Blog, content, Meetings, performance, Public Speaking, vocal variety

Slow down to keep your audience along for the ride

A comfortable speaking pace to listen to is about 120 words per minute. When we’re nervous or excited, we tend to speak faster. While a faster pace can come across as enthusiastic, speaking too quickly can be very challenging for your audience to listen to. If you speak too fast, your audience may stop listening or miss your point. Especially if your audience does not speak your "language."

Blog, performance, Preparation, Public Speaking

Pitch to impress: A how-to guide

Whether you like it or not, in business you need to pitch. In job interviews you’ll be asked a version of “tell me about yourself” – that’s a pitch. In a corporate environment you’ll need to get the board or stakeholders to buy into your project or idea – that’s a pitch. If you’re selling… Continue reading Pitch to impress: A how-to guide

Blog, body language, fear, performance, Preparation, Public Speaking, training, vocal variety

Get Performance Ready!

Get performance ready with this simple warm-up routine.   You wouldn’t launch into an intensive work-out session at the gym without doing a gentle warm up first, would you? We all know that if we don’t warm up our body before we use it, we are likely to injure ourselves. So why don’t we do… Continue reading Get Performance Ready!

Blog, conferences, Meetings, Preparation, Public Speaking, visual aids

Don’t give your power to the PowerPoint!

What’s the first thing most people do when they put a presentation together? They open PowerPoint or Keynote and start fiddling with fonts and begin copying and pasting large amounts of text from a written report. What’s the problem with these presentations? They’re boring! A presenter who recites information from text-heavy slide decks is not… Continue reading Don’t give your power to the PowerPoint!

Blog, Preparation, Public Speaking, training, vocal variety

Colour your voice with the 4 Ps: Pitch, Pace, Power, Pause

Nobody wants to listen to a robotic, monotonous voice. It's boring, unconvincing and, frankly, difficult to listen to for any length of time. As much as 38% of our message is relayed by our voice, according to research undertaken by Dr. Albert Mehrabian, a UCLA professor and researcher. That means that how we speak has… Continue reading Colour your voice with the 4 Ps: Pitch, Pace, Power, Pause

Blog, Meetings, Preparation, Public Speaking

Are Your Ready for Your Next Presentation? Prepare Yourself with These Questions

Have you been invited to present to your board, staff, a potential client or an industry group? This can be a great opportunity for you. However, when you sit down to put your presentation together, do you know where and how to start? Do you know how to craft a presentation that will impress and… Continue reading Are Your Ready for Your Next Presentation? Prepare Yourself with These Questions