Advice and constructive criticism are supposed to make you stronger, right?The thing is, that’s not always true.People have a tendency to pass around what they like…with little or no thought to whether it fits the person they’re giving it to.I’m not a huge fan of visual aids, but I would never tell anyone not to use them. Some people would though.They’d say, … Read More
Talking To Yourself To Overcome The Fear Of Public Speaking?
Raise your hand if you think affirmations are a pile of mystical poop.If your hand is in the air, I completely understand. I used to ignore them like junk mail from the Prince of Nigeria. [I will continue to ignore until he offers me a bigger cut of that 50 million dollar inheritance!]I mean come on. All I need to … Read More
7 Alternatives To Resisting The Fear Of Public Speaking
Your heart starts pounding, your neck and shoulders begin to tense up, your mouth and thoughts quickly dry up, and you rapidly begin to wonder whether or not you’ve gone completely insane. Because why the hell else would you have agreed to do this? If that sounds about right, you’re in heavy company. I’d estimate just about all of humanity has felt or feels this way. [A … Read More
Public Speaking: Cut The Crap And Stay On Topic
“Get to the freakin’ point!” or “Stay on topic!” You’ve probably heard that before—it’s good advice. It takes some serious discipline, though. The trouble is we might not even realize that we’re shifting off topic. I used to think every detail that I could remember about a situation, needed to be told! My apologies to everyone who had to struggle through my … Read More
Do You Take Books For Granted?
The only books I had voluntarily read before the age of 26 were the first six books in the Harry Potter series. I never got around to the final one. Someday though, Harry. Anyway, do you read books? I think that collectively, as humans, we don’t value books as much as we should. After all they’re just a bunch … 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
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
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
How Damned Difficult Is Public Speaking?
The amount of people that show up to a Toastmasters club meeting (a place to practice public speaking) and say they’ll be joining is incredible. You know what else is incredible? The amount who never show up again. Then, there are others who go one step closer to facing their fears. They’ll fill out applications to join, turn them in, and say they’ll … Read More
What You Should Never Forget
There are times that I’ve forgotten my roots. Unfortunately, it happens. What roots, you ask? The basic principles and fundamentals of public speaking that I labored to grasp. The ones that were necessary to shed my fear and improve as a speaker. It’s easy to get caught up in the fleeting nuances of life and forget to send … Read More