Are You Overlooking the Executive Presence Signals That Shape Leadership Perception?
Executive presence is often treated as something intangible, mysterious.You either have it or you don’t. But in real leadership environments—meetings, presentations, client conversations—executive presence is anything but mysterious. It’s observable. Before you finish your first sentence, people are already deciding: Those judgments happen quickly, often subconsciously. And they aren’t based on charisma, personality, or how […]
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?
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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 […]
Speech Zero to Hero–Step 3: Main Points
Time limit: 5 minutes If you are preparing to give a speech in an hour, you don’t have time to figure out a lot of main points, so keep it to 2 or 3. By limiting the number of main points to 2 or 3, not only will they be easier for the audience to […]
Speech Zero to Hero–Step 2: Big Picture
Time limit: 5 minutes The big picture is knowing your purpose for the presentation and your overall approach to presenting it. #1 Select ONE Specific Purpose (keeping in mind your audience) Decision 1: What is the main general purpose of your presentation? Pick one (you may include all three, but pick a MAIN one): To […]
Speech Zero to Hero–Step 1: The 2 “Knows”
Time limit: 5 minutes Before you plunge into creating your speech there are a couple of critical things you should know to save time and frustration later: #1 Know: The requirements These may be obvious, but these are things you don’t want to overlook! Date: Time: Location: Length of presentation: Topic: What you are expected […]
Speech Zero to Hero: Create a Presentation in an Hour that Will Wow Your Audience
Do you need to create a presentation in a hurry, but you are feeling a little overwhelmed? Do you want to “wow” your audience with your confidence and clarity? Do you just want to get your presentation done? You can get your presentation done in an hour if: You are knowledgeable about your content You […]
Be a Confident Speaker: Recorded Interview
Grab a cup of coffee, sit back and learn my top tips for being a confident speaker! Last week, Regina Barr, Founder of Women at the Top, interviewed me as part of her “Author Interview” series on how to be a confident speaker, based on my book, 12 Ways to Be a Confident Speaker. Here are the […]
10 Ways to Be a More Confident Speaker
“We met with someone before you . . . it didn’t go well,” said my prospective client, the president of a small digital marketing firm that was looking to hire me to do some presentation skills workshops for their employees. Our meeting had gone quite well. We had dates on the calendar for the workshops. […]