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Author: mannerofspeaking

How Do Props Help a Presentation?

Storage Room, National Theatre, Germany

The word “prop” comes from the term “theatrical property”, which refers to objects used by actors in a play to add realism to the story and to help advance the narrative. Anything can be used as a prop: a chair, a walking cane, a book, a painting. The list goes on and on. Props can […]

Quotes for Public Speakers (No. 100) – Janine Shepherd

Janine Shepherd

Ten days ago, I asked for your help in choosing the speaker of the 100th quote for public speakers on this blog. The results are in: over 300 votes on four questions to help narrow down the search. Thank you to all who voted. In the end, a significant majority asked for a motivational quote […]

You Don't Know Dick

Dick Hardt

I am referring to Dick Hardt, founder and CEO of Sxip Identity and a big proponent of Identity 2.0. (Unless, of course, you actually do know Dick!) The presentation below (which, as you’ll see, was the inspiration for the title of this post) is an old one. It is the 4 August 2005 Keynote Address that Hardt […]

Help Me Pick the 100th Quote for Public Speakers

Quotes for public speakers

Last year, I started a series on quotes for public speakers. As I said in the first post, there are often nuggets of gold to be mined in the briefest of words. My idea was to provide one quote at a time, and let readers ponder it without additional comment from me. Many of the quotes […]

Quotes for Public Speakers (No. 99) – Freddie Mercury

Freddie Mercury

“We’re fussy and finicky and have very high standards. If a song can’t be done properly, we’d rather it isn’t done at all. We’re the fussiest band in the world, and we put so much loving into every album.” Freddie Mercury Photo courtesy of weheartit.com

Quotes for Public Speakers (No. 98) – Aldous Huxley

Aldous Huxley

“Words and the meaning of words are not matters merely for the academic amusement of linguists and logisticians, or for the aesthetic delight of poets; they are matters of the profoundest ethical significance to every human being.” Aldous Huxley

Public Speaking: Taking That First Step

Toronto City Hall

This summer, my family and I returned to Canada for a vacation. While we were in Toronto, I followed the debate that was raging (and which continues to rage as of the date of this post) about closing public libraries to reduce municipal government costs. Toronto City Hall Public hearings were held to discuss the […]

Quotes for Public Speakers (No. 97) – Steve Jobs

Steve Jobs on slide presentations instead of thinking

“Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They’re not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. “You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can’t […]

World Championship of Public Speaking, 2011

Jock Elliott - Toastmasters

The 2011 World Championship of Public Speaking, hosted by Toastmasters International in Las Vegas, Nevada, is now history. Congratulations to all contestants, especially Jock Elliott (1st Place), Kwong Yue Yang (2nd Place) and Scott Pritchard (3rd Place). I must, however, say a special word about my friend, Olivia Schofield, who also participated in finals. She […]

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Testimonials

John delivered a keynote address about the importance of public speaking to 80 senior members of Gore’s Medical Device Europe team at an important sales event. He was informative, engaging and inspirational. Everyone was motivated to improve their public speaking skills. Following his keynote, John has led public speaking workshops for Gore in Barcelona and Munich. He is an outstanding speaker who thinks carefully about the needs of his audience well before he steps on stage.

Karsta Goetze

TA Leader, Gore and Associates

I first got in touch with John while preparing to speak at TED Global about my work on ProtonMail. John helped me to sharpen the presentation and get on point faster, making the talk more focused and impactful. My speech was very well received, has since reached almost 1.8 million people and was successful in explaining a complex subject (email encryption) to a general audience.

Andy Yen

CEO, Proton Technologies

John gave the opening keynote on the second day of our unit’s recent offsite in Geneva, addressing an audience of 100+ attendees with a wealth of tips and techniques to deliver powerful, memorable presentations. I applied some of these techniques the very next week in an internal presentation, and I’ve been asked to give that presentation again to senior management, which has NEVER happened before. John is one of the greatest speakers I know and I can recommend his services without reservation.

David Lindelöf

Senior Data Scientist, Expedia Group

After a morning of team building activities using improvisation as the conduit, John came on stage to close the staff event which was organised in Chamonix, France. His energy and presence were immediately felt by all the members of staff. The work put into the preparation of his speech was evident and by sharing some his own stories, he was able to conduct a closing inspirational speech which was relevant, powerful and impactful for all at IRU. The whole team left feeling engaged and motivated to tackle the 2019 objectives ahead. Thank you, John.

Umberto de Pretto

Secretary General, World Road Transport Organization

I was expecting a few speaking tips and tricks and a few fun exercises, but you went above and beyond – and sideways. You taught me to stand tall. You taught me to anchor myself. You taught me to breathe. You taught me to open up. You taught me to look people in the eye. You taught me to tell the truth. You taught me to walk a mile in someone else’s shoes. I got more than I bargained for in the best possible way.

Thuy Khoc-Bilon

World Cancer Day Campaign Manager, Union for International Cancer Control

John gave a brilliant presentation on public speaking during the UN EMERGE programme in Geneva (a two days workshop on leadership development for a group of female staff members working in the UN organizations in Geneva). His talk was inspirational and practical, thanks to the many techniques and tips he shared with the audience. His teaching can dramatically change our public speaking performance and enable us as presenters to have a real and powerful impact. Thank you, John, for your great contribution!

Sara Canna

HR Specialist, World Health Organization

John is a genuine communication innovator. His seminars on gamification of public speaking learning and his interactive Rhetoric game at our conference set the tone for change and improvement in our organisation. The quality of his input, the impact he made with his audience and his effortlessly engaging style made it easy to get on board with his core messages and won over some delegates who were extremely skeptical as to the efficacy of games for learning. I simply cannot recommend him highly enough.

Thomas Scott

National Education Director, Association of Speakers Clubs UK

John joined our Global Sales Meeting in Segovia, Spain and we all participated in his “Improv(e) your Work!” session. I say “all” because it really was all interactive, participatory, learning and enjoyable. The session surprised everybody and was a fresh-air activity that brought a lot of self-reflection and insights to improve trust and confidence in each other inside our team. It´s all about communication and a good manner of speaking!”

Jon Lopez

General Manager Europe, Hayward Industries

Thank you very much for the excellent presentation skills session. The feedback I received was very positive. Everyone enjoyed the good mix of listening to your speech, co-developing a concrete take-away and the personal learning experience. We all feel more devoted to the task ahead, more able to succeed and an elevated team spirit. Delivering this in a short time, both in session and in preparation, is outstanding!

Henning Dehler

CFO European Dairy Supply Chain & Operations, Danone

Thanks to John’s excellent workshop, I have learned many important tips and techniques to become an effective public speaker. John is a fantastic speaker and teacher, with extensive knowledge of the field. His workshop was a great experience and has proven extremely useful for me in my professional and personal life.

Eric Thuillard

Senior Sales Manager, Sunrise Communications

John’s presentation skills training was a terrific investment of my time. I increased my skills in this important area and feel more comfortable when speaking to an audience. John provided the right mix between theory and practice.

Diego Brait

Director of the Jura Region, BKW Energie AG

Be BOLD. Those two words got stuck in my head and in the heads of all those ADP leaders and associates that had the privilege to see John on stage. He was our keynote speaker at our annual convention in Barcelona, and his message still remains! John puts his heart in every word. Few speakers are so credible, humble and yet super strong with large audiences!

Guadalupe Garcia

Senior Director and Talent Partner, ADP International