Speakers and presenters, don’t sound like your grandpa! Use these tips to keep your voice beautiful at any age
Blog Posts to Boost Your Skills
Presenters, Don’t Crash the Plane!
Do your presentations “run out of gas”? Many presenters take their audiences on a wonderful journey. But then, for the lack of a flight plan, they crash. Why are Conclusions Important? A closure is not just where you stop. A great conclusion reinforces, summarizes, and ties up the session. Take action to prevent YOUR crashing …
Read the full article »
Get Rid of Those Junk Words
We’ve all been driven crazy by a presenter who overuses words like “you know”, “um”, and “like”. Surprisingly, research finds that these filler words serve an valuable purpose. Using them helps a presenter transition to what he or she will say next, and audiences appreciate a little break between thoughts. However, let’s get back to …
Read the full article »
Training’s Biggest Schism
In my October newsletter, I asked “What’s going on with training?” More than 90 training professionals across the United States responded. THANKS to all who shared your experiences! Communities Got Clean Water, Thanks to YOU I promised to send a donation to the Global Women’s Water Initiative for each completed survey. Our collective donation helped to …
Read the full article »
What’s Going on with Training?
Hi, clients and readers. I have the strong sense–(and maybe YOU do, too)– that how people want to learn is changing. Please take this very quick survey so that I can learn about your training preferences. The survey will take you less than five minutes to complete. Two (Extremely) Cool Benefits of Taking the Survey …
Read the full article »
Presentation Tips from the Pet World
First off: I am emphatically NOT suggesting we treat our audiences like pets. But learning from our relationships with our pets CAN help us become better speakers. I spoke recently with a professional Animal Massage Therapist and adult educator. Together, we came up with the following five tips for improved public speaking. 1. You must …
Read the full article »
Love Your Struggles!
I was shocked when a Presentation Skills client started a diatribe against herself using the words “I condemn myself for…” and then launched into all the mistakes she could dream of. WHY do we presenters, trainers, and facilitators sometimes berate ourselves with words we might never use for another person? Self-care supports our resilience. Practicing …
Read the full article »
Crazy Warm-Ups for Great Presentations
Years ago, I overheard some presenters claiming that to “pump up” their energy, they would fall to the floor and do a series of pushups before a presentation. I was both intrigued and appalled. Wouldn’t doing pushups render them desperately out of breath? How about the embarrassing sweat marks? Besides, I couldn’t do a push-up …
Read the full article »
When YOU are the Bored Trainer (or Presenter!)
We’ve all had bored trainers and presenters. They lack passion, energy and spark. But what happens when YOU deliver the same material over and over and over again? How do you keep it fresh? 5 Tips That Refresh 1. Remember the “Turf” That Comes With Being a Professional Whether you are an athlete, an actor, …
Read the full article »
3 Tips to Improve Your Meetings
(Since We Can’T Get Rid Of Them Altogether) If you feel a chill of dread at the prospect of leading or participating in a meeting, you are not alone. 71% of managers say meetings are unproductive and inefficient. Studies show that the more meetings we attend, the worse we feel about ourselves and our jobs. …
Read the full article »