Imagine that you’re sitting down to a five-course tasting menu at a top restaurant. (And if you’ve never done that — I haven’t, either! — just indulge me in this little fantasy, OK?) First they bring out this cool little appetizer. It’s literally cool, creamy, foamy, some kind of avocado creation that melts on your Read More
Practice Makes Perfect
Public Speaking Tip 3: Make Public Speaking Practice a Game
In Public Speaking Tip 2: Make a Small “Speech” Every Day, I talked about practicing the small actions — for instance, speaking clearly and slowly — that distinguish public speaking from just talking. I also said that one of the best ways to build your public speaking skills is to act like a public speaker for a few minutes every Read More
Public Speaking Tip 2: To Be a Better Public Speaker, Make a Small “Speech” Every Day
How different is “public speaking” from “talking”? Probably not as much as you think! In fact, they’re so similar that you can sneak a small daily speech into a “regular” conversation, and the person you’re talking to probably won’t even notice! What Is Public Speaking, Anyway? You can think of public speaking as “anything that’s not private,” but Read More
Even Bill Clinton Needs Speech Prep!
Why Does One of the World’s Best Public Speakers Need to Prepare? If you’re tempted to think that only beginning or average public speakers need speech prep, think again! Preparation is key to public speaking success — and the more skilled a public speaker is, the more likely it is that he or she makes speech Read More
The Public Speaking Sweet Spot
Have you ever been in the zone? That’s an expression that athletes use (musicians call it being in the groove) to describe the exhilaration you feel when everything comes together so well that an activity seems almost effortless. Public speaking has a zone, too. It’s a Balancing Act I’d argue that the the public speaking Read More