I’ve always advocated that you should NEVER apologize while you have control of the stage. I’ll tell you why. It’s because typically it’s used as an excuse to suck (underwhelm), or because the speaker didn’t feel the need to prepare. They think it absolves them from wasting the audience’s time. But it doesn’t. An example is when the speaker gets up there and says, … Read More
“Just Do It” To Overcome Public Speaking Fear? IT SUCKS!
I’m convinced that the most popular advice on how to overcome the fear of public speaking…SUCKS! A couple of months back during a speaking panel I heard “just do it” again from a self-proclaimed (nothing wrong with this by the way!) communications expert. I think that people who toss out this advice simply don’t remember what it was like when they … Read More
Public Speaking Therapy
Have you ever thought about hiring a therapist? If so, I’ve got a proposition for you: Why not choose public speaking instead? No, you don’t get a cool couch to lie down on while someone pokes into your drama, but forget that. Humor me and I’ll make it worth your while. Here are 6 reasons why I’m convinced that public speaking is an effective form of therapy and why you … Read More
Your Face Is A Public Speaker
Have you ever met someone with a dehydrated sense of humor? Where you couldn’t quite tell if they were joking or not because of their deadpanned face, which caused you to freeze up on your response. Should you laugh? Should you be offended? Inside you’re asking yourself, “is this person serious?” In other words, there was some confusion. I have a dry sense … Read More
Avoid Overwhelming Yourself By NOT Doing This
Have you ever wanted to master a skill only to run into someone else who was enormously better at it than you were? Chances are you have. I have. What effect did this have on you? Did you feel overwhelmed or say to yourself, “I’ll never be that good”? Did you want to give up? There’s nothing to be … Read More
Public Speaking: Make Time For Timing
It is extremely important that you time your presentations. It’s both a courteous thing to do, and it shows that you give a damn. Besides, you’ve probably been given a slot of time with which to work. It’s best not to exceed it. Perhaps you’ve heard that when you prepare for your talk, you should plan for possible laughter or … Read More
Public Speaking: How To Practice Eye Contact WITHOUT An Audience
Have you ever watched a speaker stare down at the floor? Almost as if they were avoiding eye contact with the audience entirely. Have you done it? I know I’ve done it when I first began in public speaking. I see it all the time. Do you know why this occurs? My bets are on nervousness or lack of preparation … Read More
Public Speaking: Have You Ever Thought This?
I call it the “Why the heck am I doing this?” feeling. The feeling that would appear when it was dangerously close to presentation time. These used to beat the hell of out me. It would start about two hours before I knew I’d have to give a speech. I’d question it all. What was I thinking agreeing to speak? … Read More
Are You Immune To Criticism?
Have you ever butted heads with somebody that knew everything? Or rather, pointed out that they knew or did everything better than you and then proceeded to pack your worth into a blender and hit the “crush soul” button? Maybe you just sat and watched as your ideas were ground into puree, or equally sucky, attempted to argue with the all-knowing sage? … Read More
Tactical Tip #2 – Well, sort of…
Okay…This Tactical Tip doesn’t have much to do with public speaking except that it was a lesson I learned in perseverance… I’m pretty dang sore right now. It’s not as easy as it used to be. Basically, I was hanging out on a nice Sunday afternoon and decided to have some fun. Be Sociable and Share! – Below are … Read More