Imagine that you’re carefully explaining something — to your boss, or a client, or a colleague, or someone who reports to you — and their eyes start to glaze over. This can be a sign that they’re getting too much information. None of us wants to bore our listeners, so here’s how to avoid over-explaining. Use the Instant Read More
Instant Speeches
Public Speaking Tip 81: Giving a Speech? Close With Your Key Message. And if Your Speech is Followed by Q&A, Do It Twice!
What does it mean to close with your key message? Well, a client who’s speaking in Budapest next week asked me how she should walk off the stage. She wanted to know if, following her Q&A, she should: Say goodbye? Wave? Just smile and exit? What I told her is that any of these three options are Read More
You Can Save Thanksgiving with the Right Key Message
Ah, Thanksgiving! For some of us, it’s a warm, relaxed opportunity to catch up with people we love and don’t see often enough. For others, it’s a living hell. When you mix alcohol, proximity, long-held resentments and, sometimes, people who don’t want to behave, you’ve got all the ingredients for an explosive feast of flaring Read More
Public Speaking Tip 60: When You Practice Instant Speeches, Say Inconsequential Things
Most of my public speaking clients don’t like to open their mouths unless they have something important to say. And while I generally agree that the world doesn’t need more blather, there is one time when saying inconsequential things will build your ability to ultimately say what matters: To Master the Instant Speech, Say Inconsequential Things The Instant Speech Read More
Public Speaking Tip 19: Master the Instant Speech (It’s Easy!)
Throughout these Public Speaking Tips, you’ll find glowing — sometimes gushing — references to Instant Speeches. The Instant Speech is an easy-to-use format that makes you sound poised and professional, even when you’re speaking off the cuff (for example, at a job interview or during a Q&A). Instant speeches spark public speaking joy for me, Read More