Want A More Engaged Audience When you Speak?

How to cure the audience's mental blind spot

man remember

“So how was the new restaurant you tried?” As soon as I ask you the question you immediately begin to access the memory of the experience. For some reason, before you recall anything from the experience you feel agitated and disturbed. Then one side of your mouth tightens while one eye brow is lifted with […]

Why You Need a Story to Move the Audience

The Purpose for Storytelling

MacGyver

Picture this… We’re watching a movie where our hero is trapped and facing absolute doom with no obvious way out. We begin to feel anxiety and a deep sense of urgency for an escape. We also do something else… our brains are working fast on a solution for the hero. This can’t be the end! […]

Why Some Speakers are Never Misunderstood

The metaphor technique used to make interpretation easier

dog swimming

Imagine each of these… you’re covered in mud and rolled in feathers, a baseball balanced on top of an upside down cup, you’re watching a dog swim from a goggle-wearing, breath-holding position under the water. All of these things took a split second for you to imagine. You’re good at this! Of course you’re good […]

You Don’t Always Need a Professional Coach

3 Questions to Ask Yourself for Self-Evaluation

coaching

My student entered the workshop and told me he’d taken courses like this in the past. I asked him what he learned in the other class. “Well, I learned I need to stop fidgeting with my hands so much and stop saying filler words.” He waited for my response. “Okay. What did the coach say […]

What’s the Best Way to Finish a Presentation?

I guarantee we can do better than "Any questions?"

The End

“Well, uhh… that’s all I got folks. Thanks for coming… Oh WAIT! … Any questions?  No?  Okay then yeah, that’s all I got.”  That’s word for word how he ended his presentation. While we’re probably all guilty of this at one time in our career, that doesn’t sound good.  How do I know? Because I […]

3 Ways to Know What Your Audience Thinks of You

Your clues are found in their questions!

Woman with questions

Ever wonder what your audience thinks of you? Have you tried your best to read their body language and facial expressions? What do they really think of you? Do they see you as an expert? Do they know you’re not? Can they see you’re nervous? The questions they ask might be your best clue. Here’s […]