Regardless of your skill level, never begin any presentation or speech with an apology. Don’t warn listeners that you’ve never done this before, or ask for their forgiveness if you stumble. Prepare a strong opening and then practice it. You …

Start Strong, No Excuses, and Ditch the Post-Mortem. Read more »

A trait of highly effective speakers is their use of hand gestures. Research shows that people who use their hands when speaking connect more closely with their listeners. They come across as more invested, energetic, and likable.  For the speaker, …

Top 5 Tips for Using Hand Gestures in the Virtual World. Read more »

Almost every speaker has experienced it, that moment when your mind blanks, your brain freezes and all you hear is white noise. The most typical cause is anxiety, but distractions—very common when working from home—can throw off a speaker as …

Top Tips for Handling Brain Freeze During a Presentation. Read more »

Video presentations, conferences, panel discussions, and webinars are dominating our work hours. Along with the endless talking, jargon and buzzwords have flooded in. Examples: high level,  no need to reinvent the wheel,  value proposition,  low-hanging fruit,  customer journey, etc. The speaker …

Jettison the Jargon and Banish the Buzzwords. Read more »

Just as nails on a chalkboard can set your teeth on edge, so can habitual verbal tics annoy listeners. Even in casual conversation, when we speak, we want to hold our audience’s attention. If we keep using an annoying speech …

Two Annoying Speech Patterns That Weaken Our Message. Read more »

Repeated use of video calls often leads speakers to become more relaxed, which may make them appear less than professional. Just as we are finely tuned to decode body language when communicating in-person, we need to be cognizant of body …

7 Body Language Tips for Better Video Calls. Read more »

Every speaker will include filler words or sounds in their everyday conversation; they will umm or aah as they wrangle their thoughts, or try to recall specific information. In day to day speech, this isn’t a big issue—unless repeated constantly. However, in more professional …

Own the Pause and Eradicate Filler Words Forever. Read more »

Although video-everything has become the new method of communication, there has also been a considerable resurgence of the humble phone call. Whether you are making a sales pitch, connecting with a long-standing client, or doing an initial job interview, the …

Phone Calls Are Back! Top Tips to Make Your Sales Pitch or Job Interview Impactful. Read more »

When we give presentations or teach classes via video, we often use slides. Too many presenters/instructors—familiar with their topic—create the slides they want to use, and feel they are prepared. But merely looking over the slides and running through the …

Timing Your Online Class or Presentation. Read more »

Impromptu questions (those asked off-the-cuff in meetings) can sometimes cause a person to stumble and come across as less than professional. You weren’t expecting to be called on, yet here you are, suddenly thrust into the limelight.  Firstly, prepare before the meeting. …

How to Prepare for Impromptu Questions Read more »