Fearless Presentations

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...

This is part 2 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 discovered that glossophobia is an unreasonable fear of public speaking that keeps people from presenting in the first place.  Last week, I covered part one in this series about...

In the last couple of episodes, I covered the difference between Glossophobia and just normal, everyday public speaking nervousness. In the episode, I'm going to delve more deeply into where public speaking fear comes from. I'll talk a lot about triggers that make people more nervous when they stand up to speak because if you know what is causing your fear, you can better eliminate it. B...

In the last episode, I covered the difference between Glossophobia and just normal, everyday public speaking nervousness. In summary, everyone gets some nervousness when they stand up to speak in front of a group. However, a phobia is an irrational fear. So, if the fear is extreme or irrational, your fear may be a full-blown phobia.  On this episode, I'm going to give you some tips that will...

For the next couple of weeks, I will cover a quick series on Glossophobia and public speaking fear. This week, I explain the difference between the two forms of presentation jitters and give you a few tips to help.  Then, over the next couple of weeks, I'll cover more details on things that you can do to calm your nerves and become a more poised and confident public speaker. By the way, the e...

We are continuing our series on how to create great presentations. If you remember last week, I mentioned how one of the major ways to reduce public speaking fear is to design a fantastic speech. If your presentation is not that good, you will definitely be way more nervous when you present. Last week, I talked about how to deliver business proposals or sales proposals to customers or people outsi...

For the last few weeks, I've covered a number of topics about how to create great presentations. And on social media, I've received a few questions like, "What does a presentation design have to do with public speaking fear?"  The answer is simple. If you try to deliver a terrible speech to any audience, you'll be way more nervous. However, if you design a fantastic speech...

For the last few weeks, I've covered techniques that you can use to design better presentations. We talked about ways to start a speech first. Then, we covered how to design a good presentation. Next, we covered how to end a presentation.  For the next couple of episodes, though, I'm going to share a few secrets about designing presentations that may also come in handy. Today, I'll...

For the last few episodes, I've shown you how to start a speech, how to design a speech, and, last week, how to end a speech. But before we end this series, I wanted to cover one often-overlooked part of creating a compelling presentation. Today, I'm going to show you how to introduce yourself to an audience so that your presentation starts off on the right foot. Remember, when you are s...

This week, we're continuing our series on how to design presentations that are more engaging for your audience. When your audience enjoys your speeches, they will give you positive feedback, which will boost your confidence. A couple of episodes ago, I showed you a few fun ways to start a speech. Last week, I showed you a simple way to design a speech so you don't have to memorize the pr...

Last week, we started a new series on how to design presentations that are more engaging for your audience. When your audience enjoys your speeches, they will give you positive feedback, which will boost your confidence. Last week,, we covered seven ways to start your speech. Today, we'll cover a simple three-step process for designing a great presentation. When we teach presenters how to red...

This week we're starting a new series on how to design presentations that are more engaging for your audience. When your audience enjoys your speeches, they will give you positive feedback. When that happens, you confidence will go up. In this session, we'll cover a few different ways to start a presentation effectively. What most presenters find is that once they say the first couple of...

Last week, I recovered a few tips for better virtual training sessions where your entire group is participating through Zoom or Teams. This week, though, I'm covering tips to help you lead better hybrid training sessions. These are sessions where some of your team is sitting in a room with you while you teach, and others are participating virtually. This type of workshop delivery is more chal...

The last few weeks I've been traveling around delivering a series of in-person training sessions all over the world. And I noticed that when I'm delivering this training in major urban areas like Washington DC, Chicago, New York, and the like, inevitably, my client will turn on a Teams meeting or Zoom meeting as I'm setting up.  In many of these cities, coming into the office is sti...

STEVE MULTER is a veteran corporate spokesman and trainer for more than 100 global brands, including Cisco, Panasonic, Siemens, Fujifilm, HP, NTT Data, and Bayer. He is known as the chief storytelling officer for these and other brands. I wanted to have him on as a guest to give us a few tips on how to become better storytellers and use stories as a way to communicate more effectively and create m...

Do I need to get a presentation skills coach? Well, unfortunately, the answer is probably… It depends. A public speaking coach can be very helpful in certain situations. However, in many cases, a public speaking coach can also be a complete waste of time and money . (The process may actually make you more nervous as well.) In this episode, I cover the pros and cons of public speaking coaching. I g...

Today, I'm covering the importance of proper room setup and how the room that you present in will either make you more nervous or help you deliver a better presentation. The way that you set up the room before you even say a word has a lot of impact on how well you present. It also will determine how you can interact with your audience. The main thing, though, is that if your audience is comf...