The First Seven Seconds
For a public speaker, first impressions count. Here are some tips to help make your first impression the right one.
A Public Speaking Alphabet
Audience alphabet Fitting that it comes first. The most important part of any speech. A speech is for the audience and about the audience. Always. alphabet Books alphabet There are so many resources available these days for public speakers. Invest a small amount of money in yourself and pick some up. Here are three of […]
Make Sure Your Slides Don't Fall Behind
A while back I wrote a post about the way in which you can turn the screen black during a PowerPoint presentation and the reasons why you should do so. You can read it here. Today I want to show you an example of why it can be so important to turn the screen black […]
Beat the Clock!
The next time you have a presentation, see if you can beat the clock. Speak for less than your allotted time.
Some Chilling Public Speaking History
Here is a rather chilling passage from The Gulag Archipelago by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn. The Russian author captures in a few short paragraphs the sense of terror that pervaded the Soviet Union under Stalin. Nowadays, we often hear people talk about being “bored to death” by a speaker. Of course, they are speaking figuratively. However, in the […]
Analysis of a Speech by Shukla Bose
Shukla Bose is the founder and head of the Parikrma Humanity Foundation, an extraordinary nonprofit that runs schools for poor children in urban India. Parikrma is transforming education so that these children can have equal access to the best opportunities. Parikrma manages the entire education cycle from kindergarten to college for each child. In this talk at TED India, […]
Analysis of a Speech by Philip K. Howard
Philip K. Howard is a lawyer from New York and author of the books The Death of Common Sense, The Collapse of the Common Good and Life Without Lawyers. One of his great concerns is the manner in which his country, the United States, has become paralyzed by the proliferation of laws and lawsuits, and by the pervasive threat of litigation. […]
Tips for Speaking at a Conference
Speaking at a conference is a big opportunity. My friend and fellow public speaker, Jack Vincent, is an expert in sales and marketing. Jack recently wrote a post in his blog offering eight tips for those speaking at a conference. The post was born of a frustrating experience: I returned from a major industry conference two […]
Preparation
Preparation is essential if you want to be a good speaker. There is an old public speaking story, attributed to different people, that essentially goes something like this: If I am to speak ten minutes, I need a week for preparation; if fifteen minutes, three days; if half an hour, two days; if an hour, […]
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