Grammar: Cause and "Effect"
This post is part of a series on grammar and vocabulary. From time to time, I will post short articles highlighting some of the common mistakes that people say during their presentations or write on their slides, and how to avoid them.Today we look at the words “affect” and “effect”. Each word can be either […]
Link by Link and Tweet by Tweet
During a 1996 speech on the Internet, then U.S. President Bill Clinton famously remarked, “When I took office, only high energy physicists had ever heard of … the Worldwide Web. … Now even my cat has its own page.” Yes, social media and social networking are omnipresent. Today, the Internet is an indispensable feature in […]
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 […]
On the Air
This week I experienced a whole new side of public speaking – radio. I have been asked to be part of a new talk show on World Radio Switzerland called The Connectors. From the WRS website, here is a summary of the show: “Living abroad is all about making connections. From cultural faux pas to […]
Quotes for Public Speakers (No. 29) – Winston Churchill
“There are two things that are more difficult than making an after-dinner speech: climbing a wall which is leaning toward you and kissing a girl who is leaning away from you.”
Seth Godin: The Unlimited Power of Enthusiasm
Seth Godin is the author of several books about “marketing, the spread of ideas and managing both customers and employees with respect”. I highly recommend his blog. In this post from 1 November 2006, Seth talks about the power of bringing enthusiasm to whatever you do, be it work or play. Earlier today I was teaching […]
The Power of Gestures
For a great example of how gestures can be used to increase the effectiveness of a presentation, watch the fascinating TED Talk below by Bonnie Bassler. She is a molecular biologist at Princeton University. In the video, she is speaking about a very exciting discovery in the field of bacteriology. Effective speakers understand the power […]
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, […]
Quotes for Public Speakers (No. 26) – Ambrose Bierce
“Speak when you are angry and you will make the best speech you will ever regret.” Ambrose Bierce
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