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

22Aug

How Good Speakers Always Get Their Point Across Effectively – And You Can Too

Use a simple speech structure Have you ever been asked to present something at short notice and not really known where to start? Or walked out of a meeting after addressing your team and gone "oh #%^*, I forgot to point out what I'm expecting from them regarding __"? At these two pivotal points - when you have to prepare a talk quickly and don't know where to start, or during your actual address - it's very easy in the stress or distraction of the moment to get confused or lost in your topic. So how do you get your point across in the most...

By Sarah Denholmbusiness meetings, Content, Delivery, Public Speaking and Presentation Skills Blog, Rehearsal, Structurebrain patterns, clear elegant messages, clear message, different speech scenarios, efficient clear presenters, practice, public speaking structure, sales meetings, simple speech structure, team meeting address0 CommentsRead more...

12Apr

Mind-trick That Can Help With Public Speaking Fear

Here's a mind-trick for public speaking fear that many of my clients have found very useful. Imagine that you've just given a talk and it's gone well. You're now successfully on the other side of it, and have just been congratulated by your boss...or you phone your friend and tell them that it went well. This mind-trick - imagining that you've already successfully presented your talk - can work really well to counteract the negative, pessimistic thoughts or images which will inevitably surface at some point before you get up to speak (unless you're a supremely confident speaker, in which case...

By Sarah DenholmMindset, Overcoming Nerves, Public Speaking and Presentation Skills Blog, Rehearsalfearful public speakers, good public speaking, negative thoughts public speaking, opening your speech, positive outcome public speaking, practice public speaking, prepared for presentation, preparing talk, presentation skills, procrastinating about practising your presentation0 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...

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...

01Feb

Overcoming Fear of Public Speaking: Playing at the Edges of your Comfort Zone

Stretching your comfort zone edges I've recently gone back to yoga classes after a break of 10 years or so, and one thing about doing the poses which confused me initially, was knowing how to distinguish between intensity during a stretch versus discomfort or pain. Intensity is another word for energy flow, and that's what you're after in yoga, and public speaking. But where does intensity tip over into negative, unhelpful territory, and how can you stop that from happening? The solution, I've found, is learning how to "play at the edges" of my comfort zone, my limits, without going too far....

By Sarah DenholmMindset, Overcoming Nerves, Public Speaking and Presentation Skills Blog, Rehearsalfear of presenting, fear public speaking, speaking comfort zone, speaking skills0 CommentsRead more...

02Nov

Respect, And How to Stay Calm When Challenged

We've come to the 7th and final skill in my C.R.I.S.P.E.R formula for good speaking (see 7 skills of every good speaker for an overview). Today's skill is Respect, which we show in different ways when we're in charge of a group: by respecting others' opinions and time, and ensuring we've done enough preparation. In fact respect is my number one attitudinal goal when dealing with audiences; and it's especially important to focus on if you're challenged by an audience member. I always aim to respond respectfully to comments and to remember - not always easy in the heat of the moment - that...

By Sarah DenholmAudience Management, Delivery, Public Speaking and Presentation Skills Blog, Rehearsal0 CommentsRead more...

31Oct

How to Practise Your Presentation: Practical Tips (And What Not To Do)

Group of Practice Golf Balls - vorakorn There are many different ways to prepare: today I'm going to talk about practising your talk in the outer world, but working with your inner world - using mental rehearsal and relaxation techniques - are also important if you're nervous. Practising can help in showing you: what you need to fix in order to make your talk flow logically what you need to edit for clarity the possibilities for connection with your audience when you know your material so well that you get out of your own head how to feel more confident and comfortable (see my previous article on the neuroscience of...

By Sarah DenholmContent, Mindset, Overcoming Nerves, Public Speaking and Presentation Skills Blog, Rehearsal, Structurememorizing your talk, mental rehearsal, practice in front of mirror, practising public speaking skills, public speaking practice2 CommentsRead more...

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 life, energy begets energy. It is by spending oneself that...

By Sarah DenholmBody Language, business meetings, Delivery, Mindset, Public Speaking and Presentation Skills Blog, Rehearsalamplifying speaking energy, audience cues, presenting energy, speaking warm-up routine6 CommentsRead more...