A splash of colour

Make those words stand out… Did the graphic get your attention? Did it shock you? Did it make you stare? Did it make you pull a face? Don’t worry it’s not me after a night on the town and it is paint not blood! Point I’m making, is that pictures grab your attention, they provoke an emotional response. Powerful allies for any Public Speaker or Presenter. In order to harness...

Laugh and the world…

Make em laugh, make em laugh, make em laugh. If you want to see humour used with surgical precision, look back to the 1984 US presidential campaign between Ronald Reagan and Walter Mondale. In response to Mondale’s comments about his age and his capacity to endure the gruelling demands of the presidency Ronald Reagan said… “I will not make age an issue of this campaign. I am not...

Practice, practice, practice…

Wow! You’re a natural… When I was young I wanted to be a good skier. Not easy in England. We don’t have much snow and even fewer mountains. What to do? I joined a ski club, which boasted the longest dry ski slope in England… a staggering 235m! I got to know all the best skiers in the club, had coaching, put in hours of practice, read books, watched videos and eventually I...

How to Write a Speech or Presentation

Writing a speech? Then visit Paris Whenever I visit Paris I always do my favourite walk… from the Louvre to the Arc de Triomphe via the Tuileries the Place de la Concorde and the Champs Elyssee. I start from the Louvre, and the great thing about this walk, is that from the beginning, you know where you’re going. This walk has three parts… a beginning, a middle and an end, the...

Eye Contact in Public Speaking

Speak Eyeball to Eyeball! In his book “Great Speaking – Stage Techniques to Tame Those Butterflies” Hal Persons says…… “In verbal communication, your eyes are the most important organ” Big statement, but is he right?… you bet he’s right. Think about it, when you talk to someone in a normal conversation, you speak eyeball to eyeball and you...