It was three minutes to the hour and 260-plus people from around the country were waiting online for me to begin a webinar. And after an hour of wrestling with technology, I still wasn’t close to being logged in. My pulse was probably at about 160 beats per...
Like Jerry Seinfeld, I grew up watching old Abbott & Costello re-runs on TV. Here he deconstructs the classic “Who’s on First?” routine to demonstrate why it’s so funny. But the lessons he draws are just as useful for anyone giving a...
It seems one of the greatest anxieties people have about public speaking is coming up with something funny to say in the introduction. But here’s a crazy secret the comedy professionals won’t tell you: you don’t have to be a funny person to be funny....
When it comes to public speaking, nobody put it better than Jerry Seinfeld: According to most studies, people’s number one fear is public speaking. Number two is death. Death is number two. Does that sound right? This means to the average person, if you go to a...
To paraphrase another president: there he goes again! The Obama administration putting a prop to good use, this time upping the ante by having the CIC himself wield it. So glad to see it. I’ve wondered in the past why Obama and other chief executives don’t...
Can speechwriting be taught? To an extent, yes. But the key ingredient that separates a good speech from a great speech will always be elusive. I was reminded of this by an NPR story this morning. It described a concept called appoggiatura, which one expert says is...
