For the longest time, I thought the subject of body language was a bunch of BS. Then I talked to an expert and realized that it’s not body language that’s BS, but most people’s ideas about body language. That is, the science is valid, but the...
I love public speaking. I spoke to a couple of groups of college students this week and it was a lot of fun. (And if it’s not fun, why do it?) Here are some quick tips that came to mind. 1. Write your own introduction Sometimes the person who introduces you will...
Business presenters often complain about the sight of audience members texting and tweeting away while they speak. I choose to see it as a challenge instead of an annoyance. First, let’s be clear: distracted audiences are nothing new. I remember a college...
Sunday is Oscar Night and there’s only one thing more predictable than Daniel Day Lewis taking home the Best Actor award: it’s the sight of multiple presenters flubbing their lines, mangling their scripted “ad-libs” and exiting the stage in the wrong direction. And...
On this day of speeches, I’m reminded of something I wrote a couple of years ago about how Martin Luther King essentially winged major parts of his I Have a Dream Speech: When Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech, it electrified the...
Whenever I’m involved in a big conference with multiple speakers I make the point that “it’s all one speech.” That is, it’s one big message and each speaker is telling a different part of the story. In real life, of course, that...
