“Your truth” or “Universal truth”?
Video link below. Last week, I watched a media interview outside a court in Hobart, where I heard this bald statement: “The verdict demonstrates a simple truth. Women are better than men.” The speaker was Kirsha Kaechele, the creator of the Ladies Lounge at MONA (Museum of Old and New Art) in Hobart. The issue […]
Communication that Sticks: Simple, Succinct, and Spacious Communication
Communication that Sticks with your Audience Simple, succinct and spacious communication – easy to remember, sometimes hard to do! I’ve been working in-house with a lot of organisations recently. And a topic that comes up over and over again is this: our ideas are only as good as our audience’s ability to consume and digest […]
Consistency is the enemy of engagement
When we don’t use enough variety as we speak, it’s almost inevitable that people stop listening and tune out. And consistency is the enemy of engagement! ‘Sameness’ will not get attention, and it won’t keep attention. Let alone bring it back once it’s been lost. And unless you’re super-aware of your own speaking style, it’s […]
Public Speaking Preparation: How’s your PEP?
With the main Olympics over (and Paralympians in action soon) – and whether you liked or watched the Games – you may know that competitors often have pre-event routines. Some competitors paint their nails in specific ways. Others knit, or listen to the same piece of music. This idea ties into work I may do […]
Don’t Forget to Breathe
I spent last week in SA running workshops for both Flinders University medical workforce and Limestone Coast Regional Development. My 3rd visit, and always so rewarding. And one of the topics that came up again – for many different reasons – breathing! At the risk of banging on about this again – believe me, it […]
Do you Shrink Wrap when you Speak?
Our mind and body follow each other when public speaking, and tightly controlling your body will mean that your mind also contracts. You want to move to be able to think! Do you ever shrink-wrap yourself when you’re speaking? Our mind follows our body and vice versa. And if you are nervous, or focused very […]
Screen Apnoea
Have you heard of screen apnea? Also called email apnea, this is a very unhelpful state that can occur when we are on devices or looking at a desktop and focusing. We either hold our breath or enter very shallow breathing patterns. Of course, when this happens, we go into low-level fight-flight. Because the system […]
The Audience Takes its Cue From You
What you put out, you are likely to get back. To give you a metaphor illustrating this: If you’re the slug at the front, expect your audience to be slugs in the seats. This may be an extreme visual, but there’s so much truth in it. Your audience will respond to your energy, vibrancy, and […]
Internalise don’t Memorise
If you’re preparing for a talk or an interview, and you write down the exact words that you want to say first and then try and remember them in the event, you’ve potentially got an issue. You may get: disconnected from the meaning behind the words, because you’re so hung up on getting exact wording […]
Asking Questions
When you give a presentation, do you ask enough questions? Even if they’re rhetorical questions, many people don’t have enough questions in their presentations. It’s simply a series of statements. And the higher level thinking or the more familiar the topic, the more involved we are, the less easier it is to remember that sometimes […]