I’m throwing down the gauntlet for technical presenters. You can do better, and you owe it to your audience and to the public to do better. Too many technical presenters, in my opinion, settle for less than the presentations they are able to give because they don’t see any reason to do better than what…
DetailsSeveral years ago, I helped judge a college speech contest. The reason I remember that event specifically is because of a memorable student I met there named Rodrigo, from Brazil. After doing well in the contest, Rodrigo approached me to ask for help with his speaking. “I already have done a lot of public speaking…
DetailsAs I wrote in an earlier post, research has shed light on how people (including your audiences) form those all-important first impressions. The two questions they are looking to answer, in this order, are “Can I trust this person?” and “Can I respect this person?” In this post, I focus on the first question. By…
DetailsMy reaction to a couple of speeches I heard recently has prompted me to write today about introductions. I don’t mean the opening of your speech. I mean the introduction you write for someone else to give before you speak. This introduction has a specific purpose: to engage the audience’s interest and curiosity so they…
DetailsMost of the entries in this blog contain speaking tips, and many of those touch on the topic of using stories more effectively. Good storytelling lies at the heart of good public speaking. “But,” you may be thinking, “where do I find these stories?” Answer: the best stories come from your own life. And the…
DetailsHere’s another speaking tip: write better. What, you don’t write your speeches? You should. The best speeches aren’t written—they’re re-written. Editing is to a speech as polishing is to a rock; it can turn it into a gem. And you can’t edit what’s not written down to begin with. Writing out your speech offers several…
DetailsYou’ve given a speech and captured it on video. Congratulations! Now what? What you do next depends on the strength of your desire to improve. For my purposes, I’m going to assume you’re not one of those speakers who will simply let that video languish, un-viewed. Instead, you want to use your video as a…
DetailsI’ve heard many speakers make one of two mistakes when it comes to description: (1) not enough, and (2) too much. What’s hard is finding the “Goldilocks” spot – where it’s just right. This post explores two questions: How much description is just right? And is it different in speaking than in writing? The second…
DetailsAll too often, when I experience someone’s presentation – especially a technical one – I see that the presenter and the audience simply are not connecting. There can be any number of reasons for a failure to connect, but most of the time it boils down to this: the presenter has disregarded his or her…
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