What can you learn from leaders who captivate others when they speak in public? It’s not just about strong messages, passion, focus, character and conviction. Great leaders tend to have one more trait in common – most use stories to capture the hearts and minds of their audiences. Here’s an example: I wa

Don’t you hate it when you turn up to an event, hoping to learn a thing or two from the speakers, and find yourself disengaged or bored by one lacklustre presentation followed by another? What’s wrong with this picture? Shouldn’t there be laws banning bad presentations? Probably. But in the meantime, her

When you speak in public, do you feel like you’re engaged in one-way communication? It’s not like the give and take of a regular conversation, is it? Or, is it? To an extent. Good speakers are good listeners Let’s get something out of the way up front. Speaking to an audience is clearly not the same as

Any chance you suffer from nerves when called upon to speak? How about fretting about all the stuff that could go wrong or errors you could make? If you said yes, you're not alone.       3 of 4 adults admit to suffering from speech anxiety or ‘glossophobia’ according to a recent study by the National

Speeches often start before you say a single word! Learn why you must pay attention to your introduction to increase the impact you achieve from a presentation.

If you have a strong accent, does it matter when you make a speech? Learn what effect accents have on how people perceive you and react to what you say.

Ever wondered why some speakers get you hanging on their every word and you can't wait to hear what happens next? Learn why storytelling is an essential skill.

While there are many ingredients required to create and deliver a great speech, inject passion into what you say if you want people to do something after you finish speaking. Making sound arguments and establishing trust with...

If you're seeking investments and need to make a pitch to potential investors for funding - here's a secret you need to know to get the attention you want.

When preparing a speech, do you focus more on how you will say something or what your audience will gain from what you say? Are you preparing for failure?

News flash: humans are ignoring more information than ever before! And contrary to the views of the current Mrs. O’Brien, it’s not just husbands...

The BNI Summit Chapter holds a weekly meeting at 7:00am in Howth Golf Club at which members take turns to present their business in just 10 minutes. Just as any sales team has to know about the products, service and...

I was reminded recently of the power of storytelling when making a speech; how stories both captivate and motivate audiences. When driving to a workshop, I heard a radio homage to Steve Jobs. It included a collage of interviews, comments and speeches about and from him. It was incredible. In one excerpt - a gr

Here's a secret about public speaking – there is no such  thing as a perfect speech. Chasing perfection will leave your audience underwhelmed and bored rigid! Audiences don’t expect or crave perfection. What they want is for you to... Say something that is meaningful to them, and Help them to connec

Do you ever sugar-coat bad news? How about over-riding what you know in your heart of hearts? Do you sometimes choose to ignore or avoid accepting reality, so you don’t have to address underlying problems? Right now, there's an epidemic of European leaders - from Berlusconi to Papandreou and Sarkozy to Merkel -

How do you manage your personal brand? Do you actively steer how others perceive you? For those who have embraced the world of social media, the opportunities to make yourself visible are legion - from LinkedIn to Facebook, from Twitter to StumbleUpon and WordPress to a gazillion other broadcasting tools. Vickie