Two clients called me recently, both in a panic about panicking. Joe and Stephanie are very different types of people, but they’d had similar experiences. Each had been giving a series of speeches — and getting great feedback — when suddenly, just before another talk, each of them was blindsided by what they described as Read More
Mistakes (We All Make Them!)
Public Speaking Tip 20: If You Make a Public Speaking Mistake, Don’t Explain
If you listen to a National Public Radio (NPR) station, you know that, several times a year, they hold “pledge drives” to raise funds. These multi-day pitch events can get pretty dry; and apparently they only persuade 1 in 10 listeners to contribute. So Ira Glass, host of the clever and popular storytelling show, This American Life, got Read More
What Mudbugging in a Chevy Taught Me about Public Speaking
This month’s Speak Up for Success newsletter is about the public speaking lesson I learned while marooned in the Savannah National Wildlife Preserve. Here’s the actual story, told as it happened. And if you’re not already receiving the newsletter, sign up here. Don’t Trust Your GPS in Georgia As I write this, I am hiking — perhaps trudging Read More
Public Speaking Tip 6: Don’t Worry, You WILL Make Mistakes!
Do you hate making mistakes? I do! Even knowing that we learn from them, and that mistakes are a necessary part of developing new skills, I’m not a fan of the experience. Nevertheless, I’ve gotten really good at making public speaking mistakes. I have to be good at that — because I make so many of them. A Presentation Read More
Public Speaking: Boy, Did I Screw Up!
Last week, I was invited to read at the 6th Annual Edgy Moms Event, part of the acclaimed Brooklyn Reading Works series. This pre-Mother’s Day jam drew more than 50 people to hear six short stories written by local author moms—and the last person up was me, reading my 1994 opus, “How I Learned to Read More