Dear Gentle Reader: You Can’t Make this Stuff Up! Imagine that you’re the third scheduled speaker at a graduation ceremony. And as you sit onstage, waiting to deliver your remarks, you suddenly realize that… …the first two speakers are giving THE ACTUAL SPEECH you wrote for this occasion—VERBATIM! Bizarre?? Yes, but It Happened! Specifically, it Read More
Writing a Speech or Crafting Remarks
The One Way that Public Speaking ISN’T Conversational
You’ve probably heard about how public speaking should be “conversational”—and that’s totally true. Your tone, your attitude, your body language, your choice of words, the way you explain things, all of these elements should be conversational. But the one way in which public speaking shouldn’t be like a conversation is in it’s structure. Why? Because Read More
How to Write Great Acceptance Speeches
For the past few years, I’ve had the honor of writing speeches with some of America’s greatest (American) football players. And I’ve also had the honor of being featured in a New York Times article about that work. How can that be? (you might ask), when I know almost nothing about football or, in fact, Read More
Your Complete Guide to Making Public Speaking Notes Work for YOU
Whether you’re speaking for business or in a community setting, it helps to know the points you want to make in advance. And once you’ve done that thinking, speaking notes will help you remember what you planned to say. Lots of people have been sold on the idea that speaking without notes makes you look Read More
The Public Speaking Team of 3: Prepare, Practice, and Present
You’ve probably heard of The Rule of 3! When it comes to public speaking success, the three words that make all the difference are: PREPARE — PRACTICE — PRESENT I used to call these The 3 P’s of Perfect Presentations. And while no presentation can ever be perfect, these steps will get you as close Read More