Slide decks have become a huge part of corporate life. An essential, everyday communication tool serving multiple purposes, often all at once. From guiding and prompting the delivery of the time-poor, under-rehearsed speaker, to illustrating their words for the audience – and sometimes becoming the… Read More »Visual Aids. The Speaker’s Friend and Curse
Stepping up your performance in front of new and larger audiences is something for which everyone needs a warm up. It’s not just the intellectual challenge of facing something new. There’s an important physiological, even visceral component to it too. You need to feel alright… Read More »Fear of public speaking is natural. So, what’s the solution?
Appearances matter. We all know that. Or we should. Think about how you warm – or not – to a job applicant appearing for interview, to a salesperson who you’ve never met before as they pitch their product or service, or to a new boss… Read More »Appearance matters
Good speakers often have elaborate pre-performance routines that go well beyond rehearsals of the words they’ll be delivering on stage. I’ve written before about the need to rehearse before any important speech or presentation. But my focus here is on three other components, which can… Read More »Warming Up
Most actors and public speakers rehearsing before speaking to an audience will have heard this before from a well-meaning but impatient critic: “Just give it more oomph!”
If you’re new to public speaking, the chances are you’ll want to craft what you’re going to say in writing before opening your mouth. It’s a good place to begin. I always recommend starting with a simple outline; a few bullet points of what you… Read More »Keeping it Super Simple
Have you noticed how many of us will find any excuse for not rehearsing their delivery before a speech or presentation? Rehearsing is as normal as breathing for experienced speakers, but for those who aren’t born show ponies it often feels awkward. Best avoided, even… Read More »Reading aloud
As Christians celebrated Easter this weekend and Jews gathered for the Passover Seder, many also looked beyond the bible to the here and now for signs of hope and rebirth. Russia’s war on Ukraine, clashes at Jerusalem’s holy sites, and violent weather events dominated last… Read More »Hope and Renewal
Hollywood actor Will Smith’s on-stage slapping of Chris Rock echoed around the world. It was shocking, not just for the assault but also for Smith’s foul-mouthed hollering that followed. He compounded it with a self-pitying acceptance speech for best actor Oscar and a limited apology… Read More »Half-Baked Apologies Won’t Do
The calmness and patience of US Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson this week was impressive – and an object lesson for speakers under fire. She remained calm and courteous to a fault through hours of relentless, often cynical interrogation.