Are your Public Speaking Expectations Helping or Hindering You?
I’ve always had high expectations of myself – and my family environment growing up was a big part of that. (A very high-achieving Cambridge-educated half brother and sister 11 and 13 years older than me set the bar high!). And part of this background has meant that I’ve always strived for future goals – and hand-in-hand […]
Bad Presentations – What’s the Biggest Problem?
Bad presentations: I’ve been reminded recently of a observation by Scott Berkun, a writer and speaker who’s spoken at conferences all over the world. Scott’s also written a great book ‘Confessions of a Public Speaker’. One of the ideas in his book is something I totally agree with. Burkun says: “The problem with most bad […]
Nervous Speaker? Where Does your Focus Naturally Go?
So you’re a nervous speaker: where does your focus naturally go? Updated 2019 Today’s video post is around a link to some interesting research on where your eyes and attention go if you’re an anxious presenter. This is assuming you’re able to look up and ‘take in’ your audience – and if you’re nervous, that’s […]
The Best Tool to Engage an Audience?
The best tool to engage an audience Updated 2019 What’s our best tool to engage an audience? Assuming that our goal when presenting is to communicate well enough that our audience understands our message and can act on it. For this to happen of course, we need initially to get their attention. And this audience […]
Reduce Stress with these Simple Quick Techniques
I’m always on the lookout for techniques to help clients reduce stress and anxiety levels. And I’ve been talking to a lot of my private clients recently about how going through stress in their lives can make their public speaking anxiety worse – which makes total sense. In fact for a few clients, stress was […]
How To Get Into A Strong, Energetic State Before A Presentation
How to Get into a Strong, Energetic State Before a Presentation How do you come across to others when you present? And how do other people judge our energy levels? You might think this is an obvious question, but I bet there will be things you’re missing – we can’t always tell what’s really going […]
Where’s your Locus of Control around Public Speaking?
Where’s your locus of control around public speaking? Control: where do you sit with that word when you think about public speaking? My clients often struggle with feeling out of control in different ways when they’re presenting – either mentally, physically or both. When your sense of control goes, so does your confidence. Loss of control […]
How to Overcome Public Speaking Fear
How to Overcome Public Speaking Fear Let’s talk about fear today. Fear in general – and public speaking fear in particular. What can be done about it? Is it even possible to learn how to overcome public speaking fear? I’ve been speaking with one of my private coaching clients this week, who’s trying to decide […]
5 Public Speaking Skills Donald Trump Gets Right
5 Public Speaking Skills Donald Trump Gets Right Whatever you think of Donald Trump – and he certainly provokes strong opinions – he has his own style, and breaks plenty of rules. As a public speaking coach, I find watching him strangely compelling – in small doses! Here are 5 public speaking skills I believe Trump […]
Three Thinking Traps That Increase Public Speaking Fear
[updated February 2024] I’ve heard from hundreds of clients about their fearful thoughts on public speaking – and listened to my own in the days when I used to get very nervous. And I’ve noticed that there are some styles which just keep popping up! Here are three thinking traps that increase public speaking fear: […]