The UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) knows how to put on a show. When they host events outside of the U.S., they go out of their way to pack the fight card with fighters from the home country.A perfect example was the fight card held over the weekend in Ontario, Canada. One of the fighters from the main event was from, you guessed it, Canada.In fact, from … Read More
What Are The Three S’s And How Can They Change Your Life?
Slap on your scuba gear of life and get ready because today we’re going deep. The Three S’s will not only help you overcome the fear of public speaking, but they can change your life.I owe a lot to these three principles because I struggled with each one mightily, like a child trying to reel in a great white with a … Read More
You May Not Be Rambo But You Have Important Life Stories
Do you have stories worth telling?Short answer…YES. If you’re alive, you’ve got stories. If you’re dead, I’m sorry for your loss.Just because you know your stories and have replayed them in your mind hundreds of times, and now YOU’RE bored of them, doesn’t mean that others will think so, too. Humans like drama, and you’ve got some. We all do. An no, … Read More
Tactical Talks TOP 5: The Best Public Speaking Articles On The Web – Vol. #3
ROUND #3 OF SCAVENGING BEGINS!Each month I will scour the interwebz looking for the best articles on public speaking.You’ll get topics like these:Overcoming the fear of public speakingPresentation tipsBody language and other technical speaking tipsAnd anything AWESOME in between! I’m looking for the interesting, the fascinating, the practical, and anything with worthwhile information to help you become a bad ass communicator. The best of the … Read More
This Is Why It’s Okay To Change Mid-Speech
Imagine you’re speaking to an audience of human beings that are pretending to be life-sized cardboard cutouts. What can you do?You can change, that’s what! If something doesn’t work at the beginning, it’s okay to change. Even if you’ve planned on tying it to your ending. You’re not chained to something just because you’ve planned it.I gave a speech a few months back and I … Read More
Tim Ferriss + TED Talk…What Could Go Wrong?
I’m pretty accommodating when it comes to just about everything. Over the years I’ve endured some pretty bad movies, teachers, and uncomfortable situations only to describe them as, “not so bad.” In other words, I’m not much of critic. Rarely a harsh one.Sometimes, though, there comes a time when you just gotta call things out like you see ’em. I recently watched Tim … Read More
Tactical Talks TOP 5: The Best Public Speaking Articles On The Web – Vol. #2
ROUND 2 OF SCAVENGING BEGINS! Each month I will scour the interwebz looking for the best articles on public speaking.I’ll be looking for topics like these:Overcoming the fear of public speakingPresentation tipsBody language and other technical speaking tipsAnd anything in between…I’m looking for the interesting, the fascinating, the practical, and anything with worthwhile information to help you become a better communicator. … Read More
Only Talk To ONE Person In The Audience & Forget Everyone Else!
There are hundreds of techniques designed to calm your nerves before a speech.Many are unique, if not border-line stupid, such as sliding a rubber band on your wrist to self-mutilate when you sense anxiety creeping up (the pain is meant to distract you from the fear). Interesting…Well, a big reason public speaking creates a butterfly mating ground in our stomach is … Read More
Are Toastmasters Speech Evaluations Any Good?
A Toastmasters meeting has a portion dedicated to evaluating speakers, so I thought I’d dedicate a portion of my own to that very subject. Such evaluations can range from good, to not so good.Evaluations: Let’s talk about the good first. Because you are focused on delivering a speech, combating nerves, etc., it’s hard to evaluate yourself while you’re speaking. And probably … Read More
Why Fear Is Good For Public Speaking (It’s Outrageous)
I’m sure you’ve heard that people fear public speaking more than death. Lately I’ve been hearing that it’s a bogus stat, but that’s beside the point. The fact that the two get compared at all gives the fear of public speaking a serious legitimacy.Just to be clear of what were talking about, it also gets called glossophobia, speech anxiety, or even “performance anxiety.” … Read More