When a possum is threatened, he contracts into a ball, while bears do the opposite. They stand on their hind legs to make themselves look bigger. Chameleons change color and remain perfectly still, while peacocks expand their tail-feathers to assert their dominance.… Read More »On playing possum and peacock preening
The hardest part of getting better at speaking and presenting is to persist in the face of discouragement. A talent is a latent ability, something that is dormant inside you. When you work at it, it becomes a skill. Public… Read More »Fall Down Seven Times; Get Up Eight
I have been looking at various presentation websites. I am impressed and not impressed, and I am concerned about the distinction between making a convincing argument to serious people with serious decisions to make, vs. giving an entertaining performance to people who need… Read More »My Kind of Champion Speaker
When you need to use powerpoint slides, keep it simple, and use images to help you tell a story. Often, clients ask me to help them knit together a talk with some slides. Once, I was asked to develop a… Read More »Put Power Point to Work for You
For starters, stop trying to just wing it. You’re not an improv actor, OK? Your goal as a speaker should be to have inscribed on your tombstone, “He Made His Point, and Bored Them Less.” To accomplish this lifetime achievement,… Read More »How Not to Bore an Audience (1 of 3)
This is the last in our series in how to wow with charisma. We’ve looked at Vocal Expression of Emotion, Contagious Laughter, Expressive Face, and more. Here are three more tips to help you stand out from the crowd in a good way.… Read More »9 Behaviors Cultivated by the Ultra-Charismatic–part 3