When you’re nervous about an upcoming presentation, it can cause stress on your body and mind which will impact on your ability to communicate your message effectively. In this article I outline a simple exercise to help combat the symptoms and instil a sense of calm; it can be done anywhere at any time you feel a little scattered, apprehensive or anxious.
What's the best piece of advice you've received about public speaking? In this article I share the two words that changed EVERYTHING for me about how I prepare and deliver presentations.
Long ago I lost count of the number of people who have said to me “I HATE public speaking!” But what if I told you that you could learn to love public speaking?
If you fear or loath public speaking and avoid it at all costs, you may be missing out on opportunities to promote your business, progress your career or share a few words about a special person at an important occasion such as a wedding or a funeral.
Having the right speakers and break out session facilitators is crucial to the success of an event. Therefore, if you’re in charge of planning, it’s important to put time, effort (and money) into finding the right speakers who will engage and inspire your audience and ensure your event is talked about for years to come. In this post I share my top tips to help you book the ideal speaker.
If you're someone who avoids conversations that you perceive may be difficult, you'll probably already know that this can lead to further miscommunication, upset and angst. It is crucial to ensure that you find a way to express yourself so in this post you'll find some tips for preparing and managing the conversation...
Do you feel confident and positive all the time? If you are like most people, your confidence can wax and wane depending on the circumstances. However, lack of confidence and low self-esteem can impact on every area of our lives. In this post I share my tips on how to weed out self doubt and cultivate your confidence...
One of the biggest fears my clients have is about forgetting what they are going to say when public speaking and I am frequently asked for advice on how to memorise a speech or presentation. In this post I explore the different schools of thought about this and provide some suggestions on how to prepare effectively to remember your presentation...
How do you react when you’re asked to ‘say a few words’? Are you one of the many who become completely tongue tied; barely managing to ‘um’ and ‘err’ through a mumbled ramble of incoherent nonsense before shuffling away hoping the ground would open up and put you (and your audience) out of misery? If so, read on for tips on ‘speaking off the cuff’ from Scotland's impromptu speaking champion, Renée Philippi...
We are now three weeks into January and I wonder how you’re getting on with your plans for the coming year. How is this year going to be different to the past? Have you made plans? Are you moving forward with them? Or are you letting fear hold you back? This is a guest blog post by Philippa Linane of Decision Happy, whose work is based on the best-selling book ‘Feel the Fear and Do it Anyway’ by Susan Jeffers. Philippa’s post will provide you with food for thought and some techniques for feeling the fear and making a difference to last year...
One of my favourite TED Talks is by Social Psychologist, Amy Cuddy called ‘Your body shapes who you are.’ It shows how you can reduce stress and feel more powerful simply by changing the way you hold your body, which is essential for confident and credible communication...
There is a lot of information on the internet about how to create the perfect wedding speech and toast; but often writing the speech is not the problem - it could be nerves that cause the most angst. If you’ve been given the honourable task of giving a speech at a wedding, it is important to get it right so here are some tips...
This week I have had the pleasure of staying at a holiday resort where the employees put on a show for guests most evenings. A few of them had incredible stage presence and it got me thinking about what makes someone stand out from the crowd when in front of an audience and how we can use this to engage our audience and enhance our message when public speaking...
