2-Minute Tip: Be Your True and Honest Self We talk a lot about authenticity because it matters. And while it may seem daunting, it can actually make things easier. When you don’t try to fake it, you don’t waste brain cycles and energy trying to maintain a façade. There are 3 questions to ask yourself when you prepare to talk to an audience: Who are you really? What do you…
If you think speaking is hard, try rhythmic poetry in front of a crowd.
This week, Nigerian Spoken Word artist and host of The Spoken World Podcast joins us to talk about her experiences with public speaking, the power of forensics in school, and the nature of the Spoken Word performance genre.
2-Minute Tip: Build a Team Sometimes to get better, you may need help, and that’s okay. Hire a coach. Join Toastmasters. Ask a friend or colleague. Take an online course. Take a traditional course. Read a book. Subscribe to a podcast about public speaking Or do all of the above. Or some combination of them. The point is you can build expertise, or at the very…
2-Minute Tip: Practice in a Mirror The key to success on stage is to practice as much as you can. Prep by using a mirror to give yourself an audience to impress. And often the person in the mirror is the toughest to impress. Practice with your notes at first, and get good enough so you don’t need them. Once you don’t need your notes, that means…
2-Minute Tip: Incorporate, Don’t Emulate A movie that’s inspired by a true story takes elements of that story and creates its own thing from it to move the audience. It doesn’t attempt to duplicate the original story itself because that would be a documentary and not a theatrical tale. Both the original story and the entertaining film can be excellent things, but they are different things. When…
2-Minute Tip: Take a Beat Have you ever noticed that a speaker will step up to their speaking spot (fancy technical term there), look down, then up, scan the room silently, and then start speaking? They’re taking a moment to prep themselves for the talk they are about to deliver. While that whole ritual may be a little much, there is value in taking a moment to take…
2-Minute Tip: Note Something interesting Everyday It’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking we are not creative. Or that we have nothing to say beyond the basics of our message. Or that writer’s block is impenetrable. Or that we are just going to bore our audience. That can happen because we take our own experiences for granted. We think our lives are just boring or normal….
2-Minute Tip: Zoom In With you present during a webinar, there are lots of things to consider. I talked about several of them way back in Episode 014. This week, I add to that list by suggesting you zoom in the web cam tighter on your face. This will block some of the clutter in your background and it will make it easier for the camera to…
2-Minute Tip: Poll the Audience A simple way to increase audience engagement and inter action is to poll the audience. Ask them if they’ve had some sort of experience, like dealing with a tough customer or a misunderstanding with a boss. You already know the answer (probably) so you can use that to lead right in to your next point. When you poll the audience be sure to…
2-Minute Tip: Use PowerPoint Online Photos PowerPoint has some great tools for sourcing images online. In the version for Windows that comes as part of Office 365 (and possibly other versions), PowerPoint content layout frames include an option to insert online images. If you are working without layouts, you can reach this same function through the Insert menu. …