The Fear of Public Speaking: First of all, You are not alone ... There is comfort in numbers. Public Speaking, in survey after survey, has been shown to be most people's greatest fear. Some fear it more than dying! It's a natural fear to have. You are standing, alone, in front of people who are fixated on Read More
Presentation Skills St. Louis
The Fear of Public Speaking
Verbal Communication Element # 5 –
Pause
Silence is Golden! And an important element of Speaking! The last element of good verbal communication is the Pause. It’s the last element of our verbal communication skills discussion, but it should be the first thing you do when reaching the lectern, or center stage, after the Master of Ceremonies introduces Read More
How Do You Know Your Audience “GETS IT!”?
Constantly, Take Their Temperature! The Goal of all Communications; written, spoken or visual, is the same. We want the recipient(s), as quickly as possible to 'GET IT!' They may not agree with all of our message They may not agree with any of our message. But unless they 'GET IT' we can't have a meaningful Read More
The Best Speakers Don’t Work Harder than You . . .
The Best Speakers Work Much, Much, Much Harder! Have you read Malcomb Gladwell's book , Outliers, The Story of Success? If not, I strongly suggest you buy and devour it! Hard work is not the only thing that can lead to success in life, but it is one of the things you can control and do something about. Gladwell says Read More
Non-Verbal Communication Element #2 –
Facial Expressions
What does your Face Say? We’ve heard expressions like; “I can read his face", or, “The expression on her face told the whole story.” Those expressions are correct! The ways our face expresses emotion are varied, but the interpretations are pretty much universal. The first, and most important Facial expression is – Read More
Content Part #4
The Formula for the Body of the Speech
Make a Point – Tell a Story
IMPORTANT: Make it a Personal Story! Here's the time tested Formula for the Body of your Speech. Make a Point - Tell a Story Make a Point - Tell a Story Make a Point - Tell a Story Do this three to five times. Each Point, and the accompanying Story, should support your main theme. Stories are a great way to Read More
But, I Don’t Speak in Front of Groups.
So Why Should I Care about Public Speaking?
My response: "Do you ever speak to an Audience of ONE?" I'm sometimes asked a question like this when approaching a group about being a guest speaker. It happened recently when the meeting planner told me, "We have a group of people who are sole proprietors in their businesses. Quite a few work from home. They have Read More
PowerPoint / Keynote Presentations
YOU Supply the Text! If I'm using a PowerPoint / Keynote Presentation and project the slide on the right onto a screen, and at the same time say, "It's time for you to leave!" - You 'Get It!' The slide, showing a door opening with an EXIT Sign above , is clean and simple. My verbiage supplies the text - keeping the Read More
Speech Competition
There's really only one person you need to compete with . . . Toastmasters, and other speaking clubs, sometimes have speech competition called Speech Contests. When I was a Toastie, I entered several. I'm sure I won a few, but know I lost more than I won. I hate to disagree with the famous coach Vince Lombardi, but Read More
Non-Verbal Communication Element # 3 –
Gestures – They communicate, also!
Shhhh! The figure on the right is not speaking, but their finger raised in front of their mouth is communicating - "Please be quiet!" Gestures, like other forms of non-verbal communication, can stand on their own communicating a message. They can also be combined with other forms of non-verbal communication, or be Read More