Owner: Speak Schmeak URL:http://coachlisab.blogspot.com Join Date: Thu, 21 Jun 2007 16:31:53 -0500 Rating:0 Site Description: Tips, techniques and insights about public speaking and speakers. Site statistics:Click here
Life as a constant audition 2008-05-22 12:24:00 Even successful performers have insecurities:"Since I've been a solo artist, I haven't often been in a state of mind where I was feeling light about what I was doing musically. For so many years now, I have felt like I've been auditioning for my job, or trying to get back an old audience, or making some statement. I wasn't thinking about what would be fun."~ Glen Phillips, former Toad the Wet Spro
New free downloads 2008-05-21 12:40:00 I've added two new downloads to my resource page, both based on blog posts that I decided to turn into handouts.One is on microphone handling, and the other is on practicing public speaking at work. Check 'em out here!
Imagine your audience fully clothed 2008-05-21 12:00:00 Some experts still give the advice to picture the audience in their underwear. I even read an article the other day that suggested imagining them dressed as clowns. What?1. It takes an enormous amount of energy to actually imagine a group of people in underwear. Are they in boxers or briefs? Sports bras or lace? Cotton or spandex? It's exhausting just thinking about it.2. It's distracting. When yo Read more:Imagine
, fully
Which waiter are you? 2008-05-24 10:00:00 Waiter #1 approaches the table with a memorized patter of the specials, a pasted-on smile and a robotic shtick, always by the book. There's a distance between him and the diners as he's always mentally leaving for the next table before he's physically left.Waiter #2 approaches the table with a warm smile and a welcoming hello, and proceeds to talk to the customer like old friends. She makes a conn Read more:waiter
"101 Tips to Improve Your Public Speaking" e-book 2008-05-23 14:41:00 I've just discovered a new self-publishing platform for digital downloads call YouPublish.com (that's my referral link, so please use it if you decide to sign up), and it's so super easy that I've already uploaded some stuff!You'll find all of my free handouts listed there eventually, but today I went crazy and uploaded an e-book called "101 Tips to Improve
Your PublicSpeaking
." How's that for st Read more:Public Speaking
A simple formula 2008-05-23 11:00:00 One of my clients has distilled down a lot of public speaking advice into a simple formula that works for him, especially when making television appearances. He calls it "The 4 S's."Still: Stay still and calm, don't shuffle or fidget.Smile: Keep a pleasant expression on your face.Slow: Speak slowly and clearly.Silly: This is sort of "code" for vocal variation. Try not to speak in a monotone.These
One week left to nominate me as your BlogHer Hero! 2008-05-25 15:47:00 Nominate me as your BlogHer Hero and I might win a trip to BlogHer conference '08! Here's the nomination form. Contest ends May 31.And thank you to those who have already submitted nominations in my favor!
Just be 2008-05-26 12:00:00 One of the things that bothers me about some motivational speakers is the desperation.Desperate to be profoundDesperate to be funnyDesperate to be heardDesperate to be rememberedDesperate to entertainDesperate to sell booksDesperate to be asked backThey're trying too hard, and everyone can see it in their hyper-emotional and stagey facial expressions and body language.It's okay to try hard; we all
Pop-ups during presentations 2008-05-27 11:43:00 Ellen Finkelstein has a great post on disabling the pop-ups on your computer before you give a PowerPoint presentation, as some of these little reminders might appear right in the middle of your talk.I suggest going a step further and setting up a separate profile just for your speaking engagements.When I take my laptop to a venue, I use a profile I've set up, called "Presentation," which has a li Read more:presentations
Lost your place? Take a cue from Eddie Izzard. . . 2008-05-29 10:00:00 Eddie Izzard is a great role model for how to deal with the audience when your material isn't working. I posted earlier about his comments when his jokes were bombing.We've all forgotten our place momentarily during a presentation, and instead of panicking, ideally we just glance at our notes and go on. Eddie Izzard goes a little further:"Um. Oh, I've forgotten the rest of the show. How does it go Read more:Eddie
Fill this. . . 2008-05-28 10:45:00 It's time I wrote a little something about fillers again, because this issue comes up so frequently. Last time I wrote about following rules for the sake of rules, Jeff from MostToast.com made a great point in the comments when he said that just counting the number of "ums" doesn't necessarily indicate whether they're a problem.So the other day, I was reading a public speaking article and the writ
Expectations 2008-05-30 10:44:00 "I found that things became a lot easier when I no longer expected to win."~ Leonard Cohen
Yay life! 2008-05-31 10:00:00 License plate I saw the other day.
Tea made me a very sexy man. . . 2008-06-02 10:44:00 Over the past weekend we attended the World Tea Expo (see posts here and here from last year when I was a speaker there). So much better in Vegas than Hotlanta. Thank you.This time I was merely a participant, scoping out products and attending educational seminars as the "vice president" of my husband's company which is in the process of opening a tea shop.There was the usual mix of engaging speak
Stories and analogies 2008-06-04 11:13:00 One reason Dr. Tea's presentation was effective at the World Tea Expo was his use of statistics, stories, analogies and examples.He started out by telling us that Americans drink "115,000 cups of coffee every 15 seconds of every minute of every day."He gave examples of how coffee addiction is like cigarette addiction.He equated the "intoxicating smell of coffee" with the sirens' song. (I have to a Read more:Stories
PowerPoint disaster 2008-06-05 10:45:00 My least favorite presentation at the World Tea Expo was a report that could have been really interesting and engaging had the presenter chosen to take a different approach.Instead, it was an example of everything that can go wrong when a presenter relies entirely on data pasted into PowerPoint
to make his presentation.Each line was capitalized like a book title:APTI Germinates, Morphs Into STIThe
Are you bershon? 2008-06-06 10:44:00 This cracked me up.I never was. I'm afraid you won't find a bershon picture of me anywhere. I was always a big ham with a ridiculous toothy smile. OR, my mom would inevitably snap a photo while I was eating, talking or chewing gum (I was doing one of those things -- and still am -- almost constantly). Is there a Flickr group for photos of people in mid-chew?Thanks to Laura Bergells for bringing th
Public speaking blogosphere review 2008-06-07 14:20:00 I've pointed you to Andrew Dlugan's blog before, but today I want to mention his "Week in Review" Saturday posts that gather interesting content from around the public speaking blogosphere and plops them down all in one place.It's a great way to get caught up on valuable public speaking posts on a wide range of topics, and you know they'll be good because Andrew has done the filtering. I don't kno Read more:Public
, review
Some random news 2008-06-07 11:13:00 If you've checked out my services page before, you might have noticed my Annual Mentor Package (formerly called Annual Retainer Package). And you might have thought it odd that this package only included three coaching sessions! Ooops!That's what I get for cutting and pasting and then not proofreading carefully. It's been fixed. Coaching is unlimited. Now that's what I'm talkin' about.Also, I'm go
Fire update 2008-06-09 12:59:00 Thanks everyone for your comments and e-mails. We're doing very well. My small burn is healing up nicely, and Bub's burns (which are more extensive than mine and included "partial thickness" burns as well) are still being treated and are improving. They pulled off all the dead skin today from his blisters. Ewww. We learned that there is new terminology for burns: they are now called "superficial,"
A lesson in fire safety 2008-06-08 03:02:00 Tonight as we sat watching TV, we heard a big boom that blew open the doors under the kitchen sink. As we were bending down looking into the cabinet, trying to figure out what happened, fumes (that we later learned were from a rusty spray paint can that had exploded) traveled across the floor to the oven and to the pilot light, causing a fireball to burst out of the oven, burning us both.We're oka Read more:lesson
Tell 'em what you're gonna tell 'em. . . 2008-06-10 11:00:00 We've all heard this advice: Tell 'em what you're gonna
tell 'em; tell 'em; tell 'em what you told 'em. (After reading and writing that several times, I'm not sure that's really English any more.)The problem with this advice is that it's simplistic. It's also boring.On the one hand, this is a classic way to structure a presentation. On the other hand, if you really step onto the podium and "tell '
New public speaking resource 2008-06-11 10:45:00 Alltop.com is a site that aggregates all the top content from around the Web onto one page, for any topic you like.Now they've added a page for public speaking and communication at speaking.alltop.com.You can find links to the last five posts for all your favorite speaking blogs there, including Speak Schmeak!Thanks to Andrew Dlugan for making it happen!
It's not about you 2008-06-12 10:44:00 Andrew Zhan sent me this video the other day, and I loved it. It's got a profound message. It's not geared to speakers, but the message is applicable: It's not about you.There are times when audience members don't seem to be engaging with you. Sometimes they seem indifferent, and sometimes they seem downright hostile.If it's a large percentage of the audience, you might be doing something to encou
How do you know when you've nailed it? 2008-06-13 10:44:00 A quick "hello" and welcome to new readers who are finding me on Alltop!Today I gave a short presentation on using stories in public speaking. I had an opening story planned out when I was preparing last week, but what better story to illustrate storytelling than that of our house fire? So I used the fresher story instead.As my opening, I told the story building up to the point of waiting for the
No title 2008-06-14 17:26:00 I didn't notice it on the day, but I just realized that my June 12 post was my 500th! How have 500 posts come out of me? I have no idea, but I'm going to do my best to keep 'em coming and hopefully providing something of value to you, my readers, every day.Thanks for motivating me to keep writing!
Take two Prozac and call me in the morning 2008-06-14 10:00:00 Here's another interesting article about the medicalization of behavioral problems and social anxiety issues.Some quotes from the article:"But therapy has its critics: 'Shyness has become an unhealthy state of mind for individuals living in contemporary Western societies,' according to a University of Sussex report. 'Insofar as its behavioural symptoms imply a failure to achieve certain cultural v Read more:Prozac
Are you done learning? 2008-06-16 10:44:00 On the final episode of Top Chef, one of the contestants was using an innovative cooking technique. Renowned French chef and co-owner of the three-star restaurant Le Bernardin, Eric Ripert, having been enlisted as sous chef to another contestant, went over to observe more closely. He said,"As a chef, the day you don't learn any more, it means you're so egomaniac you're blind." When's the last time
Public speaking interview with Francisco Saraiva 2008-06-18 10:44:00 Francisco Saraiva, the president of Oporto Toastmasters in Portugal, has been doing a series of interview
s with public speaking experts on his blog FranciscoSaraiva.com. One thing I'm enjoying about reading the interviews is that, while some questions were the same across the board, Francisco had read each person's blog or website and asked some personalized questions as well.While you're there, c Read more:Public
, Francisco
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