Fearless Presentations

This week we'll be introducing the 4 different presentation styles (Authoritative, Energetic, Analytical, and Empathetic) and showing you how to decide which one you fit most into. And if after you discover which style you are you want to learn more about tips specifically related to you, stick around for the next 4 weeks as we go over each style in depth. Show Notes: Presentation Styles: Ide...

Body language in public speaking is the nonverbal cues that your movements make during communication. Presenters often focus on what they are going to say and their visual aids. However, we often overlook an important part of the speech — body language. Non-verbal communication makes a lasting impression and makes a marked difference in your communication skills. And when it comes to public speaki...

Have a team that needs to build communication skills as a group? Well, just as an FYI, business presentation training is quite different from university-level public speaking classes or what you might pick up at a tasting club. For instance, a good presentation that you deliver for your friends or coworkers may actually backfire if you deliver the presentation to senior executives. Well in this ep...

Do you have to deliver a boring speech? Well, there really is no such thing as a boring speech. There are only boring speakers. But you don’t have to be one of these boring speakers. Enthusiasm and Energy is the absolute, most-important skill in public speaking. If you take only one piece of advice about public speaking, make sure that it is this pearl of wisdom. If you focus on this one simple th...

In this session, I’m going to cover 10 simple ways to overcome the fear of public speaking. This is a continuation of the 3-step process to eliminate public speaking fear . In that episode, I showed you the process that a nervous speaker should go through to reduce speech anxiety. Show Notes: 10 Simple Ways to Get Over the Fear of Public Speaking ( https://www.fearlesspresentations.com/10-simple-w...

When folks ask me what I do for a living, I answer, “I help people eliminate public speaking fear .” It is always fun to watch the looks on their faces when they process what I said. Inevitably, I will typically get a response like, “You do what?” or “How do you do that?”  The process is really simple. In fact, anyone can reduce public speaking anxiety if they follow this process. Over the last 20...

From time to time, I hear people say things like, “She is a natural speaker.” On the other hand, I also hear things like, “I’ve always been a terrible speaker.” Both of these statements may be somewhat true. But they are also both absolutely false as well. No one comes out of the womb a fantastic orator. In addition, everyone has the talent to speak. Many people just fail to develop their natural...

The Train-the-Trainer Model is very common in the business world. However, many Train-the-Trainer programs have big flaws. A good analogy of what happens during this process is the old “telephone game.” Put ten people in a room. Whisper a phrase with more than 10 words into the ear of the first person. The second person then relays the message to the third person. This process continues over and o...

Alright we've reached the end. These 101 public speaking tips aren't all you have to know and all you need to master, but it's certainly a good start.  On top of the 101 things you should do as a presenter, stick around till the end to find out the 10 things you should never do as a presenter! Show Notes: 101 Public Speaking Tips For Delivering Your Best Speech ( https://www.fearles...

This is part three of the 101 Public Speaking Tips series. In the first couple of weeks we covered 53 public speaking tips. In week #1, we covered tips to create an outline of a speech, a few ways to add energy to boring speeches, and finished with a few ways to add pizzaz to the presentations. Last week, we covered a few ways to use stories and examples more effectively to explain your data. Next...

This is part two of the 101 Public Speaking Tips series. Last week, we covered 24 tips in less than 24 minutes. Last week, we covered tips to create an outline of a speech, a few ways to add energy to boring speeches, and finished with a few ways to add pizzaz to the presentations. We ended last week with tip #24.   This week, we start with four ways to use stories and examples more effectively to...

This is episode 401, and way back on episode 101, we did a fun episode called 101 public speaking tips to coincide with the episode number. When we did that episode, it was like a summary of all the 100 episodes from the first couple of years of the broadcast. So, basically, I crammed absolutely everything that I know about public speaking skills into a few episodes. Then, on episode 201, we did i...

Want to add humor to your speech? Quite often, when we are designing speeches and presentations for a professional audience, we discount the value of entertainment and humor. However, a good presentation should be both informative and entertaining. You have to have both.  If you aren't providing the audience with good information, then you're wasting their time. If you aren't provid...

What causes the fear of public speaking? Why do I get heart palpitations? I mean, I like to think of myself as being an expert in your field (at least within my own company.) And I know what I’m talking about. After all, I’ve worked in my field for years. I’ve done my research. So, why do I break out into a cold sweat when I have to speak in front of groups of people? Well stick around and hear ab...

Audience Participation is an excellent way to make a good presentation into a stellar presentation. It can also be the scariest. That is why most speakers — even seasoned professionals — avoid asking their audience questions. It is too risky. Or is it? The truth is that the types of audience participation that most speakers use can come across as cheesy or forced. Also, our audiences have been tra...

You have identified a problem or opportunity for your company. Now you need to get approval. So, how do you present a proposal to management that will get approved? The process is actually pretty simple. The method of how to present a proposal to management that we use works about 100% of the time. Just follow the simple steps below, and your project will easily get funded. By the way, if you are...

Here are a few tips to keep in mind when you present a proposal to a client. Here is the scenario… You have done your homework. A team at your company painstakingly created the perfect sales proposal. In fact, the potential client was so impressed, that they moved you to their “shortlist.” Now, though, they want you to present a bid proposal to the purchasing committee.  Your team is one of just s...

How, exactly do we collect feedback on a presentation? Are there ways to solicit feedback that will help us grow as speakers? The answer is, absolutely, YES! However, the way that you typically ask for feedback may not be the best way to gain confidence as a speaker. In fact, many traditional feedback techniques can actually make you more nervous. In addition, speakers will sometimes make adjustme...

Most of what we cover on this podcast are things that you need to do. The secrets to effective visual aids, curbs against anxiety, the right ways to present, but what about the wrong ways?  You have to know what not to do in order to know what to do and, for a lot of us, we do a lot of what we shouldn't do. There are so many small habits you might not even realize you do that are actively hur...

“I don’t present very often, so how do I prepare for a presentation?” That is, by far, one of the most common questions that we get as presentation skills coaches. In fact, most public speaking fear comes from situations where presenters just don’t speak very often.  They have a hard time building up momentum. For instance, if you only drive a car once every couple of years, you will likely be ner...

I often get a common question after people attend our 2-day presentation class . “Now that I feel more confident, where do I go to practice to continue to get better as a speaker?” “How can I continue to grow as a great speaker?”  The best way to continue to grow is with continued and consistent use of your presentation skills. If you take a public speaking class and then don’t present again for a...

Now that you know a few of the best (and safe) ways to start your presentation right, let's get spicier. No memorable speech you've ever sat through took no risks. The bare minimum a speech can be to not be bad is inoffensive. All the introductions I gave you last week are enough to make sure you don't have an embarrassingly awful first impression but they're not enough to make...

The opening is really the most important part of your presentation. You want to make a good first impression. In addition, you also want the audience to see as a subject matter expert. Of course, we’ve all been there as a speaker. First, we design a powerful presentation. Then, we nervously walk out onto a stage or into the front of the room. The audience stares with skepticism written all over th...

So you did it! You graduated at the top of your class. You’ve proved you are the apex of knowledge, skill, and potential within your school, and now you get to prove it with a beautiful Valedictorian Speech. Just one problem, since this is the first (and only) time you will ever do it, you don’t know how to write a valedictorian speech .  Don’t worry, you’re not alone. Just about every Valedictori...

Most of the time, if you're good at writing one style of speech, you're good at writing all of them. Speech writing is a very transferable skill no matter if it's for a keynote, a lecture, a sales pitch, or pretty much anything else. But there are some exceptions.  Commencement speeches draw a weird, wobbly fine line between being casual, inspirational, funny, and reflective. You ca...