by Patricia Fripp, CSP, CPAE My prolific author and speaker friend Jeff Davidson and I had a conversation about some of the way speakers fail. Hope you enjoy some of the ideas Jeff wrote on the subject. There are many ways to successfully deliver a presentation and many more to fail at it. Here are three common mistakes that speakers …

by Patricia Fripp, CSP, CPAE Whether you’re writing or speaking, clichés will weaken your message and cause your audience to tune out. Here are Fripp’s Four Foolproof Tips for making your point: * You MUST use original material. * The audience will forgive you ANYTHING but being boring. * If someone else has already said it, say it in a …

by Bill Stainton We hear it all the time: if you want to get the big bucks, you’ve got to use humor in your presentations. Even if you’re not in it for the money-humor definitely helps you to get your point across. There’s no question that if you give presentations in front of an audience, humor should be one of …

by Chris Widener   As one who does some speech coaching, I have heard all of the crazy ideas on how to conquer stage fright, but I think in more basic ideas. Actually, just a few. Here they are:   1. Know your stuff!   The best thing you can do is to be overwhelmingly, thoroughly, and completely prepared and …

by Jim Cathcart, CSP, CPAE If your speaker truly is a valuable resource and you’ve gone to all this trouble to get him/her ready to do a proper job for you, then perhaps there are several ways to utilize the speakers’ resources on the day of his/her appearance. In 20+ years of speaking before more than 2,000 audiences I’ve encountered …

by Chris Widener At one point or another, those of us in business are called upon to do some public speaking. The way we present ourselves is important because it is representative of who we are, our competencies, and how people will view our businesses. In doing speech-coaching I find that most people are initially concerned with adding things to …

by Bill Stainton There are many compelling reasons to use humorous stories in your presentations. They make you more likeable, they make you more memorable, they help you generate higher fees, etc. But as far as your audience is concerned, there is only one reason: you use humorous stories to further your point! That’s it! You’re not using them to …

by Bill Stainton 1. Thou shalt target thy audience This is the first and great commandment! You must know who your audience is, and choose your humor appropriately. This doesn’t mean just knowing who the group is, or even who the individuals who comprise the audience are. It means understanding the occasion, knowing the back-story of the group, assessing the …

by Ross Shafer (excerpted from his book “Nobody Moved Your Cheese” Trafford Publishing) I truly think public speaking is one of the all time fastest shortcuts to success. Speaking well in public will accelerate your career at lightning speed. Look around your plant or office. Good talkers are looked upon as leaders and are getting the top money, right? Is …

by Bill Stainton If you know anything at all about me and my speaking style, you know that I am a huge, huge fan of humorous personal stories! I think they are, hands down, the best way to add humor to your speech or presentation. I like them better than jokes, funny quotes, and cartoons. Why? Because they are unique, …