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.

09Dec

Confidence, perfectionism and making mistakes

On confidence, perfectionism and making mistakes I've been thinking a lot about mistakes this week; two clients in very different situations have talked about their fear of making a mistake when they speak. How do you feel about mistakes? When I was a classical pianist, they were something I certainly had to contend with! If you have a tendency towards perfectionism, which has many tricky ways of showing up, this can manifest as an almost obsessive desire to avoid any kind of fumble or mistake. And it's a frighteningly constricted and tightrope-balancing act to enter a meeting or presentation space feeling this way. In my first profession as a...

By Sarah DenholmMindset, Overcoming Nerves, Public Speaking and Presentation Skills Blogconfidence-boosting ideas for public speaking, Miles Davis on mistakes, perfectionism public speaking0 CommentsRead more...

07Oct

2 Things To Consume Before Public Speaking

We all know the importance of practising before we give a presentation or talk. But sometimes you may not be so aware that what we eat and drink can have a big impact on our performance too. So today I want to give you some tips into 2 things to consume before public speaking, and why they're so important. And if you skim this post and think you know these tips already: you might just find a couple of tweaks that can make even more of a difference. 1. Water Pretty obvious one, right? We need to stay hydrated to think clearly. And also...

By Sarah DenholmDelivery, Overcoming Nerves, Public Speaking and Presentation Skills Blog, Rehearsal0 CommentsRead more...

08Sep

Stories as Light, Web or Glue

Stories as light, web or glue. Do you use stories or case studies as part of your communication process to engage or influence an audience? If you do - and I hope that's the case - you probably know that there’s a lot of information out there about the best ways to create and deliver one effectively. So I want to keep today's concept simple: it's about using three specific lenses to categorise your stories. Doing this can help you to see them in new ways, and have more impact. Note: these story categories relate to working across sectors to effect systems change, and...

By Sarah DenholmContent, PersuasionElla Saltmarshe, influence and impact, nonprofits use of storytelling, storytelling in presentations0 CommentsRead more...

05Aug

Do you Struggle with Too Much Content?

Do you struggle with too much content when you present? A presentation (a talk or speech also apply here) isn’t the best way to deliver a lot of content, it’s actually very inefficient. The brain isn't designed to take in a whole of information coming at it rapidly, as we know. Particularly nowadays! A good or great presentation or talk is about communicating something where you add value by showing up. You're enhancing and interpreting the information in your own voice and delivery style...and the audience needs you as interpreter. Otherwise why be there? Your audience needs space This is especially important if...

By Sarah DenholmContent, Delivery, Public Speaking and Presentation Skills Blog0 CommentsRead more...

03Jun

Smile Styles Send Signals When Communicating

Smiling when we communicate. Seems simple, doesn’t it? I used to think so! Yet our 'smile styles' send signals when communicating. And while I don't want to over-complicate things, there are definitely some signals that you want to be aware of, if you're not already. These can apply whether you're communicating to a group, or 1:1. Smile Styles We don’t just smile to convey happiness or warmth of course...we do polite, nervous, embarrassed, ingratiating or submissive smiles too (and more). Some consequences and pitfalls of our different ‘smile styles’: Smiling too little or not at all. We may forget to smile when it would be a very...

By Sarah DenholmBody Language, Delivery, Mindset, Public Speaking and Presentation Skills Blogpublic speaking nerves, smiling with nervousness, warmth cues1 CommentRead more...

01Apr

Should you speak to your audience as a group or individuals?

Today’s topic is an important word choices distinction that can make a big difference to how your audience engages with you. Should you speak to your audience as a group or individuals? It matters especially at the start when you first speak - remember that your opening words are often what make people decide to listen to you or not. And this technique can also be important as you go through your content. Let me illustrate it with an example. I recently signed up for a newsletter from a US global influencer, originally known for the 4-Hour workweek, Tim Ferriss. Some of the emails I've been receiving as a subscriber...

By Sarah DenholmContent, Persuasion0 CommentsRead more...

11Feb

Adding Silence When you Speak – Don’t Stuff Your Audience

How well do you get on with adding silence when you speak to groups? It's not always easy to do, and something I've had to learn and still occasionally remind myself about. I used to cram my talks full of content and worry about running out of time. If you can separate your presentation or talk from you and see it as a living, external entity - it needs space to breathe. So do you. (Especially if you're nervous; even though it's counter-intuitive and all you want to do is get the whole thing over with.) And so does your audience. Let's talk specific timeframes If you're...

By Sarah DenholmDelivery, Public Speaking and Presentation Skills Blog0 CommentsRead more...

07Jan

For Influence and Confidence, Question Lazy Labels

For influence, question lazy labels We label and put people and ideas into boxes all the time: and we need to. These short-cuts for our brain are vital to let us get on with our day without stopping to second-guess ourselves. And it's much faster to label than to try to understand. However, by their very nature these labels stop us from thinking more deeply and being curious. And if you follow me regularly you'll know that I believe curiosity to be a major super-power for successful communication. The good news is that avoiding or questioning these label shortcuts can be a major step-up...

By Sarah Denholmbusiness meetings, Content, Mindset, Persuasionaudience connection, curiosity, engaging with audience, groupthink, Listening, presence and gravitas, self-talk public speaking, shared meaning, Socrates on written language, speaking belief system, speaking comfort zone, superficial labels0 CommentsRead more...

10Dec

Your truth or universal truth, get to the point, and a self-worth reminder

1. To influence: are you speaking a universal truth, or your own? If as a presenter we generalise about things that aren't true for our audience, they'll usually disconnect, and the opportunity to influence disappears. And if you think this doesn't apply to you, it's worth a check-in: it's surprisingly common. Some sentence starters to be aware of when you speak: “We all appreciate that…” – are you sure? “Of course you know…” – do we? “We’ve all felt/done/heard…” – have we? Any of these can create a barrier between speaker and audience. If I feel “you’re not talking to me” , you lose me. The speaker...

By Sarah Denholmbusiness meetings, Content, Mindset, Persuasion0 CommentsRead more...

26Nov

To influence have an opinion, virtual speaking engagement, and how to feel more confident

I. Influencing others when you speak To be influential when you communicate or present you need opinions, and you need to share them. (Tone and context are hugely important too of course - and for today's tip, I'm assuming they're appropriately in place!) Too often in my work, I see people with great knowledge and credibility who still prefer to deliver only information and hide their opinion or recommendation. This is a completely understandable – it's a lot safer to fly under the radar than voice ideas out loud to people who matter, or who have power over us – we're afraid of...

By Sarah DenholmContent, Delivery, Mindset, Overcoming Nervesassumptions and beliefs about public speaking, audience understanding and engagement, build public speaking confidence, Influence and Persuade your Audience, to influence have an opinion, virtual presentation1 CommentRead more...