Blog posts on Delivery
8 presentation tips to make your eye contact more powerful
Even a newbie at public speaking knows they should make eye contact. But the term eye contact is rather vague. It can infer just making fleeting “contact” with a person then moving on. Don't make eye contact - make "eye connection". Eye connection means spending time...
How getting in the beam makes you a better presenter
Public speaking and presenting are full of silly rules. One such silly rule is that you shouldn't walk into into the beam of the projector. I disagree - it can be incredibly effective to get in the beam. Why you should get in the beam 1. You show your energy and...
How to eliminate filler words
The odd filler word is OK. Yes, really. There are a few hyper-sensitive people (usually Toastmasters or public speaking coaches :-)) who notice filler words and cringe, but most normal people don't notice. Or if they do notice, they don't cringe. Just about everyone...
How to prevent and recover from mind blanks
Are you concerned that you might suffer a mind blank during a presentation? The fear of a mind blank can be a large part of the fear of public speaking for many people. It happened to Sally Field in her Emmy Acceptance speech in 2007: I show this video to you so that...
Little-used methods to make the delivery of your PowerPoint stand out
There's a revolution in the design of PowerPoint slides, but not the delivery. Most speakers still rely on their slides to cue them. They click, they talk, click, talk, click, talk... Here are five methods that will make the delivery of your PowerPoint presentation...
You don’t have to slow down to be an effective presenter
Have you been told to slow down when you're presenting? There's only one legitimate reason for slowing down. That's if you go so fast that your words get blurred. Otherwise there's nothing wrong with speaking fast. Watch this video of Gary Vaynerchuk - would you want...
8 states of mind that will make you a more compelling presenter
I believe in the inside-out method of presenting. Rather than thinking about what I'm doing on the outside eg: a specific gesture or movement, I choose what's going on inside - my state of mind. My state of mind is the biggest influence on how I come across. Different...
6 ways to engage your audience through the social channel
Just as we have a verbal channel for words and a visual channel for images, we have a social channel for non-verbal signals. That's the big idea of Alex Pentland's book "Honest Signals". Alex Pentland is a professor at MIT Media Lab. He and his team have used a...
How to inspire an audience like Nick Vujicic
Watch this video and be inspired. Nick Vujicic is an amazing man. His ability to shift the audience's emotions is something else. And with the hardest audience - hundred of teenagers in a school gym. Within seconds he's created fun, excitement, and laughter. He's got...
How to project your voice
A reader has asked: I always feel that I am not able to project my voice and articulate the words properly. Is there any material / information on how I can improve these areas? Presenters often want advice on projecting their voice. They see voice projection as a...