2-Minute Tip: Create a Presence Live everyday to create a presence that has presence when you’re not present. As a speaker, in order for your message to have impact, it has to be something that sticks with your audience when you are not there. You can do that by being a powerful, memorable speaker. But that’s not the only way. Give clear guidance. Develop a…
2-Minute Tip: Use Click Bait-ey Titles When you need a title for your talk, take a lesson from all those click-bait titles you see on Facebook and other social platforms. Make it short, compelling, and maybe a little edgy. When you promise a talk with the “5 Secrets to Successful Penguin Petting,” you also have a built-in structure for your talk that will keep you…
2-Minute Tip: Don’t Squander Water Cooler Talk After winning or losing a big sale in a store there’s tendency to brag or vent to colleagues around a literal or metaphorical water cooler. It happens after a big talk, too. We celebrate the brilliance or decry the stupidity of an audience. Don’t. It’s not effective. It won’t help you win or save more sales in the…
2-Minute Tip: Practice To be successful, there is no substitution for preparation. Practice. Rehearse. Prepare. And then practice some more. When you see speakers who make it look easy — who effortlessly string together words and phrases and jokes and more — it’s usually not off the cuff. It’s because they’ve practiced. Put in the time and know your stuff cold so that you can come up…