Last week I started a two-part series on how to make a presentation more interesting. If you recall from the first episode, I mentioned that you can be the most charismatic and confident speaker on the planet. But if your presentation is boring or complicated or uninteresting, your skill as a speaker won't matter. So last week, I gave you the first three presentation enhancers. This week, I'll give you four more ways to make a speech more interesting. Just as a reminder, I know that most people who listen to or download the show are looking for ways to reduce nervousness and feel more confid ..read more

I know that most people who listen to or download the show are looking for ways to reduce nervousness and feel more confident when they speak. However, there is a HUGE part of the presentation process that often gets overlooked that is critical to help you communicate better and more confidently. You have to be saying something that your audience finds interesting. You can be the most charismatic and confident speaker on the planet. But if your presentation is boring, or complicated, or uninteresting, your skill as a speaker won't matter. So in the next couple of episodes, I reinforce a few t ..read more

One of the biggest causes of public speaking fear and nervousness is having too much time in between each speech. I mentioned last week that if you only drove a car once a year, each time you got behind the wheel, you'd be nervous. If you are a comfortable driver, it is because you get behind the wheel pretty often. It is the same with public speaking. The more often you present, the more comfortable you will be each time. So last week, I began a two-part series on venues where you can practice speaking in front of a group. We started with a few virtual venues that were the least risky. Tho ..read more

We often hear the term "Know Your Audience," but what does that really mean? In this episode, I  take you through a step-by-step process to help you customize every speech to the needs of the specific audience you are presenting to. Basically there are four things you need to know about your audience to be able to design a presentation that they want to hear. I spend the first half or more of the episode taking you through this simple four-step process to help you know your audience better. However, there is another really big concept that most presenters disregard. It is the emotional ..read more

This week is part 2 of a 2-part series on public speaking fear. Last week, I showed you where this fear comes from. We also cover five things that people do to try to reduce the nervousness that actually causes more nervousness. This week, I first show you how to lower the risk of failure when you stand up to speak. Then, I'll cover a 4-step process to help you eliminate public speaking fear once and for all. By the way, if you are enjoying the episodes, I need a favor from you, please. Would you mind taking a few seconds and leaving me a great review on your podcast app? On Apple podcast, if ..read more

This week, I start a 2-part series on public speaking fear. In most of our episodes, we either cover ways to reduce nervousness or present more effectively so the nervousness is less distracting. In these two episodes, though, I'm going to cover what this nervousness is, where it comes from, why most training and coaching backfires and actually causes more nervousness, and how to reduce this fear once and for all. In fact, in this episode, I show you how public speaking fear is normal, and if you aren't feeling it, you may not be challenging yourself to grow. So, if you have ever felt public ..read more

We talk a lot in the podcast about ways to reduce nervousness and become a better presenter. However, one of the big parts of making a speech is the ability to create presentations that (1) the audience likes and wants to hear, and (2) are interesting and easy to understand. On this episode, I'm going to show you the "secret sauce" to designing fun and interesting presentations. This secret will add humor to your speech. It will also help you make technical content way easier for the audience to understand. Interestingly, the technique is only a secret because so few presenters use these ite ..read more

This week, I explain the difference between the different formats of public speaking training in 2023. You can listen to podcasts like this one, gain incites from online presentation classes, watch videos on YouTube or Rumble, get a public speaking coach, or even attend a public speaking class. With all of these different options, which will give you the best result? In this episode, I explain the differences between all of these formats and let you know what you can expect from each. By the way, all of these formats can help. But some will give you a much better return on your time and effor ..read more

My guest today is Tom Jackobs, an expert at helping companies and sales teams use success stories to attract customers and clients. And he shares with me how he used public speaking to take a start-up from zero customers to millions of dollars in revenue each year using public speaking as the main marketing apparatus. We also talk about how inserting stories into your presentations can reduce nervousness and increase the Know, like, and trust value that you have with your audience or clients. Tom spent his first career working in big a few big companies like BP and eventually transitioned to ..read more

For the last couple of weeks, we have been covering different types of persuasion speeches. A couple weeks ago, I gave you a three-step process to win audiences to your way of thinking. Last week, we covered how to put together a sales presentation. This week, we will show you how to present a proposal to management. For instance, if you have identified a problem or opportunity for your company, you may need to get approval. So, how do you present a proposal to management that will get approved? The process is actually pretty simple. The method of how to present a proposal to management that ..read more