Delivery Archives - Improve Your Public Speaking Presentation and Influence Skills Training Coaching Melbourne Australia

20NovNovember 20, 2020

What flavour qualities make a great communicator?

Whether we’re talking to a large audience, boardroom table or individual, these are specific flavour qualities which I believe are essential to truly stand out when we communicate. And these aren’t “presentation skills” per se, they’re attitudes we bring to the interaction. They also apply to conversations at work, home or socially. What flavour qualities make a good communicator? The base ‘cone’ ingredient is made of “aim to make it more about them, not you” (definitely adhere to this ingredient if you're giving a presentation!) and the three flavour scoops are: Respect Empathy Non-judgement These connection ingredients may seem obvious, but bear with me here. They're...

By Sarah Denholmbusiness meetings, Delivery, Persuasion0 CommentsRead more...

08OctOctober 8, 2020

Intimidated by People with Power over You at Work?

It's so easy for this to happen. Whether you’re giving a presentation or having a conversation, feeling intimidated by people with power over you at work - either higher up the food chain, or with some other power over you - it can be a real challenge. Intimidated by People with Power over You at Work? My experience I vividly recall working with my first CEO client, years ago now. We’d spoken on the phone, and I turned up for our first coaching session. I remember getting into the lift of this expansive, echoing marble foyer, heart pounding, as I tried desperately to...

By Sarah DenholmAudience Management, Body Language, business meetings, Delivery, Mindset, Overcoming Nerves0 CommentsRead more...

16SepSeptember 16, 2020

FAQs about Public Speaking and Presentations

There are some questions which I'm often asked - FAQ's - about public speaking and presentations. So here’s a list of 5 of the most common ones – see if any of them are ones you'd be asking yourself. FAQ's About Public Speaking and Presentations Q1. What's one of the most common public speaking mistakes? A. Too much content. I used to have this problem all the time, and it came from a combination of enthusiasm about the topic, wanting to give a huge amount of value, and fear that I would run out of content and be left with nothing else...

By Sarah DenholmAudience Management, content, Delivery, Rehearsal0 CommentsRead more...

17JulJuly 17, 2020

How to Improve your Talk in 10 Minutes

Want immediate, clear feedback on ways to improve your talk in 10 minutes? I have a suggestion for you. My only proviso is, don't do this if you're an anxious speaker or highly self-conscious, or you may end up feeling worse and it could really set you back. Video yourself Get your phone or camcorder ready to go Set yourself up in the space with your notes, or slides if you're using them Start filming, and deliver your talk for a few minutes: say up to 5 as a general rule Five minutes is a good length of time to settle into your content...

By Sarah Denholmcontent, Delivery, Public Speaking and Presentation Skills Blog, Rehearsalclear message, high audience engagement, procrastinating about practising your presentation, speaking comfort zone, video feedback of presentation0 CommentsRead more...

11JunJune 11, 2020

How to Show Warmth to Any Audience

How can we deliberately show warmth to any audience? Or to a person we're about to communicate with 1:1? No matter what sort of a mood we're in before we speak, or how we feel about that audience? And fast? I've been working with a client this week on exactly this concept. I asked him how he believed he came across in meetings with his team when he opened the conversation - was there any specific process that he followed at the start? His reply was basically "No process...and how do I come across? It depends on how I'm feeling". This is...

By Sarah DenholmAudience Management, Body Language, Delivery, Mindsetaudience connection, authentic public speaking, emotional contagion leaders, emotional leakage, extend goodwill to audience, high audience engagement0 CommentsRead more...

30AprApril 30, 2020

Setting a Presentation Rhythm

A good way to get your audience's attention at the start of your talk is by setting a presentation rhythm. Lay out for them a plan about how your talk is going to unfold, and then follow that rhythm. You're basically giving an agenda, with rhythmic pace built into it. And it sounds simple, but I don't often see it done. The case for setting a presentation rhythm Rhythm is primal. Our connection to it starts before birth with our mother's heartbeat, and it's an integral part of our voice, speech and communication. And we've been communicating using rhythm for thousands of...

By Sarah DenholmAudience Management, content, Delivery, RehearsalEvelyn Glennie, Peggy Noonan, rhythmic presentation pace0 CommentsRead more...

27SepSeptember 27, 2019

Public Speaking Body Language Loop

Public Speaking Body Language Loop In this video, I discuss the public speaking body language loop and how yours can help you, as well as signal competence to your audience. So many speaking coaches talk about public speaking body language, and there's a lot of advice out there. Here's a small part on video about how positive body language at the start of your presentation can become self-reinforcing and help you to move confidently into the rest of your talk . Transcript: Hello! So today I would like to talk to you about body language - obviously a huge topic, and there are...

By Sarah DenholmBody Language, Delivery, Overcoming Nerves, Public Speaking and Presentation Skills Blogaudience believing body language, audience judgement, beginning of presentation, body language in public speaking, eye contact public speaking, two channels of communication in public speaking0 CommentsRead more...

09MayMay 9, 2019

To Be More Persuasive, Think About Power

Persuasion is a crucial part of our everyday communication, whether at work or socially. And have you ever considered that to be more persuasive, you need to think about power dynamics? How does feeling powerful play out, both for speaker and audience? To Persuade, Think about Power To uncover more about this, let's look at persuasion and power and how these interact with another key factor in our communication style: warmth and competence. Psychologists consider warmth and competence to be universal principles. In social perception terms, they're key ways we evaluate people, particularly when we first meet them. So how does considering power...

By Sarah Denholmcontent, Delivery, Persuasion, Public Speaking and Presentation Skills Blog, SellingKellogg School of Management Northwestern, persuasion, power, warmth and competence1 CommentRead more...

18AprApril 18, 2019

How to Make Great Transitions in your Presentations

In this video, I discuss some ways you can make great transitions in your presentations. This can make a big difference to: how professional you seem how easily the audience can follow you [Video is below.] And without them, your talks can seem clunky and disjointed, as you move from one section to the next. I've found that many people aren't even aware of transitions as a professional tool. Yet good links - whether they're words, phrases or sentences - between your ideas will make your public speaking content flow smoothly and easily. They'll allow audience members to tune back in to...

By Sarah Denholmcontent, Delivery, Public Speaking and Presentation Skills BlogBrains comparing ideas, Kellogg School of Management Northwestern, Persuasion and power, polished public speaking, professional public speaking using transitions, public speaking flow, stories and persuasion0 CommentsRead more...

28MarMarch 28, 2019

Presentation Content Mistakes: Too Much Information

One of the most common presentation content mistakes I see is to give too much information. Depending on your perspective you might also call it too much value! It's very easy - even for experienced speakers - to equate information with value. And we can do this in every day interactions and meetings too – this sometimes urgent need we have, to show or share what we know. When we'd be better to step back and shut up! To allow space for the information to breathe and be absorbed...and maybe to let other people's voices be heard instead of ours. A...

By Sarah Denholmbusiness meetings, content, Delivery, Public Speaking and Presentation Skills Blog, Sellingaudience overwhelm, audience recall in public speaking, common presentation content mistakes, content overload, good presentations, good public speaking, persuasion techniques, rule of three points1 CommentRead more...