3 Great Reasons From Neuroscience To Practise Your Presentation
Today’s post covers 3 great reasons to practise your presentation, taken from neuro-scientific research. Practice is No. 5 in my C.R.I.S.P.E.R series of good speaking skills (these skills are: being Clear, Relevant, Insightful, Succinct, Practised, Energetic and Respectful – the overview article is here). Reason No. 1: thicker neural pathways create precision and certainty […]
Be Succinct: Public Speaking without the Clutter
Is your talk too ‘cluttered’ for your audience to act on? These structure tips will help. A few years ago I was looking at houses to buy, and visited properties that were ‘open for inspection’. At one house, the outside looked very appealing, well cared for and with a great garden. The real estate agent […]
Defeating Speaking Fear – New Landscape
Defeating speaking fear through a new landscape. Speaking anxiety? I’m always looking for new or different ways that fearful clients can find a workaround for theirs. And I found one in an article about procrastination byTimothy Pychyl in Psychology Today. It’s about your goals and what stops you. And it ties well into defeating speaking […]
Pitching your Idea: Clarity and Inspiration from Starbucks CEO
How’s this for clarity of words and vision when doing a sales pitch? When CEO of Starbucks Howard Schultz was pitching to investors in the late 80’s the idea of setting up coffee shops in the U.S. he didn’t focus on the coffee. He said this instead: “we’re going to build a 3rd place between […]
How to Ensure that your Talk is Relevant
A vital skill for any good speaker is knowing how to tailor your talk to your audience, and it’s no.2 on my C.R.I.S.P.E.R. list of essential skills (clear, relevant, insightful, succinct, practiced, energetic, respectful). Here are some suggestions for you, particularly if you’re not yet an experienced speaker. It can be helpful to focus on […]
The Essential Speaking Skill of Clarity
In my article last week I gave you an overview of 7 Skills of Every Good Speaker, from which I’ve created the acronym C.R.I.S.P.E.R (clear, relevant, insightful, succinct, practised, energetic, respectful). Here’s my take on the first skill: clarity. On finishing reading a book: “confused, but in a more profound way” – Lily Tomlin Isn’t […]
7 Skills of Every Good Speaker
I’m going to write a series of articles on skills that every good speaker possesses: today’s article is an overview, and I’ll devote an article to each individual skill in the coming weeks. I would be fairly certain that even if you think you’re not a good speaker, when you read the list below you’ll […]
Do you Turn Towards or Away from Your Audience?
There’s a great book by Margaret Wheatley, a well-known U.S. leadership consultant, called ‘Turning to One Another’. In the book, which is about creating simple conversations, Margaret talks about “bearing witness”; this is the practice of sitting with another person. She writes: “when I bear witness, I turn toward another and am willing to let […]
What Are You Really Afraid Of?
Picture this: go back a few years, to when I’ve just completed my first ever keynote presentation, where I talked to a group of emerging corporate leaders about life lessons and resilience. It’s gone well, I get great feedback, and when I leave the group I’m on a high, totally exhilarated by the experience. […]