Feedback is a touchy subject for me. Even though I give it all day in my one-on-one speaker coaching sessions, I still find it hard to receive. Sometimes I can plug into my rational mind, hear the critique I’m getting, and make use of it. But often, I have to fight off thoughts that are angry Read More
Public Speaking Skills
How Do You Handle Disrespectful Questions?
A Problem That’s Thankfully Rare Most of the time, an audience is on the speaker’s side. The people who come to hear you want you to succeed—in part because it’s more fun to listen to a speech that goes smoothly than to watch a speaker struggling onstage. But sometimes, your audience includes that person. The Read More
4 Secret Rules of “Office Speak”
Lately I’ve been helping lots of clients understand and upskill their use of “Office Speak.” What is that? It’s a “language” governing what, when, and how to communicate with the people in your office. It can be hard to pick up the nuances of workplace communication culture, especially if your office is virtual. But as with Read More
Public Speaking Strengths and Skills? You’ve Already Got Them!
That’s right: You’ve already got the strengths and skills you need to be a good, or even great, public speaker! That’s because “public speaking” is more—much more—than giving a formal presentation from a stage. You’ve been doing it your whole life. We Build Public Speaking Strengths and Skills Every Day It’s also “public speaking” when Read More
Wake Up to Public Speaking
It’s spring-like in New York these days, and the entire world seems to be waking up. This past week, I hung out at a jazz club, had dinner in a fancy restaurant, and went to a birthday gathering with 18 people, many of them strangers. None of that would be worth noting if it was Read More