Have you ever seen a presenter on stage, telling a story… and something just didn’t feel right? The presenter seems sincere — they just don’t seem authentic? Have you ever been that presenter? Last week, I was presenting in Los Angeles, and a well-meaning attendee asked me about “gestures.” AUGH! I freaked! (If you’ve seen [...]
Have you ever seen a master presenter tell amazing stories and you ask yourself, “Why don’t things like that happen to me, so I could use them in a speech?” What if they do, but you just don’t notice it? What if they happen and you just haven’t learned how to share them well enough [...]
“OUCH!” Winning Speech, One Box at a Time Too many people, when putting a presentation together, try to write the whole thing out. If you use slide presentations, you know the crutch of creating a slideshow by taking an old one, and just “tweaking” it. Guilty? I know I am. A brilliant presentation is clean, [...]
Momentum is so important. It’s what carries us around, over, and through the obstacles in our lives. It can move us towards our goals, or away from them. Have you ever taken inventory of your thoughts, people, and tools you surround yourself with? A simple walk in the park gave me a little wake-up call [...]
Have you ever watched a presentation, and noticed that something just didn’t seem authentic? Ever received feedback from someone that sounded good, made logical sense, but just felt awkward when you delivered it? I’ve known many people over the years who have been coached or taken to heart coaching advice from unqualified coaches. People mean [...]
How do you filter feedback that you get from your audience? Whether you’re giving a professional speech, doing a slideshow presentation for co-workers, or in a speech contest — feedback is the most important part of preparation. Make no mistake…
I’ve just returned from a speaking whirlwind tour of Washington DC, Ireland and Australia. The trips were amazing. I felt in-the-moment… and I feel fortunate that I’ve found my passion in life. As you can imagine, being out of town for three weeks, there’s ton of work that I couldn’t do while speaking and traveling [...]
It was 1994, Nova Scotia, Canada. I was attending a speakers’ conference. There I was, an eager student of humor, just making the transition from comedy to speaking. I was sitting in the forth row, very excited about what I was going to learn from a session titled: How to add humor to your presentation. [...]
What is your dream? Are you moving towards it? MORE importantly are you keeping your eyes pealed for an even bigger goal? This past weekend I was in California speaking less than a mile from where I won the World Championship of Public Speaking. I started getting “sappy” when I took the stage at the [...]
One of my favorite shows on TV is Mythbusters. I love what they do and how they do it. They scientifically confirm or deny urban legends and myths in a fun way. It got me thinking about some of the classic myths about presentations. Early in my speaking career, I received one of the worst [...]
