Is your speech plagued by umms, ahs, and other pointless filler words like “so, like, y’know,” etc? I’ve got a question from Tamara on this very common issue: Hi Lauren – I find myself saying “um” and “ah” a lot when I give a presentation, and I hate it! It’s distracting and makes me…
The first few minutes of your speech or talk are critical. Putting together a really solid opener can be tricky, and Ian is looking for advice on how to create stronger openers will grab his audience’s attention from the start: Hi Lauren, My name is Ian, and I’m in the financial sector. I give lots…
So you made a mistake during your presentation. Even if the rest of the presentation goes great, it’s the mistakes that get burned into our brain. Yes, everyone makes mistakes, but how to you get over a mistake when the memory of it makes you want to hide with shame? It’s important to figure this…
It’s a presenter’s nightmare: some jerk in the audience decides to give you a hard time, asking impossible questions, challenging everything you say, making snarky comments, and trying to make you look like an idiot. Congratulations – you’ve got a heckler. Hecklers can really throw you off your game, and it happened to Laura who…
You’re about to give a talk. You’ve practiced, you think you’re ready, but then…your heart starts to pound, your mouth gets dry and your hands get sweaty, your brain goes blank, and you feel like throwing up. What’s going on? Welcome to the wonderful world of speaker’s anxiety manifested in the famous “Flight or Fight”…
How much time should I spend on my presentations? This is the wrong question to ask. A better question to start with would be “What kind of presentation do I need to give? Is this a utility presentation, one I’ve give loads of time and am already familiar with? Or am I creating…
It happens to everyone – you’re fine in front of one group of people, but in front of an audience with more education, or experience, or status then you? Your confidence nosedives, and you find yourself asking “who am I to speak to these people?” This is at the heart of this question sent in…
Whether you or not you believe the adage “Never judge a book by it’s cover,” the simple fact is that our appearance matters when we give a presentation. A lot of messages get packed into our appearance, hence people getting hung up on picking their outfits when giving presentations. This sartorially-themed post comes courtesy of…
Have you ever sat in a meeting wanting to pull your hair out in frustration? You are far from alone. Between work and volunteer committments, many of us spend inordinate time in pointless or ineffective meetings, wasting precious time, energy, and money. Today on Talk Shop I’m sitting down with the master of meetings, Gord…
Recognizing the skills, contributions, and overall awesomeness of ourselves and others can be remarkably hard to do! Many businesses and individuals have competitive mindsets where recognition of contribution is seen as weak or even personally detrimental. Others feel that talking about their own greatness is morally wrong – the equivalent of shameless self-promotion or uncouth…