December 2011
14 posts
50 New Year’s Resolutions for Public Speakers |... →
Out of the 50 I bet each of you could find at least a few of these to call your own. Or maybe set out to add a new one each week throughout the year.
Dec 30th
2 notes
“Communication is everyone’s panacea for everything.”
– Tom Peters
Dec 29th
3 notes
3 tags
Sometimes you just want some plain numbers in your...
While automation is usually a good thing in our documents, sometimes we need to go a little lower tech. Automatic numbering in Microsoft Word certainly makes life easier and helps keep complex documents better formatted than plain text, but sometimes what we need, especially if we are sharing content with others using different applications, is just plain text. Automatic numbering uses a type of...
Dec 27th
4 notes
10 Ways Public Speakers Should Be Like Santa Claus →
A favorite post from this holiday season. Santa may have finished his rounds for 2011 but you can make sure you make it onto your audiences’ nice lists by following the 10 ways of the jolly old elf. Prepare thoroughly. Don’t be afraid to ask for help.  Make a list and check it twice. Deliver the right material for the audience.  Create memorable sentences or phrases that will resonate...
Dec 27th
2 notes
“Communication is about being effective, not always about being proper.”
– Bo Bennett
Dec 22nd
3 notes
“No one ever complains about a speech being too short!”
– Ira Hayes
Dec 21st
1 note
“Ask yourself, ”If I had only sixty seconds on the stage, what would I absolutely...”
– Jeff Dewar
Dec 19th
2 notes
“Good communication is just as stimulating as black coffee, and just as hard to...”
– Anne Morrow Lindbergh
Dec 15th
2 notes
“Effective communication is 20% what you know and 80% how you feel about what you...”
– Jim Rohn
Dec 9th
3 notes
“Communication works for those who work at it.”
– John Powell
Dec 7th
2 notes
3 tags
I give you permission to talk to yourself
No really. Go ahead. Talk. Out loud. To yourself. Get up. Walk around. It’s really the only way to practice your presentation. I know you think you are practicing as you sit there flipping through your slide deck going “and here I’ll talk about this” and “there I’ll go through that.” You sit there going blah, blah blah in your head and guess what, blah is...
Dec 6th
9 notes
“Extremists think “communication” means agreeing with them.”
– Leo Rosten
Dec 5th
“Communication is a continual balancing act, juggling the conflicting needs for...”
– Deborah Tannen
Dec 2nd
3 notes
3 tags
White space not white noise
There have been countless articles about leaving white space on the printed page and in graphical presentations. The brain needs the white space. The eyes need the white space. The text or graphics deserve the white space to make them stand out. To make them special. Noticed. Really observed. But so do the ears. The same brain that needs visual resting places and focal points needs auditory rest...
Dec 1st
9 notes