contestants from 14 countries, Darren LaCroix (above in blue shirt) was crowned the 2001 World Champion of Public Speaking. Last Thursday, Darren came to Minnesota and presented “Own the Stage Coaching” and I furiously took brief notes to share them with you (OK, I really took them for myself). Let’s […]
Stories: Opening and Closing Your Speech with a Story
Stories are my personal favorite way to open a speech. Stories touch our emotions and linger in our mind. Stories are a powerful way to captivate and connect. Stories captivate us because we think in stories. We can’t help it! “Stories fill our lives in the way that water fills the lives of fish.”~Steve Denning […]
Instant Teleseminar on Business Storytelling
“Get Naked” Business Storytelling for Leaders: For Stronger, Memorable Communication and Presentations On Demand Learning–Learn at your convenience! Download the presentation and materials to learn on your own schedule! (if you want to “attend” at noon on a Wednesday, you can, but you don’t have to!) Would you like your message to be remembered and repeated? […]