When I was growing up, my poor mother busted a gut trying to get me to act properly. She really, really wanted me to: Wear “the right” clothes; Go to “the right” school; Hang out with “the right” people; and generally Conduct myself in “the right” way. As a proud member of the white/Jewish professional class, Mom took all of Read More
100 Top Public Speaking Tips
Public Speaking Tip 86: Don’t Talk About Your Co-Workers on Facebook
One of my favorite clients (let’s call her Jessica) recently discovered that two of her direct reports (let’s call them Gail and Willow) were talking about her on Facebook. Jessica was not specifically named in this exchange, but the reference to her was clear enough that an unrelated third party took a screen shot of Gail Read More
Public Speaking Tip 85: Put Down that Editing Pen!
One of the classic public speaking dilemmas is how to balance the time you spend preparing a presentation (i.e., planning, writing, and editing it) versus the time you spend practicing it. This is a tough choice, because you almost never have enough time to devote to either of these activities, let alone both of them. Read More
Public Speaking Tip 84: Learn to Tell Good Business Stories (Part II)
In Public Speaking Tip 83, I covered the basic structure of good business stories (they’re like good regular stories, with a few twists). Now it’s time to create business stories that will work for you. Here’s how: 1. Chose the Business Stories You Want to Tell Notice that I didn’t say “choose perfect business stories,” or “the world’s Read More
Public Speaking Tip 83: Learn to Tell a Good Business Story (Part I)
Do you have a good business story about yourself? (And by “business,” I mean whatever you do to make a living, whether you teach kindergarten, conduct a symphony orchestra, or run a Fortune 500 company.) If not, you should! The form of a good business story is easy to master, and being able to tell one Read More