Apr 14

America-phile – Life Across the Pond

Hello, hey, bonjour, ciao… alright?

I can’t believe that it’s been eight months
since I’ve written a post on here. Wowsers
trousers. A LOT has changed! As some of my friends and regular readers know in September 2009 I emigrated to the United States of America to marry my long term American girlfriend.

I’m going to catch you up on the things that I’ve been involved with and I provide you with ten tips and food for thought along the way. They’re not all focused on techniques for using humour in presentations. They’re  more goal setting and getting work oriented.

This blog has been offline ever since because, in the past, I have made some commission off affiliate products that I have promoted. In December 2009 new FTC rules came in to force stating that all bloggers and other affiliate marketers have to be explicit about the products that they promote to their readers. Continue reading

Aug 29

Humour and the Art of Non-verbal Communication

There has been much written on the subject of verbal and non-verbal communication. I wanted to provide my 2 pence worth on this subject and how it relates to creating funny presentations. A vast majority of speakers and training companies often misuse research by Dr Albert Mehrabian who statistics have been massaged to provide us with quotes such as:

“Studies show that during interpersonal communication 7% of the message is verbally communicated. While 93% is non-verbally transmitted. Of the 93% non-verbal communication: 38% is through vocal tones, 55% is through facial expressions.” Continue reading

Aug 20

24 Ways to Improve your Presentation Skills

I wanted to provide some quick tips for you to improve your presentation skills. Read, Study, Re-read, memorise and generally imprint the following books, blogs and tips on your brain.

1.    Read the book Presentation Zen by  Garr Reynolds.

2.    Really Bad PowerPoint by Seth Godin  (link to download the PDF)

3.    Grab the book Speech-Making and Presentations Made Easy by Dr Max Atkinson. Check out my review on Amazon.

Continue reading

Aug 14

Improve with Improv – Improvisation for Speakers

I’m pleased and excited to announce that this week I have a guest author here at ProHumorist.com. Angela DeFinis is an author, speaker and consultant. More biographical information appears at the end of this article. Take it away Angela…

You show up to your speaking engagement only to realize that your PowerPoint presentation isn’t opening, the A/V system is down, and there’s a car alarm blaring right outside the window.  There’s a full room of people eagerly waiting for you to begin and there is no turning back now. So what are you going to do? Continue reading

Aug 05

Is There a Cure to Public Speaking Fear?

Consumer Note: I am in no way advocating the usage of this product. I am only providing my thoughts on the creation of such a product and what people can do for themselves without relying on tablets.

A pill has been released that claims to be a public speaking cure. Bravina is a combination of 9 different herbal ingredients including Gingko Biloba and St. John’s Wort. The website says that it aides with relaxation and concentration. Ultimately to help you overcome the fears of public speaking.

While it’s all well and good that people have attempted to create a public speaking cure, I don’t believe that there is a “magic pill” that you can take to alleviate your public speaking fears. Continue reading