I’m back, sorry if you missed me yesterday. I threw up a post on Sunday in response to a fellow Brit blogger and it put me off my stride. I’m glad you came back and you’re reading this post, as I want to to about you. There are lots of books out there that provide a rather mathematical approach when it comes to learning how to be funny. That’s why I want to talk about you. I want to talk to you about you.
Feb 17
Institutionalised Public Speaking
Author’s note: Due to some technical difficuties I’ve had to restore my blog. However, in the process I lost some of my posts and comments. Luckily, I had some of my posts backed up. This is why you’re now reading this post again. Thank you for bearing with me.
Are you coasting along with your presenting? Do you bother to continue to learn and develop your skills? Or is there nothing more for you to learn? Amazingly, in my experience, people who do presentations as part of their job, don’t bother to hone and develp their skills. They reach a certain level and remain where they are. This can be especially true for those who do Toastmasters public speaking.
I wanted to share my views on a post put up by one of my friends from the UK public speaking blogosphere Nick R Thomas. He wrote a warning about not becoming an Institutionalised Public Speaker. He talks about his own experiences as a speaker and trainer working towards his Associate Diploma in public speaking. Continue reading
Feb 02
The Power of Myth for Speakers
Stories and storytelling can be quite a powerful thing when it comes to delivering speeches. Whilst we don’t necessarily have to tell epic stories that go on for many, many days I think that it’s useful for us to be aware of how stories are structured.
We also shouldn’t feel obliged to include all of the elements that I’m going to discuss here. This is just what appears in plays, screenplays, myths and novels. These areas come up again and again. Continue reading
Jan 31
101 Presentation Hacks
In my attempt to try and help level the public speaking playing field I present you with a list of 101 Presentation Hacks. I’ve tried to break them up into categories so the list is slightly easier to digest. For additional information check out my post on interesting research presentations.
Preparation
1. Finding a subject; you either pick it yourself or it’s given to you by your job
2. Find your passion in the subject. If you like it, we’ll like it. Continue reading
Jan 28
Memory Hack: How to Learn a speech in 24 hours!
How to Learn Your Speech
Following on from my last post about memory, I thought I’d share with you a technique I learned last year (2008) for memorising a speech in 24 hours!! If you’re one of my British readers you’re probably thinking “Boll*cks, that’s not possible”. Well, it is because I’ve done it. TWICE.
Doesn’t matter whether you’re creating a funny presentation or not. This technique simply works. If you’re wondering how to learn a speech, you’re about to discover an absolutely great technique.
Continue reading
My Production Company
