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Tag: Preparation

Do this calculation every time you speak in public

Your true speaking time

Whenever you have a speech or presentation to deliver, there’s a calculation that you should always do beforehand. Multiply the time you have to speak by the number of people whom you anticipate will be in the audience. The result is the true amount of your speaking time. Because, however long you speak, each person in […]

10 reasons to walk the room before you speak

Walk the room

In November 2018, I spoke at an event in Genoa, Italy for a big corporate client. I arrived the day before I was scheduled to speak. One of the reasons why I went early, was so I could “walk the room” beforehand. I decided to shoot the video below so that you could walk with […]

Public Speaking Training – The Essential Guide

Public Speaking Training

Why invest in public speaking training? The ability to speak well in public and share a message that is clear, compelling and that moves people to take action is a critical business skill. Companies like Microsoft, LinkedIn, Fast Company and others have conducted surveys in which they asked heads of companies and organizations the question: […]

How to write a speech outline

Writing a speech outline

A good speech outline increases the chances that your speech or presentation will be effective. How do you write a good speech outline? In this post, I walk you through the steps.

A lesson from Dubrovnik

My wife, Julie and I recently went for a vacation in the Croatian city of Dubrovnik. Wonderful people, beautiful scenery, fascinating history. If you ever get the chance to visit, I highly recommend it. One day, we took a cable car to the top of Mount Srđ which overlooks the city and offers a spectacular view […]

Sketches from the Summer School of Rhetoric – Part 1

On 6 June 2019, I had the pleasure of giving a workshop on public speaking and presentations skills in Hämeenlinna, Finland, at the Summer School of Rhetoric. It is an excellent event, held every summer, at a beautiful location in the idyllic Finnish countryside. It was my second time speaking there; the first was in 2014 when I […]

3 tips to deal with the room where you speak

Conference Room

When we give a speech or presentation, we usually don’t have any control over the room where we speak. We might be able to move chairs and tables or adjust the lighting, but in general, we have to deal with the room as we find it. Last week, I went for a walk around the […]

10 tips for setting up on the day of your presentation

Empty conference room

I am one of the co-founders of Presentation Guru, a digital magazine for public speaking professionals. This post is part of a series designed to share the great content on Presentation Guru with the Manner of Speaking community. ——— You’ve prepared your presentation and you’ve arrived at the venue well in advance of your start time. Congratulations, but you’re not finished […]

The Short Version

Short version of speech

Having a short version of your presentation is an important, but often overlooked, aspect of public speaking. Has this ever happened to you? You’re asked to give a presentation. You’re told what the audience would like you to speak about. You’re told where and when the presentation will be given. You’re told how much time […]

Quotes for Public Speakers (No. 276) – Emma Bannister

Emma Bannister

“Invest the time and energy into planning a powerful presentation and your audience will invest their time and energy in you.” Emma Bannister

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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