Adding Silence When you Speak – Don’t Stuff Your Audience
How well do you get on with adding silence when you speak to groups? It’s not always easy to do, and something I’ve had to learn and still occasionally remind myself about. I used to cram my talks full of content and worry about running out of time. If you can separate your presentation or […]
For Influence and Confidence, Question Lazy Labels
For influence, question lazy labels We label and put people and ideas into boxes all the time: and we need to. These short-cuts for our brain are vital to let us get on with our day without stopping to second-guess ourselves. And it’s much faster to label than to try to understand. However, by their […]
Your truth or universal truth, get to the point, and a self-worth reminder
1. To influence: are you speaking a universal truth, or your own? If as a presenter we generalise about things that aren’t true for our audience, they’ll usually disconnect, and the opportunity to influence disappears. And if you think this doesn’t apply to you, it’s worth a check-in: it’s surprisingly common. Some sentence starters to […]
To influence have an opinion, virtual speaking engagement, and how to feel more confident
I. Influencing others when you speak To be influential when you communicate or present you need opinions, and you need to share them. (Tone and context are hugely important too of course – and for today’s tip, I’m assuming they’re appropriately in place!) Too often in my work, I see people with great knowledge and […]
Unconscious Speaking Habits May Be Holding You Back
Are you aware of what you do with your hands, or if you use many filler words (like, um, you know) when communicating? And that these unconscious speaking habits may be holding you back? Most people aren’t that aware – and this is often a good thing! We have enough to do to get through […]
Communication Challenge: Avoid Empty Phrases When You Communicate
A frequent challenge when speaking is to avoid adding empty phrases when you communicate. And there are a few popular ones doing the rounds at the moment which, in my view, weaken and dilute the message you’re trying to convey. When we want to get a point across at work, whether in a conversation, meeting […]
Communication Challenge: Talking Too Much When Trying to Convince
Talking too much when trying to convince or persuade others. Does this communication style sound like you? In my experience there are common reasons for talking too much, especially when trying to convince or persuade others. Here are 8 – see if you recognise yourself in one or more: You don’t trust in the merit […]
Communication Challenge: Not Fully Trusting Your Own Ideas
Do you ever diminish yourself or your abilities? A real communication challenge comes from not fully trusting your own ideas. There are many ways we can short-change ourselves when we communicate our ideas – whether that’s to one person or a big audience. Today I’m talking about a common issue, with more to come in […]
Good Public Speaking – Let Your Points Land
Our ideas are only as good as our audience’s ability to consume and digest them. Whether that audience is 1 or 10,000. Let that really sink in for a moment. If that statement is true – and I believe it is – then our ability to communicate so that the audience hears us and “gets […]
Is Self-Belief Essential At The Start?
When I decided to start my own business in 2009 I didn’t have any real belief that it would succeed. I started anyway, basically because I didn’t want to look back in 30 years and regret never having a go. So here’s my premise: you don’t have to believe in yourself when you start something […]