Fearless Presentations

In his episode, we're going to talk about filler words and how to reduce the negative fillers that can be annoying. Fillers come in a few different formats. Some are just sounds. These fillers are the ones that, when we do them, we tend to get more nervous because we think the audience is judging us. These are the ers, the uhms, the youknows, etc.  How to stop saying Um is one of the most com...

On this episode, I cover seven easy ways for ESL presenters (presenters who present in English but English is their second language) to reduce nervousness. If English is your first language, don't worry, because most of the tips will help you as well. In fact, the first four of the seven tips are things that anyone can use to reduce public speaking fear. The remaining three tips are ones that...

In his episode, I'm getting back to our roots -- so to speak. The topic is How to Overcome Stage Fright. In the past, we've covered different forms of this performance anxiety, like Imposter Syndrome, and I've covered how to reduce public speaking fear on a number of episodes.  Stage fright is slightly different, though. It can come from public speaking fear or other types of stage...

If you are scanning the internet for PowerPoint tips, it’s most likely because something has happened recently that wasn’t ideal. Perhaps you stood up in front of a group and forgot what you were going to say. Or, maybe, you got tongue-tied during the delivery. Or worse, your audience looked sleepy-eyed or even walked out of the room while you were speaking. These are all symptoms of related to a...

This is lesson number 12 of our 12-lesson series on how to win group sales presentations.  One of the myths that we tackled in one of the earlier episodes was that the PowerPoint slideshow itself is the shortlist presentation. That one mistake can cause teams to lose the high-level sales presentation more than any other mistake. What we started with last week was a different concept. I began to sh...

This is lesson number 11 of our 12-lesson series on how to win group sales presentations.  So far, we've covered a lot of the foundational concepts of group selling skills and ways to get buying committees to buy from your team after you get shortlisted. Just as a 30,000-foot recap, we started by covering many of the myths about shortlist presentations.  One of those myths is that the slidesh...

This is episode 10 of our 12-episode series on how to win group sales presentations.  So far in the first 9 episodes, we've covered a lot of the foundational concepts of group selling skills. And we've spent a lot of time on how valuable case studies or success stories are in winning a committee over to hiring your team.  In the last episode, I showed you how to pick the best presentatio...

This is episode eight and nine of our 12-episode series on how to win group sales presentations. So far, we've covered a lot of the foundational concepts of group selling skills. And we've spent a lot of time on how valuable case studies or success stories are in winning a committee over to hiring your team.  Today's episode will be split into to parts. First, I'll give you som...

This is episode seven of our 12-episode series on how to win group sales presentations. Before the Christmas and New Years break, the last couple of sessions were about inserting case studies into your presentation as evidence that your potential clients can get what they want if they do what you want. I introduced a concept that I call an action/benefit statement.  Just as a review, you'd te...

This is episode six of our 12-episode series on how to win group sales presentations. For the last couple of weeks, we talked about how a case study is a story or example of how you've helped other clients solve similar problems to what this client has. And we showed how these stories help you show your experience to the buying committee throughout your presentation. We also showed how these...

This is 2nd half of episode five of our 12-episode series on how to win shortlist presentations or other types of group sales presentations. Last week, we talked about how a case study is a story or example of how you've helped other clients solve problems similar to those of this client. They are also fantastic ways to make details in your presentation memorable and a great way to build rapp...

This is episode five of our 12-week series on how to win shortlist presentations or other types of group sales presentations. Last week, we talked about how you can change the way that you introduce each team member when you present so that you edify each other and build their confidence. This week, we're going to cover how to get really, really good at delivering case studies. If you remembe...

This is episode four of our 12-week series on how to win shortlist presentations or other types of group sales presentations. Last week, I gave you ten things you can do when preparing or delivering these presentations that will help you keep calm and poised.  I also talked about how, in shortlist presentations,  it is important to "dig your well before you're thirsty," so to speak....

This is episode three of our 12-week series on how to win shortlist presentations or other types of group sales presentations. Last week, I briefly overviewed the five biggest secrets I've discovered about these high-level sales presentations. These secrets are the things that have allowed us to win over 80% of the interviews that teams that I have coached have been on.  This week, I will giv...

This is episode two of our 12-week series on how to win shortlist presentations or other types of group sales presentations. Last week, I explained what these presentations were and how I first got exposed to them. Just as a review, a Shortlist Presentation or Shortlist Interview is a very high-level sales presentation. Companies will often submit a proposal to a potential customer or client. The...

This week, we start a new series on how to win Shortlist Presentations or Shortlist Interviews. Basically, this is a very high level sales presentation. Companies will often submit a proposal to a potential customer or client. The potential customer or client will weed through all of the proposals to create what they call a "shortlist."  Then, the remaining companies will often each get...

One of the real fears that many speakers have is that they don't feel like they are an "expert" on the topic. It actually leads to what some people call imposter syndrome. In this episode, I'm going to help you reduce that anxiety. Especially in the business world, if you are the person speaking, then, most likely, it is because you know more about the topic than anyone else in...

This is part four of a four-part series on how to make your presentations more interesting. So far, we spent the first couple of weeks cover my seven "impact ideas" which are fun things to add into presentations to jazz them up.  Last week, we cover audience participation. In that episode I covered a few mistakes that presenters make when they try to get the audience to interact as well...

This is part three of a four-part series on how to make your presentations more interesting. This week, we cover audience participation -- how to get your audience to help you deliver your presentation. When you do audience participation well , you can really elevate your presentations! In the last couple of weeks, I mentioned that there are two major components of a fantastic speech.  First, you...

This is part two of a four-part series on how to make your presentations more interesting. If you recall, last week, I mentioned that there are two major components of a fantastic speech.  First, you have to have good content that the audience wants or needs to hear. And second -- and this is the part that many presenters overlook -- you have to have entertainment value in your presentation. You c...

We've spent the last few months covering ways to reduce nervousness and the last couple of weeks uncovering a few low-risk venues to practice presenting. For the next few weeks, I'm going to show you how to make your presentations more fun and interesting. There are two major components of a fantastic speech. First, you have to have good content that the audience wants or needs to hear....

This is part two of a two-part series about low-risk venues where you can practice public speaking.  In the introduction last week, I mentioned that the absolute best place to practice public speaking is in a public speaking class with a great coach. A good public speaking class is a controlled environment, so the risk is very low. However, over the years, I've come across a bunch of other lo...

One of the most common questions that I get as a public speaking coach is, "Where can I go to practice speaking?" It is usually a good idea to practice your presentation skills somewhere that is more low risk than in front of a big client, or your boss, or the board of directors. Obviously, I'm pretty biased, but with good reason. I believe that the absolute best place to practice p...

We just finished a series on public speaking fear and how to reduce nervousness during a speech. This week, I discuss how to better prepare for your presentation. For most people, the absolute most nervous part of the speech -- the place where they feel the most uncomfortable -- is right as they step foot in front of the audience. That nervousness builds to a crescendo up to that point. So, in thi...

This is part 3 of a three-part series on public speaking fear. If you've been with us for the last few weeks, I started by explaining the difference between glossophobia and public speaking fear. In those episodes, we basically discovered that glossophobia is an unreasonable fear of public speaking that keeps people from presenting in the first place.  Last week, I covered a simple four-step...