I get my haircut at one of those little franchise hair cutting joints (similar to Fantastic Sams but not quite as fantastic). I go about every 2-3 weeks. In fact, I’ve been going there for at least a year and a half on a consistent basis. Guess what? Not a single one of the stylists have remembered my name … Read More
Public Speaking: How To “Focus” Your Nervousness And Use It For Good
You ready?When the time to speak arrives… Go ahead, imagine it for a second. You’re about to stand up in front of a bunch of prying-eyed souls who expect you to deliver something valuable. Excited yet? Me too. However, it’s what you do with that excitement that determines if it holds you down, or lifts you up like Viagra. The focus … Read More
The 3 F’s of Fear
What we generally describe as “stage-fright” or the fear of public speaking, is actually much more specific. The fears can be broken down. One by one. And obliterated. Why do you think you are afraid to get up and speak in front of an audience? Most people know it’s scary, but usually have no specific reason why. It’s like skydiving–we … Read More
The Most Important Promise You Could Ever Make
Promises are important. The ones we make to our friends, our family, and even our pets are very important, and we should probably do our best to keep them. But what about promises to yourself? Ya, those…they are of killer importance, and they happen to be the most important promises you could make. So then, here’s the promise I urge you to make. Promise yourself … Read More
Do You Get This Feeling At The Beginning Of Your Presentations?
That elusive feeling. It’s so darn difficult to accurately remember it. It might even be difficult to explain it, so bear with me. Here’s the situation: You’re about to get up and give a talk, initially there’s that bit of “excitement,” then you get going, all is well, and then finally you end your talk. Job well done. You … Read More
Your Public Speaking “Toolkit”
I recently read this blog article listing 10 confidence building tips for public speaking. The interesting thing I noticed is that some of them seem more relevant to constructing a speech rather than building confidence. Whatever, still good tips! But, the last one ignited some of my brain synapses: Create Your Toolkit You know how sometimes you come across something that you’ve been doing, but … Read More
Public Speaking Presents: The Currency of Confidence
Confidence can be gained from public speaking. A whole lot of it. It’s built by persistently putting yourself in the spotlight, or put another way, throwing yourself to the starving wolves as often as possible. There’s no doubt that you’ll gain confidence with public speaking as your tool. But, these new found guts, are they only good for public speaking? … Read More
How Many Lifetimes Has Your Soul Been Through?
Are you an old soul? Have you ever thought about it? There are many documented reports of children saying that they are somebody else, albeit reincarnated in a new body. They got names, places, you name it. It’s a crazy thing to think about. But, it’s really cool at the same time. This post isn’t about any of that though. … Read More
Your OWN Story: Authenticity Reigns Supreme
Have you ever listened to someone give a speech or tell a story that just didn’t feel authentic? It ain’t pretty. Why would a presenter choose to tell made up stories or deliver information that they just aren’t qualified to give? An example would be if I re-told a story that I heard from someone else but substituted myself as … Read More
Reading Your Audience
Have you ever seen an audience member with a stone-cold face? Expressionless and even borderline indignant? This is quite common. And while the title of this post is Reading Your Audience, another title that would work is Don’t Read Too Much Into Your Audience’s Expressions. Seeing faces like that instantly makes you think that they are not enjoying your speech or … Read More