There’s nothing worse than stepping on stage and looking out to 200 blank stares. Your content might be pure gold, but the audience isn’t warmed up. Just like firing up your car mid-winter and trying to drive right away -… Continue reading
Why you need a Speaker’s A/V check-list
Everything was going well - the event was on time, the audience was ready, the Emcee nailed the introduction and I was half-way into my keynote when the screen went blank. Nothing, no slides, nada. In a flash, 3 extremely… Continue reading
Do you pause in your speech?
In a presentation I attended about adding comedy to your speech, my friend, Ron Tite reminded us, “There’s so much after the punchline.” But, of course given his training from Second City, that’s not how he said it. This is how he actually said it:… Continue reading
How to get powerful audience participation every time
I’m a sucker for audience participation - the more they respond the happier I am. The trick is how to get it. Maybe you lead staff meetings, present to customer prospects, lead seminars or present from the main stage -… Continue reading
Should I discount my fees?
It doesn’t matter if you’ve main staged with the Dalai Lama or speak at your local Chamber of Commerce, there’s certain things you should never say to your event planner. And one is that you will discount your fees. Just… Continue reading
Should I memorize my speech?
When I got into speaking, people watched DVR’s and listened to CD’s and memorization was the thing. Top speakers memorized a script and then did their thing with slides, video, maybe a little theatre-storytelling. It never worked for me. For… Continue reading
