Fearless Presentations

This week, I was looking back over the 100 plus blog posts and podcast episodes that we have released. One of the things that hit me was that there is a very important part of the presentation that I have totally overlooked. In fact, this is one of the first things that I train my instructors on when I train new trainers. This important part of the presentation is the room setup. Proper room set u...

I was teaching the best public speaking course ever last month. Early in the program, I asked the class members, “What physically happens to people when they get nervous in front of a group?” One of the first answers was, “They lose eye contact with the audience.” My response to the class member was, “Yes, eye contact in presentation skills is important, but keeping great eye contact isn’t as hard...

What happens when someone forces you to deliver a bad presentation? You didn’t design the speech. You didn’t even create the endless slideshow. However, you are the one who has to stand in front of the group and deliver this gem. So, how do you deliver a bad presentation? Are there things that you can do to make a lousy presentation better? Of course. In this episode, I’ll show you some things tha...

The Real Shark - How to Be a Professional Presenter with Guest Brian Burkhart

Once you have a great course designed, now you will want to spend time actually training your trainers. Step one is to help them develop good public speaking skills. Public Speaking is a Skill Remember that being a great public speaker is not a natural gift. It is a skill. This skill takes time to develop. When help companies create or revitalize a train-the-trainer process, we almost always start...

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...

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...

This is part 4 of a five-part series of 101 Public Speaking Tips. In this episode, we cover 15 places that you can practice your presentation skills. Many of these venues are ones where organizers are constantly looking for presenters. They are also pretty low pressure. (most people who deliver in these venues are not that good. So, if you are, even just an okay speaker, these audiences will likel...

This is part 3 of a five-part series of 101 Public Speaking Tips. In this episode, we cover ways to add showmanship to your presentation. We also give a few tips about organizing your presentations better. We finish with a bunch of PowerPoint Tips. So, if you have to create or deliver PowerPoint presentations, this episode will be great for you. SHOW NOTES: https://www.fearlesspresentations.com/10...

This is part 2 of a five-part series offering 101 Public Speaking Tips. In this episode, we cover a number of tips that will help you add content and impact to a presentation. The first few tips cover how to be a better storyteller when you speak. We also cover a number of ways to get your audience to participate in your presentation. We end with some of Doug’s favorite Impact Ideas for presentati...

In honor of our 101st episode, we have decided to violate a few public speaking rules and cover 101 Public Speaking Tips. This is part one of a five-part episode where we give 101 public speaking tips. Each of the five episodes is divided into sections. In part one, we cover four ways to create a great presentation outline. In addition, this episode has nine ways to reduce public speaking nervousn...

This is episode 100, A Revolutionary Way to Eliminate Public Speaking Fear. This is our centennial podcast, and for those of you who have been listening for a while, you’ll know that I have been promoting this episode for a while. Today, we are going to reveal our new process that is going to revolutionize the way that people reduce public speaking fear. We have been working on this content for th...

Body language in public speaking is the nonverbal queues 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. In public speaking, if you look poised and confident, your audience will believe you are poised and confident. In this session, we'll cove...

If you deliver presentations at the office, you'll often look for ways to create better PowerPoint presentations. Let's face it. Most meetings are pretty boring. They are also repetitive. So, if you are a speaker, and you deliver PowerPoint slideshows, they can be a challenge. As the speaker, we want to do something a little different. Also, your audience will want you to do things a lit...

Here are a few tips to keep in mind when you present a bid proposal. 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 jus...

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. In fact, 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. SHOW NOTES: ht...

As we approach the 100th podcast episode, I'm amazed at how my company and training program have changed. I'm actually shocked at how important continuous improvement methodologies have been to this process. By the way, if you are looking for a long series of academic continuous improvement methodologies, this isn't it. However, if you can see what happened to me, The Leader's...

Do you need a business presentation coach? Well... It depends... Last week, I gave a number of different reasons why presentation skills are important to business success. Great presentation skills can create opportunities for advancement and increase income. How exactly do you improve your presentation skills, though? In this post, we are going to cover the pros and cons of hiring a business pres...

I was reminded this week about the importance of presentation skills in the workplace. Three participants in my presentation skills class in Detroit taught job placement skills. I noticed a couple of interesting things as the class went on. First, these participants offered tips in their class presentations similar to what I teach. These three class members also developed their presentation skills...

Okay, so we know that stories are fantastic pieces of evidence during the formal presentation. In addition, stories are as fantastic as answers to tough questions during question and answer sessions. But when we are under a deadline or currently in front of a tough audience, why are stories hard to remember? Three challenges occur when we are asked a tough question from the audience or we are othe...

Great speakers know how to tell a great story. This podcast will give you the five key steps of storytelling that these great speakers know. This is a continuation of the podcast on how inserting stories into your presentations reduces public speaking fear. In that podcast, I mentioned a recent class member who told me that he just wasn't good at storytelling. If you feel the same way, then t...

Feel nervous about speaking in public? Tell a story in your speech (early), and you can reduce public speaking fear dramatically. One of the first public speaking secrets that we share in our public speaking training classes is that stories are your friend. When you tell a story, you reduce presentation jitters and build rapport with your audience. Don't believe me? Watch any professional mot...

Looking for an elevator speech template? In this podcast, I'm going to explain how to create a 30-second commercial (elevator pitch) for yourself. (Or for your company.) This elevator speech can be used to introduce yourself to a new contact, help you get an interview, or help you sell an idea to a decision-maker. This type of presentation is critical when you have to grab a person's att...

Whatever your vocation, you’ll likely find yourself in front of a crowd at some point. And whether you’re a spokesperson, a motivational speaker, an athlete, an entrepreneur, a CEO, or simply a student, you’re a busy person, with more things to do than to sit there and memorize the lines for a speech or presentation. Take heart! The best speeches aren’t memorized line by line, but learned. Most pe...

So you did it! You graduated at the top of your class. Now you have to write your Valedictorian Speech. However, since this is the first (and only) time you will ever do it, you may not know exactly how to write a valedictorian speech. You are not alone. Just about every Valedictorian or Salutatorian has gone through this. You work very hard to get to the top, and now you have five minutes to educ...