Most speakers have experienced brain freeze. Your mind blanks, your brain stops working, and all you hear is white noise. Why does it happen: Anxiety. The speaker feels anxious and unsure. Pacing. The speaker talks so quickly that the …
Brain Freeze! How to Stop It and How to Handle It. Read more »
Phone calls will always remain a key part of business communications. Whether you are making a sales pitch, connecting with a long-standing client, or doing an initial job interview, having strong phone skills will help you achieve your goal. Preparation: …
My Top 5 Tips for How to Make Effective and Productive Phone Calls. Read more »
Body language is a critical part of our public speaking skills. In business meetings, before we open our mouths, our body language speaks volumes. When business is conducted virtually, we need to remind ourselves we aren’t alone but part of …
Make Sure Your Body Language Is Sending the Right Message in Meetings. Read more »
There are occasions when a speaker has to work from a prepared script. However, the goal is still to come across as natural and authentic while maintaining good eye contact. To ensure you engage and connect with your audience, follow …
How to Read Your Speech or Presentation and Still Sound Natural. Read more »
Business speaking requires a level of professionalism. When a speaker introduces a weak speech pattern, it can hurt their credibility and undermine their message. The three key patterns to avoid are: Hedges: sort of, kind of, pretty much, maybe. These words …
Layering stories (examples) into your presentations adds detail, creates mental images, and makes dry or remote information more accessible. Studies show that ideas are more readily accepted when put into a narrative structure as opposed to an analytical structure. Listeners …
Many interviews now include one or two weird questions. EG: If you were a pizza delivery person, how would you benefit from scissors? Interviewers ask this type of question to gauge several things: see how you approach unrehearsed questions. see how you …
How to Answer Weird or Strange Interview Questions. Read more »
To make sure your gestures match your words, think about the words you are using. Many of them will contain information or emotion that you can emphasize with a hand gesture. To get started, think about any wording you will …
Where to Introduce Hand Gestures Into Your Speaking. Read more »
Effective communicators pay attention to the speed at which they speak. They know that if they talk at a “million miles an hour,” their colleagues will struggle to understand the message. No listener will work that hard to follow your …
If You Do Nothing Else To Improve Your Presentations, Do This! Read more »
Effective speakers and presenters build ‘signposts’ into their speech. They guide their listeners through the information by using words that make it clear what lies ahead, and then as they progress, alerting them to where they are along the way. …