“Fearless,” “bold,” “brave,” and other variations are descriptions lots of people assign to professional speakers. People have called me those things, and I’ve heard lots of other speakers described that way. I’ve just come off the rush of the most incredible conference I’ve ever attended, the annual Canadian Association of Professional Speakers convention. I…
We humans think with our eyes before we think with our brains. Visual information is hugely important for our cave-dweller brains, and when it comes to wooing an audience, how you look matters. Happily, you don’t have to worry about your body type, or your size, or other variables out of your control. Rather,…
I’m currently reaching to new audiences through a series of guest posts on a variety of blogs. Naturally, I don’t want to leave you in the dark, faithful reader, so for your ease and convenience, here is a teaser and link to my latest guest post. This post is featured on Success Consciousness. 3 Surprising Confidence…
A delightful change has happened in my household! The change was anticipated but the timing was a bit unexpected. You see, I had planned on spending the next couple of weeks getting a huge amount of housework, cooking, and writing done so that I could be “ready” for when our lovely new baby arrived. Baby…
Reading out loud is one of the best ways to get in speaking practice. Whether you’re working on diction, expression, breath work, or something else, grabbing some reading material makes practice a lot easier than taxing your brain trying to come up with original content. Just about anything can be fodder for your speaking…
In my talks on communication and public speaking, I commonly address the flight-or-fight response that difficult speaking situations trigger. While I do train people on how to physically manage their distress symptoms (such as shallow breathing, elevated blood pressure, and the like), the way you perceive the stress response matters hugely. As McGonigal points out,…
Stella Adler was speaking about actors. Her words apply to you, too. Actor, speaker, dancer, activist, employee, manager, whatever you are – this is the key to stepping up and letting your voice ring out with power and sincerity.
There are few feats of intelligence as beautiful as a well-composed bit of rhetoric. Today’s bit of Friday silliness gives such a demonstration, definitively settling an age-old debate. Enjoy! [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TyXJ1sAQtaY&w=560&h=315]
Oh, smartphones. I have a very, very conflicted relationship with the damn things. On one hand, I recognize their usefulness for the busy professional. If your office is effectively your vehicle – and I know many people for who this holds true – then they can be a godsend. On the other hand, they do…
Everyone who wants to speak in front of a group should learn how to dance. You don’t have to learn how to dance well, but you should give it a try. Dancing teaches you how to take an aural expression of emotion (music and sometimes lyrics) and interpret it as a purely physical expression of…
