The classic novel, The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas, takes place in the 17th century. It follows the adventures of a young man named d’Artagnan who leaves his home to join the Musketeers of the Guard, a prestigious group of soldiers who serve the King of France. Although d’Artagnan cannot join this elite guard immediately, he is befriended by three of the most formidable musketeers. The Three Musketeers Athos: The wisest, calmest and most noble-minded of the three. Athos is actually the Comte de la Fère, a nobleman with a mysterious and tragic past. He becomes a father figure to d’Art ..read more

OK, native speakers actually CAN speak English. However, when presenting in English to an audience of non-native speakers, native speakers are often misunderstood or not understood at all. Why? There are a variety of potential reasons. It could be the speaker’s accent. Perhaps the speaker is speaking too fast, or using jargon and idioms. It might be that the speaker is using linguistic constructions that are challenging for non-native speakers. Maybe it is all of the foregoing. Whatever the reason(s), it is a problem, especially given that today, English is the lingua franca in the world and ..read more

Don’t overwhelm your audience. The speech Many years ago, a multinational IT company invited me to a full-day event that they were hosting in Lausanne, Switzerland. The keynote speaker was the Head of the company’s Europe, Middle East and Africa division. His topic was new initiatives on which the company was working. I was introduced to the speaker in the morning (before his keynote) and he asked me if I would give him some feedback afterwards. A sure sign of a growth mindset! Of course, I was happy to oblige and when the time came for the keynote, I settled into my seat, looking forward t ..read more

It’s a paradox. You have to give everything you have when you prepare. You have to have a message that is clear and relevant for your audience. You need to do the appropriate research. You have to structure your presentation in a way that makes it easy to understand. You need to practice to ensure that your presentation or speech flows smoothly. You have to give everything you have when you deliver. You have to take the stage with energy and enthusiasm for the topic. You need to speak loud enough, with good vocal variety and appropriate body language. And then … You have to let it go and move ..read more

If I ever find out that you are using one of the three final slides in the infographic—in any language—then, to paraphrase Liam Neeson, “I will look for you, I will find you, and I will kill … your slide presentation.” Your audience can certainly benefit from well designed slides. For example, an aerial photo of a site on which you plan to build; a simple graph showing your company’s profit growth over the last five years; a relevant quotation superimposed on a compelling photograph. But do people really need to see the words “Thank You!” or “Questions?” to understand understand what is com ..read more

It’s a new year! To all my readers, I wish you much happiness, health and success in 2024. I also wish you something else … the realization that any day can be as meaningful as January 1st. Make it a great year! PS – If you are looking for some public speaking resolutions, here are 50 from many years ago that are just as worthwhile today. Photo courtesy of Gary Lee / Unsplash ..read more

A bridge is a useful metaphor for any speech or presentation. I like to imagine that I am standing on one side and my audience is standing on the other. I want the audience to cross the bridge and see things from my perspective. Now, if people are going to cross safely, the bridge needs to have a good structure. If it doesn’t, there are going to be problems. Potentially big problems! Just look at what happened to the Tacoma Narrows Bridge. A bridge needs a good structure if it is to stand and it is no different with your speeches and presentations. How do you structure a speech? In three part ..read more

People often speak to me about the challenges that they face with their voice when when they present. In short, they say that they speak in a monotone voice and don’t know what to do about it. While there are many things that you can do to improve your voice, here is the best advice I know for lasting results: Read children’s books. Out loud. To children. I read dozens of books to my daughters when they were little. From Dr. Seuss to Maurice Sendak to Eric Carle. It was a great bonding experience but it also taught me the importance of having an expressive voice. You can’t read a book to a ..read more

I was recently in Canada and stayed with my brother and his family in Toronto. In the shower, there was a bottle of this Irish Spring soap. How convenient: shampoo, conditioner, body wash, face wash and 24-hour deodorizer all in one! I mean, the next step in the product’s evolution should be to have it sing “Oh Danny Boy” every time you open it. But while you might be able to get away with something like this in soap, you cannot do it with your PowerPoint presentations. What do I mean? I mean that PowerPoint slides serve one purpose. Not two, not four, not five. So often, people tell me that ..read more

While I am not a huge fan of Gordon Ramsay, I have, on occasion, watched an episode or two of Kitchen Nightmares and Hell’s Kitchen. I always thought that the shows were intentionally over-the-top in order to boost TV ratings, but I do admit that I laughed out loud on more than one occasion. However, after recently reading Anthony Bourdain’s excellent Kitchen Confidential, I realize that some of the things that happen on Ramsay’s shows are closer to reality than I first thought. And if you pay attention, there are lessons to be learned that apply to more than cooking ..read more