Speaking with expression, emotion, life, animation – whatever you call it – is one of your most important characteristics in delivering a dynamic presentation or speech.  Just how colorful are you at the lectern?

If you would like to test your ‘color’ skills, record yourself reading the following nonsense paragraph and then play it back.  (It might be an idea to practice it out loud before recording it.)

Bill Williams willed wills and billed...

I'm told that English is the hardest language to learn, probably because of the idioms and slang we use.  I don't know which is worse, "American-ese" or our counterparts in the UK.  Nonetheless I find it interesting how our language changes over time.  Back in the 1930's and 40's, people were "swell" and "gay" meant to be lighthearted.  In the 1960's and 70's, everything was "Super," "Far out," and "Hip,"...

Inspired by Andrew Dlugan’s recent post “ Stop Rehearsing! 3 Critical Things to Do Before Your Speech “, I will like to add to his list 7 more things you can do before your speech to take the nervousness out of you.

First, let’s do a quick recap of his three excellent pointers.

1. Study the venue logistics
2. Meet your audience (extra tip: build before rapport )
3. Watch, listen and participate in the event agenda

The rationale for #1...

If you have never spoken in public before you more than likely dread the thought of it, or if you have had a bad experience you may now have a crisis of confidence. Let me assure you these fears and more can be overcome. Here are the most common:-

• Fear of drying up
• Fear of forgetting
• Fear of going on too long
• Fear of boring people
• Fear of not sounding right
• Fear of trembling hands and trembling voice
• Fear of having a weak...

Ask anyone… It just makes sense that each time you prepare to deliver a presentation, you need to pay attention to who will be in your audience. But, how often have you really considered what impact the individual personalities of members or your audience will have on the outcome of your speech?

Psychologists tell us that our individual personalities are revealed in the characteristic patterns of our thinking, feeling and acting; that our personalities shape how we develop,...

While the majority of those learning how to deliver a dynamic speech tend to express too little emotion, there are those few who actually emote - express too much emotion for the given situation.  Emoting is acting; delivering a speech is not.  Your objective in your speech is to ‘straddle the fence' in which you are neither expressing too much emotion not too little.

And, in this particular instance, I am talking about the speech versus the presentation. ...

Right from your invitation to speak you can establish control of your audience. Firstly, act confidently even if you don't feel that way. Otherwise you may unnecessarily worry the organisers of the event.

Making the right preparations will ensure that you are in control of yourself and your audience even before they arrive:

- Know your audience - Research your audience thoroughly. There are many types of audience. Is it a professional conference or a football banquet? What...

A phobia, or anxiety, of public speaking is common to most people throughout the world.  Many of us would rather communicate by email or phone than in front of a group of people.  Whether it’s large or small, standing in front of a group of people is psychologically difficult and it can often lead to physical discomfort, excessive sweating, and a rapid heartbeat.

There are many reasons why you might develop public speaking anxiety, which include low...

It is quite common for an individual to feel butterflies in the stomach when he is called upon to deliver an important speech in front of a crowd for the first time. However, equipped with a few essential public speaking skills, one will have a higher level of confidence during the delivery of his speech. Thus, I would like to share three essential public speaking tips within this article.

Firstly, body language is extremely important for good public speaking skills because the...

Sometimes, choosing a brand for your self can be difficult. You may not yet know how or what kind of branding you want. You may feel apprehensive which is reasonable because once you have chosen to brand yourself with something, it will most likely, stick with you forever. Therefore, it is imperative to carefully decide on it.

In public speaking, your brand is like an instant declaration of what you are and what you are able to do. Your brand may build up gradually as you go along...