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. …
Occasionally, business speakers need to give a presentation that will require a lot of time. When faced with an hour-long presentation, they worry about how they will keep their colleagues’ attention. This is the time to consider building in rest stops; …
Why You Should Build Breaks Into Long Presentations. Read more »
Most presenters know that it is important to vary their pace. If they speak at the same speed for an entire presentation, it can seem monotonous to listeners. But, deciding when to speed up and when to slow down can …
Power up Your Presentations by Varying the Pace at Which You Speak. Read more »
If you give a lot of business presentations, you will eventually make a mistake. However, the takeaway is not the error; it is how you handle the error. There are two main kinds of presentation mistakes, those your listeners witness …
You’ve Made a Mistake in Your Presentation, Now What? Read more »