presentation skills

How to Stand Out as a Speaker

How to Stand Out as a Speaker

What kind of impact do your presentations make and are your talks remembered by your audience? Last month I had the opportunity to attend the Global Speakers Summit in Bali and in this post I share techniques that some of the speakers used to elevate their delivery and ensure they were remembered as highlights of the convention.

Presentation Tips from The Jacksons

Presentation Tips from The Jacksons

Whilst watching The Jacksons in concert recently, I loved their showmanship and ability to really connect with the crowd. We can learn a lot about how to improve our presentations from their theatrical approach, so in this blog I share 11 techniques that you can apply to take your audience engagement to the next level.

Great Presenting For Busy People

Great Presenting For Busy People

As a busy professional, you may think you don’t have the time to improve your public speaking skills, but just a few adjustments can greatly improve the way you are received. Check out my final conversation in this series, where I spoke with award-winning speaker Lee Warren who shared fantastic ideas that are easy to understand, easy to implement and will easily transform the way you present.

Tips to Build Confidence

Tips to Build Confidence

What can you learn about presenting from Sesame Street? What are the best techniques to build confidence? And why should you disregard most public speaking advice? Answers to all of these questions and more can be learned in my latest conversation with the amazing Pegine Echevarria, best-selling author, award-winning business woman and one of the world’s top leadership motivational speakers.

How to Manage the Q&A Part of Your Presentation

How to Manage the Q&A Part of Your Presentation

Many people fear the Q&A at the end of a pitch or presentation, but with a bit of prior planning you can make the most of the opportunity. In this post I share the benefits of a Q&A, how to prepare effectively as well as how to answer those tricky questions with confidence and poise.

7 Simple Rules of the Stage for Presenters

7 Simple Rules of the Stage for Presenters

Inspired by a discussion comparing outstanding performances and the fact that some performances could be so much better with just a small amount of fine tuning, this post is about 7 'rules' of the stage to consider when you're next speaking in front of an audience.

11 Presenting Mistakes That Make Your Audience Cringe

11 Presenting Mistakes That Make Your Audience Cringe

As presenters we are in the privileged position of being able to share our knowledge, experience, and passion with an audience. However, with this privilege comes responsibility – a responsibility to ourselves to ensure we don’t kill our credibility, but more importantly, a responsibility to our audience to ensure that our message is relevant and interesting to listen to. It is vital that you avoid these 11 mistakes that will make your audience cringe...

Lessons from Professional Speakers

Lessons from Professional Speakers

In this post I’ve written about three of the sessions at the Professional Speaking Association’s ‘Refresh!’ online conference. I have included the main takeaway messages as well as my observations on what the speakers did well so that you can consider using some of the techniques to enhance your own presentations.

Presentation Lessons from a TEDx Event

Presentation Lessons from a TEDx Event

TED talks have changed the speaking landscape and I was honoured and privileged to be one of the speaker coaches once again for the Glasgow TEDx event at the SEC Armadillo. In a day that showcased 16 speakers some of them were more memorable than others, so in this post I look at some of the talks that stood out and examine the reasons why. Read on to find out how you can use the techniques to make your own communication more powerful.

Business Storytelling: Lessons from a Master

Business Storytelling: Lessons from a Master

One of the biggest buzzwords in business at the moment is ‘storytelling’. And for good reason. Stories make us think, and more importantly they make us feel. And they help us remember ideas and concepts far more effectively than facts and figures. I was privileged to have the opportunity recently to see well known Scottish businessman, Bob Keiller, delivering a Business Storytelling workshop and in this post I share his tips.

11 Things You Can Learn About Presenting from Ice Skating

11 Things You Can Learn About Presenting from Ice Skating

Recently I went ice skating for the first time in 30+ years. As I was endeavouring to get used to the feeling of being on skates again, I amused myself with the parallels between ice skating and public speaking and the lessons we can learn from them...

4 Speakers, 4 Countries, 4 Public Speaking Lessons

4 Speakers, 4 Countries, 4 Public Speaking Lessons

In one year I attended four professional speaking conventions in four countries on four continents. In this article I share the lessons we can learn from the stand out speakers at each event...

7 Vocal Mistakes That Can Ruin Your Presentation

7 Vocal Mistakes That Can Ruin Your Presentation

What does your voice say about you? Whether you like it or not, people will make judgements about you based on your voice. They’ll make assumptions about where you’re from, how well educated you are or how confident you are. Regardless of the words you speak, your voice will impact on how engaging a speech or presentation is for your audience and how well your message is received. 

Ten (More) Parallels Between Running and Public Speaking

Ten (More) Parallels Between Running and Public Speaking

Did you know that there are a number of similarities between running and public speaking? Following on from a previous post on this topic, here are ten more parallels between running and public speaking.

What Dolly Parton Can Teach You About Public Speaking

What Dolly Parton Can Teach You About Public Speaking

Dolly Parton demonstrated her incredible ability to engage a 180,000 strong crowd during her popular performance at Glastonbury. The more I watched the more I realised that her techniques could be implemented in many public speaking situations. So read on to find out what Dolly Parton can teach you about public speaking.

Public Speaking lessons from a Drag Show (Part 2)

Public Speaking lessons from a Drag Show (Part 2)

Inspired by an experience I had watching a drag show whilst on holiday, this is my second post about what lessons we can learn from drag queens when it comes to public speaking. 

12 TEDx Talks: 12 Lessons in Public Speaking

12 TEDx Talks: 12 Lessons in Public Speaking

On Thursday 18 February, the TEDx University of Edinburgh (TEDxUoE) 2016 Conference was held in Edinburgh’s Central Hall for an audience of around five hundred people. I was delighted to have the opportunity to coach 10 of the 12 speakers for this event and was incredibly proud of the way each of them delivered a clear, concise and engaging talk. So, from my perspective as an audience member, this post covers public speaking lessons inspired by each of their talks.

Why Improving Your Public Speaking Should Be Your Top Priority This Year

Why Improving Your Public Speaking Should Be Your Top Priority This Year

Are you one of those people who wrote ‘Improve my public speaking skills’ on your list of new year’s resolutions? If so, well done and I trust you are well on the way to achieving your goal (if you’re not, read on!)