When you give a speech at a conference that’s reasonably large, they’ll set up what’s called a “confidence monitor” for you. This monitor has your slides on it, and it’s positioned at the edge of the stage, facing you. So I want you to imagine this for a moment. You’re in the audience, and … Read more
Seriously. If every speaker will remember that their job is to create an experience for their audience, you will never need to hire a coach. Here’s what that means in practice: Create your content with your audience in mind. What do you want them to walk away thinking about, talking about? Eliminate behaviors that distract … Read more
“This just doesn’t sound right.” “It looked good on the page, but when I said it during my presentation…” My clients often tell me how perplexed they were when the words that they polished so lovingly on the page failed to come to life when they said them out loud. The simple fact to remember … Read more
When we think about speeches or presentations we have seen that were terrific, we think about how the speaker made us feel. A great speaker can make us feel excited, motivated, intrigued, moved, or compelled. The same is true when we think about presentations we endured that weren’t so great—they make us feel impatient, bored, … Read more
“What’s the Point of PowerPoint?” It’s ubiquitous, everywhere from TED Talks to teachers’ classrooms. When done well, PowerPoint is a great complement to a speaker’s presentation. When done poorly…unfortunately, we can all finish that sentence. I just spent two days coaching the presenters for the Ignite Asheville event. The format of an Ignite talk is … Read more
No, you’re not. Sure, you may have occasional “knock-it-out-of-the-ballpark” occasions when all the stars align and you feel incredible about your performance. But if you want to be consistently effective and powerful, you have to, (I hate to say it), practice. “But when I practice, I sound rehearsed!” Yes, that can definitely be a danger. … Read more
