I attended a family wedding last weekend, and the sister of the bride gave a great toast. I heard her round up her brothers as the cake was being served, saying, “Now is the time. Somebody has to say something.”… Read More »Public Speaking: Toasting the Bride
Girls of a certain age expose their stomachs, and boys expose their underwear. Those of us who are too old to seek this kind of social status based on sex appeal are more concerned about dressing to project power, authority,… Read More »Public Speaking: Dress for Success
FUD is Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt. I first heard the term when consulting at Gartner. I was working with the analysts in preparing for a Gartner Symposium, and several of them used FUD at the start of their talks to… Read More »FUD in Public Speaking and Persuasion
Effective speaking has many enemies. A partial list would include a speaker’s lack of experience, stage fright, lack of training, no clear point, too much information, and finally, no clear flow, or structure. We could go on. But the items… Read More »Public Speaking Training: The Dreaded just-after-lunch Slot on the Program
What should you do when the lights are so bright that you can’t see your audience? 1. Make sure you know where the audience is and look in that general direction with focus and confidence. The audience won’t know that… Read More »Presentation Tips: Blinded by the Light
Dividing the Dais Sharing a podium is a frequent method for by-passing yet another dry presentation and (we hope) generating heat and light between two or more people seated on stage engaging in friendly verbal exchanges. In my experience, each speaker prepares and delivers… Read More »Business Communication: Sharing the Podium