Presenting with Confidence: What is the Spotlight Effect? I want you to imagine you’re about to give a presentation and you can’t stop thinking about your bad haircut. Everybody in the audience notices your bad haircut. Your boss is sitting there. He or she is probably saying to themselves, “That is a really terrible haircut. … Read more
During this livestream we explored 10 tips to get a handle on stage fright and nervousness before public speaking or presentations. I also answered some questions from the attendees on rehearsal, mistakes during public speaking, and more. Here are 10 major tips to manage stage fright and reduce nervousness right before your presentation or speech: … Read more
Social Presence seems like an elusive concept. We can definitely recognize it when others have it, but it’s tough to replicate. These are practical steps you can take to build your social presence immediately. 1. Say things that are slightly risky Key word being slightly. You want to push the envelope a little bit without … Read more
(Listen to the audio or read the post below) Continuing on the theme of charisma from my previous post, I was thinking about what really makes charisma. Why do some people seem to be “blessed” with this mystical magic of magnetism, and others hopelessly condemned to a life of mediocre influence? There is one essential … Read more
When we first start speaking in public, we have a desire to be reassured by the audience. We subconsciously look for positive reactions from the crowd to signal that we are doing a good job. But if you think about, while this is understandable (we’re nervous and anxious and looking for reassurance), it’s unrealistic. Just … Read more
Have you ever felt your heart beating faster right before giving a speech or presentation? It’s common, especially when there is a lot of anticipation and buildup. For example, when you are scheduled to speak at 10:15 AM and there is a roster of speakers before you at 9:30, 9:45, 10:00… This buildup is what kills us. … Read more
People that struggle with various challenges in their lives–relationships, fitness, careers, social skills, money management, dating–often exhibit the same pattern of effort and failure. Our efforts to break out of a rut and create a new pattern are foiled by our own mistakes. Once you start looking, you can see this cycle everywhere: Stage 1: Over time, … Read more
I’ve helped clients with many communication challenges. From speaking to social skills to selling, and more. One of the main recurring themes through all of them has been complication. When we are confused by something, we have a tendency to complicate it. We over-think something as simple as having a conversation. We develop theoretical frameworks and methodologies and complex narratives … Read more
Perfect Speaking Isn’t All It’s Cracked Up To Be One of the hallmarks of inauthentic communication is perfectionism. Perfectionism leads to overly complicated and mechanical communication techniques. These techniques feel inauthentic and fake, damaging trust and turning audiences off. It could be a trite sales line that we’ve heard a million time before. It could … Read more
Listening skills are an area that lots of people struggle with. How many of us ask someone their name or what they do for a living, and then immediately forget it? I’m not a perfect listener. But I have improved a lot from where I used to be. In my case, I had so many … Read more