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***Public Speaking is a Great Form of Free Advertising- How To Minimize Stress When You Present To A Group - by Submitted on Dec 13, 2007 from Jeanie MarshallAs a public speaker, entrepreneur, trainer, consultant, manager, do you ever feel stressful about presenting to a group? Regardless of your role or relationship to the group, it's quite normal to experience stress. A little stress keeps you alert; too much stress can be counterproductive. Here ...
Views: 2616(1 vote) - How To Write A Best Man Wedding Speech Toast - by Submitted on Jan 24, 2011 from Robert RenoBest Man Wedding Speech Trust me, many calm and collected people who are great at public speaking, get nervous when they are asked to speak at their friends wedding. As the spokes person for the guests of honor, there are many expectations placed on you. So, how do you write a best man ...
Views: 1725(2 votes) - Overcome Public Speaking Nervousness And Come Off As A Polished Professional - by Submitted on Jan 07, 2020 from Steven StasczakNot everybody and I mean most people no matter how articulate they are talking in a group, interacting in sales call, giving a monthly meeting can actually stand up and give an effective presentation to an audience without some trepidation. I have given countless public speaking workshops and ...
Views: 1317 - 4 Things You Should Know Before You Give Your Next Presentation - by Submitted on Jun 10, 2007 from Donna DoyonA great presentation requires you do more than just memorize or read your speech. A great presentation is one that delivers the right message to the right audience. Whether you are giving your next presentation in your workplace, community or as a means to promote your business, here are four ...
Views: 1545 - Proper Lighting and Decorative Window Shutters Can Dramatically Change Your Living Pattern - by Submitted on Jun 11, 2007 from Sam DunsterUnbelievably, zone lighting is the best way to characterize a room.However, you will find a lot of houses are just happy with their one point regular lighting. They don’t know how proper lighting can dramatically change the atmosphere of the room and positively affect their living pattern. ...
Views: 1229 - Public Speaking: Creative Visuals the Old-School Way - by Submitted on Jun 01, 2007 from Lisa BraithwaiteBefore speakers used PowerPoint, there were overhead projectors, flip charts, handouts and white boards. Before that, there were slide projectors and movie projectors. Sometimes people used props. Before that, there were chalkboards and before that, well, there were just speakers! And believe it ...
Views: 2387 - Public Speaking: How to Handle Audience Q&A - by Submitted on Aug 01, 2007 from Lisa BraithwaiteYour speech is polished and your delivery is perfect. The audience laughed in all the right places, and even shed a tear. You're ready to pat yourself on the back for a job well done, but wait . . . there's still the Q&A. Audience members are speaking up, but no one can hear them. Someone asks ...
Views: 1629 - Public Speaking: What if My Mind Goes Blank? - by Submitted on Jul 03, 2007 from Lisa BraithwaiteThis might be the biggest concern of would-be speakers: "What if I forget what I was going to say?" The horror! Imagine: You're standing in front of a room full of people. The seconds tick by loudly as you frantically search your memory for the next point in your talk. You clench the lectern, ...
Views: 2582 - Surefire Tips To Overcome Fear of Public Speaking - by Submitted on Jul 06, 2007 from Leon EdwardFor millions of people, public speaking is a fear that they cannot overcome. Some experts believe that it is because it is the fear of speaking to peers or people who the speaker perceives to know more about whatever subject they are speak about. This occurs even though to become a public ...
Views: 1015 - Ten Strategic Tips On How To Overcome Public Speaking Fears - by Submitted on Aug 22, 2007 from J. Glenn EbersoleWhen it comes to public speaking, do you welcome the opportunity or do you run for cover? Do you accept each chance presented or do you make up a long list of reasons to be excused from the task? If you answered NO to these questions, it is important for you to read this because public speaking ...
Views: 2415 - The Path To Presentation Peace: Mindfulness And Stillness - by Submitted on Apr 13, 2008 from Terry GaultImagine a classroom, then imagine thirty children sitting still and quiet. Imagine these children imagining loving kindness on the playground. The peaceful ring of a Tibetan singing bowl – no shouting, no laughing, no airborne paper objects. In a New York Times article by Patricia Leigh ...
Views: 1951 - Top 10 Reasons You Should Use Public Speaking to Promote Your Business - by Submitted on Jun 26, 2007 from Donna Doyon1. It's fun (in that scary "Oh my gosh, what am I doing?" amusement-park-anticipation sort of way). Just like modern day roller-coasters can cause your heart to skip a beat when you think about getting on them, public speaking can appear scary. The reality though, is that it’s fun and ...
Views: 900 - "I'm Not Sure What You Just Said, But Your Pants Don't Match Your Tie" - by Submitted on Jun 26, 2008 from Scott MillsThroughout my career I have taken a number of leadership development courses. Some of these courses were voluntary on my part and others were required for advancement within the organization. I have also taken a few presentation classes that have allowed me to polish my speaking and presentation ...
Views: 856 - *** Excessive Nasality Is Like Nails on a Blackboard - by Submitted on Feb 14, 2011 from Nancy DanielsImagine nails on a blackboard and how it makes your skin crawl or how the hair on the back of your neck stands out. Now imagine a nasal voice similar to those who hail from Brooklyn or the Bronx. After hearing a sound like that for any great length of time, you might get the same reaction that ...
Views: 3534 - *** The Only Scientifically-Proven Method of Eliminating the Fear of Public Speaking Permanently - by Submitted on Nov 25, 2009 from Morty LefkoeIn May 2006 the journal Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy published a research study that proves there is a way to permanently eliminate the fear of public speaking. This research paper described how 36 people who had a fear of public speaking were divided into two groups to test the ...
Views: 4445 - ***3 Reaons to Know Your Competition If You Plan a Career in Public Speaking - by Submitted on Feb 19, 2012 from Nancy DanielsWith all the articles about public speaking, few ever talk about knowing your competition. If you are a novice and planning a career at the lectern, part of your homework is to listen to as many speakers as you can and get to meet them in the process if at all possible. Words cannot say how ...
Views: 2525 - ***3 Reasons Why Breathlessness Is Such a Problem in Public Speaking - by Submitted on May 12, 2014 from Nancy DanielsOne of the reasons people contact me is because of lack of air at the podium, in the webinar, or in a sales presentation. So I have a question for you. Do you ever experience breathlessness when in conversation with family, friends or colleagues? More than likely, your answer is No unless ...
Views: 3447 - ***3 Steps ffor Normalizing Your Volume Whether You Speak Too Softly or Too Loudly - by Submitted on Feb 13, 2012 from Nancy DanielsWhen I first began teaching voice improvement many years ago, I was unaware that once you began using your chest to power or amplify the voice, your volume would normalize on its own. It was quite an 'ear-opening' discovery for me because so many other voice teachers or coaches were providing ...
Views: 3982 - ***3 Steps for a More Mature-Sounding Voice - by Submitted on Apr 01, 2014 from Nancy DanielsThe number of adult voices I hear which sound like teenagers, preteens, or younger still is astounding. Add the familiar Valley Girl sound to the picture and you have an image which does not project maturity. I am not talking about sounding old. I am talking about a voice which you would call ...
Views: 2172 - ***3 Steps for Effectively Acknowledging Your Audience - by Submitted on Aug 24, 2012 from Nancy DanielsWhile the value of making eye contact with your audience is one of the most important things you can do in public speaking, it doesn’t mean that you should begin this process after you begin your delivery. It starts before you open your mouth to speak and is part of the confident posture you ...
Views: 5194 - ***3 Steps for Eliminating a Nasal Voice - by Submitted on Jul 14, 2011 from Nancy DanielsWhen we hear the word nasality, we tend to think of New York City and her 5 boroughs. Excessive nasality is not limited just to New Yorkers though. You can find various forms of nasality in certain pockets of both the United States and Canada. If you are from Philadelphia, Detroit, or ...
Views: 3135 - ***3 Steps for Eliminating Valley GirlEse - by Submitted on Sep 02, 2010 from Nancy DanielsIf your speech is symptomatic of the Valley Girl sound, you need to break the habit. Unless you are at a bar, speaking in Valley Girl-Ese gives the wrong impression, especially to prospective employers. They are looking for professionalism. Inflecting the pitch of your voice up at the end of ...
Views: 4633 - ***3 Steps for Making Your Speaking Voice One of Your Greatest Assets - by Submitted on Jun 24, 2010 from Nancy DanielsMost people who hear themselves on their voicemail or answering machine do not like what they hear. How do you feel when you hear yourself on some form of recording equipment? When you think about the image you project, be it in person or over the phone, would you consider your recorded voice ...
Views: 4417 - ***3 Steps for Tapping the Full Potential of Your Speaking Voice - by Submitted on Feb 25, 2011 from Nancy DanielsIf you want to tap the full potential of your speaking voice, do your homework first and research what is out there. The question you need to ask yourself is whether you want to improve the voice you already have or would you prefer to discover the voice you don’t know you have? Many coaches ...
Views: 3219 - ***4 Steps for Eliminating a Verbal Tic - by Submitted on Jun 02, 2011 from Nancy DanielsNothing is more annoying for an audience than to be subjected to a verbal tic over and over and over again. Instead of paying attention to your message, your audience begins to count the tics. Verbal tics include the sounds um, ah, uh, or the words like or you know. If your message is ...
Views: 4504 - ***4 Tips for Eliminating the Ums and Ahs in Public Speaking, You Know? - by Submitted on Nov 01, 2010 from Nancy DanielsOne of the most annoying traits among some public speakers, be they professional or novice, is verbal disfluency. According to Wikipedia, verbal disfluencies are, “any of various breaks, irregularities, or utterances that are often not consistent with any specific grammatical construction and ...
Views: 5989 - ***5 Common Misconceptions about Your Speaking Voice - by Submitted on Aug 20, 2010 from Nancy DanielsIt is fascinating to listen to others explain why they sound the way they do. I am sure that I have heard it all in my many years teaching voice improvement. What I have found, however, is that you have a better voice inside no matter how you hear yourself or how others recognize your ...
Views: 4761 - ***5 Questions You Need to Ask When Invited to Speak - by Submitted on Jul 16, 2013 from Nancy DanielsToo often we concern ourselves with The How of public speaking and give much less thought to 5 other questions we should be asking of our host. Yes, your public speaking skills may be top notch, however, there are certain things you need to know before you do anything else. All 5 questions ...
Views: 1903 - ***5 Steps for Overcoming a Monotone Voice - by Submitted on Feb 24, 2011 from Nancy DanielsA voice that lacks color is dull and uninteresting. It also says something about you, as the speaker, which may or may not be true. If you speak in a monotone, how do you think others perceive you? A few words that come to my mind are cold, indifferent, and unemotional. Do those words ...
Views: 15553 - ***5 Ways to Bring Your Audience into Your Presentation - by Submitted on Mar 12, 2012 from Nancy DanielsWhen I attended James Malinchak’s BootCamp a few months ago, one of many things he did to grab our attention was to ‘cast the net’ during the introduction. Those are his words. His introductory material was designed to bring the audience into the fold and immediately build a rapport with us. ...
Views: 2494 - ***5 Ways Your Voice May Be Sabotaging Your Success - by Submitted on Apr 29, 2014 from Nancy DanielsSome years ago, Barbara Walters interviewed Kathleen Turner, commenting on Turner’s “low, wonderful voice.” The actress responded that she could not understand how a woman could spend thousands of dollars on her clothing, hair, and makeup and not spend some of that money on her voice, as she ...
Views: 2084 - ***A Better Voice is Just a Breath Away - by Submitted on Apr 12, 2009 from Nancy DanielsThe number of people looking for information, books, CDs, and seminars on self-improvement is staggering. Ever concerned with honing our business skills, improving the image we project, feeling good about ourselves, juggling jobs and family…we are all on the search for bettering ourselves and ...
Views: 3629 - ***A Dynamic Delivery Can Make Even a Mediocre Speech Soar - by Submitted on Jul 22, 2010 from Nancy DanielsIdeally, it should be your goal to deliver an excellent speech or presentation with enthusiasm and passion. However, if you had to choose, which one do you think would be better? A great speech with a boring delivery? Or a mediocre speech given with expression and emotion? There is no simple ...
Views: 4891 - ***A Dynamic Delivery Involves Not Just Vocal Variety But Body Language As Well - by Submitted on Jan 12, 2012 from Nancy DanielsColor refers to the life, the emotion, the animation you express in speaking. Whether it is for the purposes of public speaking, a sales presentation or just in normal conversation, those who speak with color are more dynamic than those who do not. In fact, those who do not are called boring. ...
Views: 2117 - ***A Nasal Voice Could Be a Stumbling Block to Your Success - by Submitted on Jan 26, 2011 from Nancy DanielsSome of the adjectives that come to mind when I hear someone who has excessive nasality are whiny, strident, shrill, and grating. And, given the right volume, tone, and duration, it can lead some listeners to develop a headache. Don’t laugh. It has been reported that the voice of Mary Hart, ...
Views: 3889 - ***A Simple Exercise to Overcome a Monotone Voice - by Submitted on Feb 13, 2012 from Nancy DanielsYou can do it. You can end a vocal delivery that is flat, insipid, and lackluster. But first you will have to give yourself permission to do so. This does seem like a strange suggestion, doesn’t it? If you speak in a monotone, however, you probably keep your emotions bottled up inside of ...
Views: 6809 - ***A Smile Goes a Long Way in Public Speaking - by Submitted on Nov 20, 2012 from Nancy DanielsDo you ever think about smiling when addressing an audience? If not, you should. Did you know that it takes 43 muscles to frown but only 17 to smile? Therefore, when you consider energy consumption, it is much wiser to smile than it is to show fear no matter how bad your nervousness. In ...
Views: 2052 - ***A Speaker Who Never Studied Voice Is Like a Surgeon Who Never Studied Biology - by Submitted on Sep 10, 2012 from Nancy DanielsI sometimes voice my opinion on a forum that deals with public speaking issues and it never fails to amaze me how few understand that the untrained speaking voice can be an absolute liability. When you are trying to deliver a presentation and are unable to control your speed, your breathing, ...
Views: 2015 - ***Accents Are Not a Problem As Long As Your Speech Is Understandable - by Submitted on May 12, 2014 from Nancy DanielsA lot of people contact me because they want to speak more clearly, more distinctly. What I explain to my clients and customers is that my goal for them is not to eliminate their accent – merely to have them be understood the 1st time they say it. I like accents. An accent or even a dialect ...
Views: 1858 - ***Acting and Public Speaking? Worlds Apart - by Submitted on Jan 10, 2012 from Nancy DanielsActing and public speaking have only two things in common: both need an audience and both involve words coming out of your mouth. That is where the similarities end however. Actors who teach public speaking often disagree with me on this point because they fail to recognize that public ...
Views: 5658 - ***All Great Speaking Voices Have One Thing in Common - by Submitted on May 12, 2014 from Nancy DanielsThere is one word I use to describe the resonance I am looking for in each every ‘real’ voice I discover. While all voices that have had training exhibit a greater depth and breadth of sound – a fuller, rounder quality – some voices will be deeper in pitch, some brighter in tone, others may be ...
Views: 1727 - ***Always Leave Your Audience Wanting More! - by Submitted on May 16, 2009 from Nancy DanielsThere is nothing worse than sitting in the audience, checking your watch as you wait for the speaker to close, knowing your presenter still has 8 more main points to cover and you have already heard 14 of them! When this happens it is interesting to note that the speaker usually seems totally ...
Views: 3862 - ***An Occasional Mistake in Public Speaking Is Not a Problem – Seeking Perfection Is - by Submitted on Jun 24, 2010 from Nancy DanielsTake two internationally renowned speakers. One speaker who I will refer to as Mr. X occasionally forgets where he is because he adds anecdotes pertinent to his main points throughout his presentation. In doing so, he sometimes forgets where he was since he is not using any visual aids. He is ...
Views: 3818 - ***Approaching the Lectern With Grace and Composure - by Submitted on Sep 10, 2012 from Nancy DanielsThe first time I had to introduce myself professionally was one of the most nerve-wracking experiences of my life. I remember sitting, waiting for my turn to stand and walk to the lectern amidst 150 members of the London, Canada Chamber of Commerce. At first I was relaxed until it dawned on me ...
Views: 3217 - ***Are Pacing and Speed the Same in Public Speaking? - by Submitted on Oct 24, 2011 from Nancy DanielsThat is an interesting question. While I often use those two words interchangeably, there is a difference. I liken pacing to your overall speed. Do you generally speak slowly, quickly or at a moderate rate of speed? In North America, a good pacing is moderate. If you speak too fast, you will ...
Views: 2344 - ***Are You a Whisperer? - by Submitted on Apr 20, 2009 from Nancy DanielsAre you one who often reverts to whispering or speaks consistently in a soft voice instead of a normal volume of sound? I am not talking about the horse whisperer or the dog whisperer in this particular case, but the individual who speaks in a whisper even when his/her throat is not sore or ...
Views: 2753 - ***Are Your Projecting Your Voice or Are You Shouting? - by Submitted on Aug 13, 2013 from Nancy DanielsI had a wonderful experience recently as the proud parent of an officer in training in the United States Army. 137 young men and women were given their branching orders. They walked onto the stage alone, faced the audience and said “I’m Intermediate Officer Candidate,” followed by their last ...
Views: 2022 - ***Be Yourself in Public Speaking Because Everyone Else Is Taken! - by Submitted on Apr 12, 2011 from Nancy DanielsSome years ago, two radio broadcasters were studying voice improvement with me. One, in particular, wanted me to make him sound like Paul Harvey. Paul Harvey was an icon and an original in the radio business. Part of his greatness was his originality. Wanting to emulate this announcer was ...
Views: 2341 - ***Believing In Yourself At The Lectern - by Submitted on Apr 09, 2008 from Nancy DanielsOne of the characteristics of dynamic public speakers is that they believe in themselves. We all know that public speaking is man’s greatest fear; however, if you approach the lectern doubting yourself, how successful do you think you will be? Believing you cannot do it is a recipe for ...
Views: 1841 - ***Breathe Life Into Your Words When You Speak - by Submitted on Oct 12, 2010 from Nancy DanielsSomething we never think to do in public speaking is to breathe. We never think about our air supply and yet we find we are constantly running out of it as we struggle to get the words out of our mouth. Without air, you have no voice; and, yet, one of the most common complaints I hear from my ...
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