16Jul
09Mar
9 Mistakes Presenters Make
9 Mistakes Presenters Make
Mistakes Presenters Make Do you want to be a more dynamic presenter? You will be if you avoid these frequent mistakes. I've discussed all of these ideas in previous articles, but thought it was worth clustering them together for a 'common mistakes' overview.1. Forgetting the WIIFM filter
One of the most common mistakes that presenters make is forgetting to run their whole presentation through their audience’s No.1 filter – and that is always WIIFM (what’s in it for me?) From the moment you open your mouth, to the summing-up, you’re being judged through...
18Feb
Public Speaking Fear: How Breathing will Help
Public Speaking Fear: How Breathing Will Help
Think about public speaking fear and breathing: this may be a topic you resist. You may think you’ve heard it all before, or you've Public speaking fear: how breathing will help tried working with your breath and didn't find it helpful. That certainly used to be my experience, and I've had a client recently who told me it didn't work, because he could only do a breath or two before his negative thoughts started up again. I told him it's inevitable that our thoughts are always there, just keep coming back to the breath;...
17Jul
Should you Move About When you Present, or Not?
Should you move around when presenting? As presenters, people tend to fall into two opposing ‘choreography’ camps when they’re in front of a group - you may recognise yourself here: You stand stock-still (often hiding behind – even hanging onto – the lectern), barely twitching except to advance a slide Advantage: you feel better because you’re in a safe space (or safer – of course it’s all relative!) Disadvantage: it’s a boring, un-engaging look for your audience, and using so little physical energy is unhelpful for you too - if you're nervous, that adrenalin and cortisol will 'bank up' in your system and...
27Feb
Energy – Are you Missing this Vital Element for Speaking Success?
Your energy as a sparkler Having enough energy when presenting to carry your audience along with you - and get your message across - is a vital part of being a good presenter. I believe this is one reason why people are so often afraid of public speaking: because they know, even subconsciously, that they're ultimately responsible for the energy in the room and they have to lead it - and that's a real challenge if you're not comfortable with speaking to groups. The audience takes their cue from you: why should they respond and care about your presentation if you...
03Jan
How to Positively Change Your Expectations for Speaking Success
In my last post I talked about how the expectations you set for yourself around your public speaking can really influence whether or not you achieve the results you're after: the article is here if you missed it. And I suggested that according to the latest brain research - and what I've seen work for clients and myself - is this: Aim very high long-term, and low, short-term. Today I'm giving you a plan which you can try the next time you're stressing out about your presentation and...
11Oct
Low-Energy Speaker? 3 Simple Ways to Rev Yourself Up
Smithsonian via Flickr We've come to the 6th of 7 essential skills of a good speaker in my C.R.I.S.P.E.R formula (see here for the overview article). The 6th skill is energy. When we speak in front of others, we need energy. Not bouncing off the walls, but enough the audience doesn't 'tune out' in front of us, but instead get carried along with our energy. Enough that they can get our message not only through our words, but through how our body and face communicate with them. An audience takes their cue from us. "Life begets...
17Aug
Practising Your Presentation: Why Don’t You Do It Properly?
Practising your presentation I've learned over my years of experience both as a speaker and a Classical pianist, that fear about an upcoming talk - or concert - is simply telling me to prepare: to get ready for the event. To give you an example: when I was much younger and more foolish, I was booked to give a presentation on the 'art of performing in business' to a management team. I was using PowerPoint for the first time, and turned up to try a foreign laptop in the hour before the actual presentation... I wasn't even familiar with using a laptop! I became...