When you’re nervous about an upcoming presentation, it can cause stress on your body and mind which will impact on your ability to communicate your message effectively. In this article I outline a simple exercise to help combat the symptoms and instil a sense of calm; it can be done anywhere at any time you feel a little scattered, apprehensive or anxious.
What's the best piece of advice you've received about public speaking? In this article I share the two words that changed EVERYTHING for me about how I prepare and deliver presentations.
Long ago I lost count of the number of people who have said to me “I HATE public speaking!” But what if I told you that you could learn to love public speaking?
If you fear or loath public speaking and avoid it at all costs, you may be missing out on opportunities to promote your business, progress your career or share a few words about a special person at an important occasion such as a wedding or a funeral.
Having the right speakers and break out session facilitators is crucial to the success of an event. Therefore, if you’re in charge of planning, it’s important to put time, effort (and money) into finding the right speakers who will engage and inspire your audience and ensure your event is talked about for years to come. In this post I share my top tips to help you book the ideal speaker.
As presenters we are in the privileged position of being able to share our knowledge, experience, and passion with an audience. However, with this privilege comes responsibility – a responsibility to ourselves to ensure we don’t kill our credibility, but more importantly, a responsibility to our audience to ensure that our message is relevant and interesting to listen to. It is vital that you avoid these 11 mistakes that will make your audience cringe...
In this post I’ve written about three of the sessions at the Professional Speaking Association’s ‘Refresh!’ online conference. I have included the main takeaway messages as well as my observations on what the speakers did well so that you can consider using some of the techniques to enhance your own presentations.
Being isolated for an extended period during the Covid 19 pandemic has left many people feeling a bit anxious and uncertain, which has impacted on their mental wellbeing and overall confidence and self esteem. In this post I share some practical tips on how to re-build your confidence and cope with life after lockdown.
What do you think about when you think of the colour red? It’s different for all of us. For some it’s danger, risk, warning or anger. For others it is power, passion, courage or excitement. In this post I explore why red is not just a colour, how choosing your attitude helps to achieve your best outcome and what it means to be ‘more RED’.
Are you an optimist or a pessimist? Regardless of your view on the world, sometimes life throws us curveballs (hello worldwide pandemic!) and we need to give ourselves permission to feel what we feel as well as ways to change our outlook when we’re ready to focus on the positive. In this post I share some of the techniques I use to remain optimistic (and make lemonade) when life sends lemons.
Have you been playing small in your life? If so, this post is for you. Despite seeing the potential of others and helping them have the confidence to realise it, I have been ignoring and resisting my own potential! So I made a decision. And that decision is going to help more people to realise their potential, and that’s really exciting! Want to know more? Read on …
With COVID19 impacting workplaces across the globe, most professionals are working remotely using video conferencing technologies to stay connected with colleagues and customers. In this post I look at the most common mistakes people make on video - simple mistakes that can damage your brand, dilute the trust you have built and destroy your credibility in just one video interaction.
Do you suffer from stage fright or get a little anxious about public speaking? Feeling nervous about being in front of an audience is fairly common; even the professionals experience nerves before an important speech or performance. I recently had a chance to try out a new method for managing public speaking anxiety and had quite a profound experience. Read on to find out more…
How often have you been in a meeting or at a conference where one or more of the presenters have gone on and on beyond the time that has been scheduled for them? Getting the timing of your presentation right is crucial; if you go over time it’s disrespectful to your audience, the organiser and other speakers. Read on for tips on how to keep your presentation on time.
Scary Halloween things include spiders and snakes and creepy horror movies. But one of the most scary things for many people is the very real fear of standing up and speaking in front of an audience. If you’ve been avoiding public speaking due to crushing anxiety, there’s a good chance it may have been holding you back from fulfilling your potential in your career and life in general. But the great news is that there are tools and tips that can help you to manage your fear so that you can deliver that presentation with ease.
Would you like to learn speaking tips from hundreds of professional speakers? October is the month for the annual Professional Speaking Association ‘Inspire’ conference which aims to support professional speakers with their speaking and the business of speaking. In this post I share some of the tips and observations that could help you to improve your speaking and your business in general.
Have you ever been to training sessions where you’re sitting in one place for long periods of time listening to the trainer drone on and on as they work their way through dozens of boring text filled PowerPoint slides? Don't be that trainer! In this post I share tips about accelerated learning techniques to keep your audience awake and engaged...
TED talks have changed the speaking landscape and I was honoured and privileged to be one of the speaker coaches once again for the Glasgow TEDx event at the SEC Armadillo. In a day that showcased 16 speakers some of them were more memorable than others, so in this post I look at some of the talks that stood out and examine the reasons why. Read on to find out how you can use the techniques to make your own communication more powerful.
