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Tag Search Results For 'Public Speaking Techniques and Strategies' (170)
Don't go on a juice fast before a big appearance
Speak Schmeak | October 4th 2008 by Lisa Braithwaite
Video of Lauren Graham on Ellen after five days on a juice fast. Graham is always a little hyper in her interviews, but she's running on fumes here...Just a quick tip: Don't try anything new right before a presentation. It might throw you off, just a read more
Does your face reveal your discomfort?
Speak Schmeak | October 3rd 2008 by Lisa Braithwaite
My drivers license picture is terrible. I look like a thug who might run you over if you cross the street too slowly.My friend asked me why I didn't smile in the picture, and I told her I was going for "neutral." She said, "Neutral means you have a l read more
One quick trick to perk up your presentation
Speak Schmeak | October 2nd 2008 by Lisa Braithwaite
Here's a simple trick to get yourself in the right mindset for your presentation. It makes you feel good, it makes the audience feel good, and you already know how to do it: Smile.Some studies have suggested that when you make a face like smiling or read more
Who deserves your best?
Speak Schmeak | October 1st 2008 by Lisa Braithwaite
I have a problem. I save things for "special occasions" that never happen. My favorite perfume? Don't want to waste it. Favorite sweater or shoes? Too "nice" for every day.I have jewelry I don't wear, wine I don't drink, dresses I'm afraid to ruin.I read more
Making the abstract concrete
Speak Schmeak | September 30th 2008 by Lisa Braithwaite
If you haven't yet read "Made to Stick," I cannot recommend it enough, as an excellent resource for learning how to make your ideas stick in your audience's mind long after your presentation has ended. The six principles of a sticky idea are represen read more
Beware of personalization
Speak Schmeak | September 27th 2008 by Lisa Braithwaite
Driving down State St. last week, hubby and I spotted a sign in the window of a soon-to-open Pinkberry: "Pardon our dust as Santa Barbara awaits Pinkberry's flagship store."Did Pinkberry really need to remind me that the store is opening in Santa Bar read more
Thought traps #1: All or nothing thinking
Speak Schmeak | September 25th 2008 by Lisa Braithwaite
One of my clients is a doctoral candidate in clinical psychology. She runs a weekly in-patient group for people who have depression, and she uses a tool that I find applicable to all of us. The focus of this weekly group is "thought traps," ways of t read more
What's confidence and how do I get some?
Speak Schmeak | September 23rd 2008 by Lisa Braithwaite
"I want to thank my parents for somehow raising me to have confidence that is disproportionate with my looks and abilities."~ Tina Fey, upon accepting the Emmy for Outstanding Comedy Series for 30 RockFor those of you wondering how to have Tina Fey-l read more
What not to do at the end of a presentation
Speak Schmeak | September 22nd 2008 by Lisa Braithwaite
We plan a lot for what to do before and during a presentation, but not much for what to do at the end -- or what not to do.I'd like to remind you not to dwell on the things that were not 100% perfect. Yes, it's a good idea to go over the presentation read more
What's your crutch phrase?
Speak Schmeak | September 19th 2008 by Lisa Braithwaite
We can all think of a catch phrase that identifies a person or character (the Fonz said "Aaayyyy;" Emeril says "Bam;" Homer Simpson says "Doh") and becomes their signature word, phrase or, in the case of these three, more of an utterance.However, the read more
I do and I understand
Speak Schmeak | September 18th 2008 by Lisa Braithwaite
"I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand." (Attributed to Confucius, but who knows?)My discus coach said this to me the other day in reference to the difficulty I was having getting my body to do 300 things at the same time, read more
Things to avoid when speaking publicly
Speak Schmeak | September 17th 2008 by Lisa Braithwaite
Here's a fun video for you from the University of British Columbia (finally figured out who the heck UBC is) via Rowan Manahan, promoting their new student speaker series modeled on TED.If you can't see the video, click here to view it on YouTube. read more
48 ways to be nice to your audience
Speak Schmeak | September 16th 2008 by Lisa Braithwaite
This list of "48 Ways to Be Nice and Improve the World Around You" showed up in my inbox the other day and, while it might seem like a stretch, I thought some of these ideas might be fun to adapt for a presentation. I don't have 48 ideas, but maybe w read more
Do you disregard conventional wisdom?
Speak Schmeak | September 11th 2008 by Lisa Braithwaite
On an episode of "My Life on the D List" where Kathy Griffin will be performing at Madison Square Garden, Molly Shannon asks Kathy if she gets nervous.Kathy says, "I have my own little crazy system," which includes listening to music and going over h read more
When visuals become distractions
Speak Schmeak | September 9th 2008 by Lisa Braithwaite
Read this excellent analysis by Garr Reynolds of the visuals behind John McCain during his acceptance speech."MSNBC reported that when asked about the middle school image, McCain's campaign replied that 'it's simply a generic photo, like others used read more
What's on your cheese plate?
Speak Schmeak | September 4th 2008 by Lisa Braithwaite
We stopped by a new restaurant recently. The menu wasn't that special, but I was excited to see a cheese plate listed. Bub was a cheesemonger for many years and we are quite the cheese fanatics.I asked the host what was on the cheese plate. She didn' read more
Succeeding despite your constraints
Speak Schmeak | September 2nd 2008 by Lisa Braithwaite
I enjoyed this post by Tim Walker last month about succeeding under constraints, and this quote pretty much sums it up:"You will never have unlimited time, money, energy, or help to achieve all the projects that are most important to you. Never, ever read more
Step away from the laptop
Speak Schmeak | September 1st 2008 by Lisa Braithwaite
Since we've been talking about coming out from behind the lectern, let's talk about coming out from behind the computer.PowerPoint users are frequently seen standing in one place, pushing a button on their computer to advance their slides. This is al read more
It's not fair
Speak Schmeak | August 29th 2008 by Lisa Braithwaite
How many times have you thought that to yourself or even said it out loud? "It's too hard." "I've done everything right, but I'll never be good enough." "It's not fair."It's true. Life isn't fair, and you won't always get what you want, no matter how read more
9 things you can learn from a home shopping show
Speak Schmeak | August 27th 2008 by Lisa Braithwaite
You want to see a real public speaking pro at work? Watch a few minutes of a home shopping channel.In the five minutes that I watched QVC, I saw the host do just about everything we're taught to do as speakers.First of all, don't kid yourself that yo read more
Run out of time? Never again!
Speak Schmeak | August 25th 2008 by Lisa Braithwaite
A common presenter mistake is to run out of time. Even when you've practiced, you sometimes find yourself rushing the last five or ten minutes of your presentation, wondering where the time went.Well, here's an easy solution. Get yourself a countdown read more
A philosophical approach to failure
Speak Schmeak | August 22nd 2008 by Lisa Braithwaite
How's your attitude?It's not just in the content, delivery, props and equipment that a speaker delivers a complete package. It's in the mental readiness, calmness mixed with excitement, a flexibility to go where the audience needs and wants to go, an read more
The secrets of storytelling
Speak Schmeak | August 21st 2008 by Lisa Braithwaite
Check out this article "The Secrets of Storytelling: Why We Love a Good Yarn," from Scientific American. It's about why we enjoy listening to and telling stories and what those stories reveal about our brains and our social, emotional and cognitive d read more
Using a lectern: do or don't?
Speak Schmeak | August 20th 2008 by Lisa Braithwaite
Following up on my post about where to put your notes, here's my quick tip about using a lectern: Don't.Okay, that's a little harsh. And I'm the first to admit that I hate absolute rules about public speaking. It's most important to use the tools tha read more
You can go back to school, too!
Speak Schmeak | August 19th 2008 by Lisa Braithwaite
If you have school-age kids, you are already doing the back-to-school scramble. You're prowling the aisles of office supply stores, signing up for after-school sports and wondering how little Max could have grown two inches since the last time he wor read more
Where do you put your notes?
Speak Schmeak | August 18th 2008 by Lisa Braithwaite
Although some disagree, I've mentioned here before that there's nothing wrong with using notes during your presentation. The trick is not to use them as a crutch, but to have them close by for reference, and to write them in a bulleted or outline for read more
Talent or skill, part 2
Speak Schmeak | August 16th 2008 by Lisa Braithwaite
For more on the discussion about talent vs. skill, or experience vs. practice, here's some research from the BPS Research Digest blog on the musical ability and practice habits of 200+ musicians and their level of musical achievement."Results were mi read more
What are you really afraid of?
Speak Schmeak | August 14th 2008 by Lisa Braithwaite
When people are afraid of public speaking, it's typically not "speaking" that they're afraid of. As I talked about in my post "What if your worst public speaking fear comes true?" if you break out the things that you're most concerned about and addre read more
Are you delivering a program or a faux-gram?
Speak Schmeak | August 12th 2008 by Lisa Braithwaite
Some speakers come across as supremely confident and self-assured. They know what they're doing and they know what they're talking about, or at least it appears that way.Robert Bly says in his article over at Entrepreneur.com, "The world's top profes read more
A look at some top women speakers
Speak Schmeak | August 11th 2008 by Lisa Braithwaite
Here's a post I enjoyed on Eric Feng's blog, about women speakers. Eric points out that, like in other professions, the majority of top professional speakers are male."...it could also be because there are still less women than men in top positions o read more
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