HUGH CULVER

How to hook any audience and capture their attention

How to hook any audience and capture their attention

There’s lots of opinions about how to start a speech. Some say start with a joke. Some with a story. Some with a confession. Some even use video to break the ice. All of those can work, but in this post I’m more talking about what comes next—how do you hook your...

read more
The one secret about public speaking nobody will tell you

The one secret about public speaking nobody will tell you

It took me 10 years to discover - completely by accident - the one secret to public speaking that not only saved my bacon countless times, but actually made every speech better. Today, I’m going to tell you what that secret is. But I’m getting ahead of myself. When I...

read more
So, you want to be a speaker…

So, you want to be a speaker…

There’s an old story of a man walking down a country road. He comes across a farmer, who’s repairing a fence. “Excuse me, sir” says the traveller “I’m curious what the folks are like in the town up ahead?” “Well…” the farmer replies, as he turns to face the stranger....

read more
How to (finally) remember your speech

How to (finally) remember your speech

For some speakers, memorizing a speech and delivering it word for word, exactly as planned, is the highest form of delivery. Frankly, I find that type of delivery is demeaning to the audience, lazy and, at best, boring. If a speaker is reading from their notes it...

read more
Tools of the trade – what every speaker needs in their bag

Tools of the trade – what every speaker needs in their bag

I love speaking. And I hate packing for speaking. So, it really helps to have the right gear and a packing list. In this post I’m sharing what gear is in my bag when I hit the road. There’s lots of options out there, but these are what have worked for me - so I’ve put...

read more
9 stupid things speakers do on stage

9 stupid things speakers do on stage

We’ve all been there - cringing in our seats - thinking “Will this ever end?”. Yes, it’s the speaker from hell. Maybe they’ve got great content - even lessons we haven’t heard before. But their delivery is so finger-nails-on-chalkboard bad we’re missing it all. I had...

read more