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

Resources to improve your public speaking and presentation skills.

24Jan

Need to motivate yourself? What’s better, self-esteem or self-compassion?

Trying to rev yourself up to improve your speaking skills? There has been some interesting research done recently into what helps you to feel better about yourself: self-esteem or self-compassion? Psychological studies are finding that self-compassion - being kind to yourself - is more effective than high self-esteem when it comes to helping people to make changes in their lives. Wisdom Compassion Kindness ~db~ via Flickr When you want to see new possibilities, to motivate yourself to make changes and take action in the outer world, self-esteem isn't all it's cracked up to be. A study by Kristin Neff from the University of...

By Sarah DenholmMindset, Overcoming Nerves, Public Speaking and Presentation Skills Bloganxiety job intervew, Kristin Neff, motivation improve speaking skills, Roos Vonk, self-compassion, self-esteem public speaking, self-talk public speaking5 CommentsRead more...

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 want to change your brain state to reduce your expectations to something more manageable: 1....

By Sarah DenholmBody Language, Mindset, Public Speaking and Presentation Skills Blogbrain research expectations, mindset exercise for public speaking, positive expectations public speaking, presentations skills positive mindset1 CommentRead more...

02Dec

Public Speaking Like Facing a Firing Squad? One Client’s Belief

What would you answer, if I asked you to complete this statement: “speaking in public is like____________________”? Public Speaking Like a Firing Squad? A new client, let’s call her Alice, was telling me recently that when she first entered her (particularly male-dominated) area of academia 30 years ago, giving a presentation was known amongst her peers as “facing the firing squad”. The audience would lean eagerly towards Alice, armed and ready to rip apart every assertion she made. And 30 years later, Alice still feels this way - only now, she’s moved into a new area where the audience is waiting with interest...

By Sarah DenholmMindset, Overcoming Nerves, Public Speaking and Presentation Skills Blogfear of public speaking, giving a presentation, overcoming public speaking fear, public speaking attack, public speaking beliefs, public speaking in academia, public speaking successful mindset, reluctant public speaker0 CommentsRead more...

11Nov

Creating a New Speech: 7 Tips To Get You Started

Do you have to write your own speeches or talks? Ever struggled to get going? I used to spend far too long getting a first draft out of my head (weeks, months anyone?) until I learned these tips: Mind mapping is a great way to begin generating content; it's a method which uses the brain’s natural tendency to create patterns and connections, and frees you up to just get your initial ideas down on paper/screen. I use it all the time now. Here's how to do it: start with a large sheet of paper (if you're using paper); as large as you can handle is...

By Sarah DenholmContent, Public Speaking and Presentation Skills Blog, Structureinitial speech draft, Martha Beck, mind map, speech editing, speech writing tips0 CommentsRead more...

09Sep

Introvert? 4 Ways to Blast Through your Resistance to Presenting in Public

If you're an introvert, you may struggle to speak in public and plan to avoid it whenever you can; getting up in front of a group can seem like an insurmountable hurdle if you tend to avoid the spotlight. Yet you may need or want to present well; you have ideas to share, and it really bothers you that you don't feel competent at presenting. If you want to be able to get up and speak but feel as though you're fighting yourself as it's happening, it's worth knowing this (I discovered this concept through Susan Cain's writing; her book is Quiet:...

By Sarah Denholmbusiness meetings, Delivery, Mindset, Overcoming Nerves, Public Speaking and Presentation Skills Blog, Rehearsalacting as if, BAS Behavioural Activation System, BIS Behavioural Inhibition System, fear of public speaking, Go System, interview behaviour, introvert public speaking, low-energy speaker, presentation skills, Quiet, resistance to speaking in public, self-talk public speaking, speaking in meetings, Stop System, Susan Cain, The Power of Introverts4 CommentsRead more...

12Aug

Is Presenting a Conversation or a Performance?

Dialogue Bubble - digitalart What's your take on presenting: conversation or performance? Let me tell you about an experience I had recently. I went to a networking breakfast in the city, on a dark, wintry Monday morning: it was hard to get out of bed, but I was looking forward to the event because I enjoy meeting new people, and the guest speaker sounded good. He was someone who'd pushed himself to the limits in adventure travel, even seen death. A man whose tales of leadership would surely be inspiring and interesting. Yet from the moment he came onto the stage and began his...

By Sarah DenholmDelivery, Public Speaking and Presentation Skills Blog, Rehearsalaudience connection, audience disconnection, conversational presenting, memorizing speech, performance presentation style, presenting style2 CommentsRead more...

05Jul

Practising Your Speech – how much is enough?

mtsofan via Flickr Working with a client this week during an individual coaching session, we were putting the finishing touches on a 5 minute speech he was preparing for a formal family celebration dinner. Ed had written a script which we first edited to create a logical flow; we then worked on humour, pacing and engaging delivery methods. I ended the session by suggesting that he practise the speech at least 5 times before the big night, just over a week away. Ed was astonished. He had never considered practising his speech - let alone my suggestion of a minimum of 5 times...

By Sarah DenholmDelivery, Overcoming Nerves, Rehearsalpractising presentation, practising public speaking, public speaking practice1 CommentRead more...

01Jun

How to change your negative beliefs about speaking: 5 step plan

Choosing new beliefs I sometimes work with clients who have seen themselves as poor speakers for a long time, often many years. They may turn up for coaching or come along to one of my courses with the attitude of "well I'll give this a go, but it won't really change anything". Our beliefs run our lives - they underlie how we relate to the world. But you don't have to feel so stuck around public speaking, and you don't have to sabotage yourself by letting your past experience dictate the present moment. Sometimes I think that we over-complicate things...so with the...

By Sarah DenholmMindset, Overcoming NervesDavid Rock, new public speaking beliefs, overcoming public speaking fear, public speaking positive mindset, public speaking stress, speaking belief system, speaking goals, speaking skills, Your Brain at Work4 CommentsRead more...

02Mar

Want Greater Charisma When You Speak? Have Certainty

When we speak in front of others, our goal is usually to get them to take action or think differently. We're offering them something - ourselves and our message; an actual product or service. The audience will take their cue from us, and we need to be certain and congruent in our words, our body language and our energy to convince them. And the more we can do this, the more charismatic we'll be. Today we're going to look at using words to be more charismatic: if you're uncertain about your message, or lack confidence, you'll retreat to the perceived safety of wishy-washy...

By Sarah DenholmContent, Delivery, Public Speaking and Presentation Skills Blog, Rehearsal, Sellingengaging with audience, speak with certainty, speaking charisma2 CommentsRead more...

11Feb

Using Peripheral Vision Impacts your Public Speaking

plotting your imaginary graph Using your peripheral vision - opening out your vision field to its very edges - is a helpful tool to feel more relaxed, open and ‘spacious’ in front of a group (or indeed whenever you want to feel that way). How often do you do the opposite? This is pretty much the opposite of what we commonly do during the day: think about how often we might focus in on the computer screen, T.V., piece of paper, or even when we’re talking to someone. Why you need to practise It’s important to practise expanding our vision field, because it’s not an obvious...

By Sarah DenholmOvercoming Nerves, Public Speaking and Presentation Skills Bloganxiety research, eye contact, performance anxiety, peripheral vision nerves, public speaking stress, Scientific American, Wray Herbert3 CommentsRead more...