“You’re out!” shouts Simon at the contestants. They choke back the tears and move off the stage.” It’s the latest craze in reality TV: The Exceptional Emcee. You walk on as the next contestant, face to face with entrepreneur and personality extraordinaire Simon...
Strike one! When you stand up to speak and you miss connecting with your audience right off the bat, that is strike one. You need to get in and whack ‘em with your opening! Get their interest and keep it from start to finish. If you can’t connect at the beginning and...
Some people have it. Some people don’t. Speaking strategies and the elusive ‘it’ factor! The ‘it’ factor refers to that indefinable something that makes you special, that sets you apart from the rest of the crowd. As a speaker, this might be the way you move or how...
Stomp those speaking fears as soon as they begin to surface. Don’t let nervousness, anxiety or speaking stress derail you from a speaking or presentation opportunity. Practically everyone on this planet experiences some form of nervousness or apprehension when asked...
Asking questions. Did you know that the skill of asking questions, not only adds to your overall communication skills, but can be a great way to start a presentation? Not only do questions engage your listeners, they also help you as the speaker, focus the attention...
Make eye contact. When having a conversation with someone or sitting in an audience facing a speaker, we expect the other person to make eye contact with us. Through eye contact we discover and learn about each other. Mutual eye contact signals our interest and our...
Never doubt the power of words. There is a 19th century children’s nursery rhyme that says, Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me. Bull nuggets and Balderdash! That's not true! Words can hurt. Words can tear people apart, just as easily as...
Avoid becoming an unemployment statistic. Gain the competitive edge with these 7 skills. They aren’t new or difficult to master. Business writer and author, Bobbi Dempsey, summed them up in one of her articles for FORBES as "The Seven Most Universal Job...
Connect with the Audience. Touch them! That’s right. Get physical and touch them! From the time we’re born as tiny tots, touch is vital to our survival and healthy development. It’s how we communicate and discover the world around us from our earliest stages. Studies...
Energize. That’s right, energize! Activate your audience. Your audience will love you for it, and remember you always. Have you ever attended an event where the emcee, host or speaker at the front of the room shouts out to the audience, “I’m so glad to be here,” but...
Who doesn't want what dynamic speakers have? Recognition. Money. Accolades. Dynamic speakers receive them all. The question is probably not who wants what dynamic speakers have ... but how can a person become a dynamic speaker. As you watch and listen to dynamic...
Six common communication barriers kill effective communication. Do you know what they are? Sometimes referred to as communication blocks, these barriers not only sabotage our chances of open and honest dialogue, they also kill the possibility of any meaningful...