Who Are the World’s Best Communicators? TV stars like Oprah Winfrey? Politicians like Bill Clinton? Motivational speakers like Tony Robbins? The many speakers who deliver TED talks? I think the world’s best communicators are babies! Here’s why: Baby Communicators Make Themselves Heard Think back to the last time you were around a screaming infant. Chances Read More
100 top public speaking tips
Public Speaking Tip 13: Listen to Your Audience (Part 2)
In Public Speaking Tip 12: Listen to Your Audience (Part 1), I shared some techniques that will help you listen more effectively to individuals. But as a well-rounded public speaker, you need to be able to do more: You need to listen to your audience, whatever its size! Is It POSSIBLE to Listen to Your Audience? In some Read More
Public Speaking Tip 12: Listen to Your Audience (Part 1)
What Does Listening Have To Do with Public Speaking? Everything! I’ll bet you’ve been in a situation where someone talked and talked and talked at you, without regard for your reaction. Typically, this might have been: A telemarketing call, where the marketer insisted on reading every word of his script; At a business meeting where Read More
Public Speaking Tip 11: Ask for Information Before You Agree to Speak (and If You’ve Already Agreed to Speak, Ask Now!)
What information, you may well ask! Well, I wish I had a nickel for every time a client has shown up to work on a speech and not known these basic things: How long will I speaking? (20 minutes? 80 minutes?) Who’s in my audience? (people who support my idea? people who hate it? and Read More
Public Speaking Tip 9: Embrace the Public Speaking Stress
My mom (shown below in 2006 with eight of her nine grandchildren) used to say that the most important thing about any problem was how you coped with it. As the survivor of a cerebral aneurysm, a three-month coma, uterine cancer, two strokes, and early widowhood, Mom knew what she was talking about. But it turns Read More