Public Speaking
The seven presentation tips used by persuasive presenters
Ace persuasive presenters are made not born. They have learned what it takes to conquer their fear of presenting, and now they love it! They have also learned how to create compelling speech content and how to present it in an engaging and persuasive way. In this post, I’d like to share some practical presentation…
Read MorePresentation Handouts – DO’s and DON’T’s
As a presentation skills trainer and public speaking coach, I often get asked about how best to use handouts during a presentation. In this post, I’d like to share my responses to the most common questions my students ask on the topic of presentation handouts. Should I give out presentation handouts, before my talk so…
Read MoreSelf confidence is a choice – how to dismiss your demons
Public speaking can certainly be daunting. When faced with such an opportunity, it is tempting to concede to the words of our inner demons who tell us to say “I can’t” or “I won’t”, bit the truth is that self-confidence is a choice. Recently I had the pleasure of working with a group of young…
Read MoreHow to be More Confident – Develop Inverse Paranoia
Learning how to be more confident is the key that opens up a whole world of opportunities, but how do you do it? This post is the first in a series that will show you how. I’m starting with mindset because I believe it is one of the fundamental building blocks for confidence and…
Read MoreBecome a Better Presenter Thanks to Your Smartphone
Becoming a better presenter and public speaker takes time and effort, but did you know that your ever-present smartphone is a powerful tool to help you improve your speaking skills? In this article, I want to show you how to leverage the power of these ubiquitous devices to develop your speaking skills. 1) Recording your presentations…
Read MoreBetter presentations – what not to do before the night before
To be honest, I am a naturally positive kind of a guy and so my normal approach is to focus on what to do and not what not to do. Sometimes, however, there is merit in looking at the negatives first, just as long as you then turn them into positives. With that in mind,…
Read MoreAnother Great Presentation Skills Infographic
Despite having said in an earlier post that I am not a great fan of Infographics, I wanted to share a new presentation skills infographic that was sent to me by Clem Lepers, entitled “9 Tips for an effective presentation“. It has some excellent content and tips and is well worth a look if you…
Read MoreDont be afraid of spicing up your corporate presentations
Last night I was talking to a friend at my local Toastmasters public speaking club when he talked about his challenge to make his work presentations more engaging. It transpired that he had recently received feedback that his delivery at work was “a bit flat” when giving a corporate presentation. “I’d love to be able…
Read MoreA New Presentation Skills Infographic
I was recently invited to take a look at a new presentation skills infographic. I am not normally a fan of infographics. It’s not the premise behind them I dislike. I love the idea of distilling key facts or ideas from many sources and then presenting them in a visually appealing way. What I dislike is…
Read MoreTips for impromptu speaking – learn to trust yourself
I love it when readers leave comments and ask me to write about specific topics. Recently someone said, “Hey Gavin; your posts help me a lot, but I have a problem. I am awful at extemporizing when given a topic I don’t know anything about. It would be helpful if you wrote a post on it.” That’s…
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