All your life…

Fear of impromptu speaking When I tell people that I’m a member of a Speakers Club at which we give speeches for fun, they look at me as though I’m a few fries short of a happy meal. When I tell them that some of the speeches are impromptu, they look at me with the eyes of a man who has been to the edge… and looked over. If public speaking makes people slightly uneasy, then impromptu...

Surfing the video wave

Is the sound of your voice holding your business back? I know this is a public speaking blog – but I want to talk today about online video. Bear with me and I’ll connect the dots for you in a paragraph or two. You see, online video is the coming wave. Whatever line of business you’re in, if you don’t use it in marketing, you’ll get left behind. Far-sighted competitors who’ve adopted...

Oh Mr Darcy….

Colin Firth’s Oscar acceptance speech What a great occasion, the 2011 Oscars Award Ceremony, attended by the great and the good and there standing out like a varicose vein in winter, “The King’s Speech“. Best film, best director, best original screenplay and of course best actor, Mr Colin Firth. From Darcy’s wet shirted enticement to stirrings in his abdomen…...

Great Speeches in Films

Actors can’t give speeches I was chatting to Colin Firth last week…. not that Colin Firth, my neighbour Colin Firth. Incidentally my wife has never been the same since she saw that Colin Firth in the lake scene in Pride and Prejudice. Even now if you mention Mr. Darcy… her legs turn to jelly. Anyway, I was explaining to Colin that many actors just can’t give speeches. They can...

Oscar Speeches and the 3 G’s

Oscar acceptance speeches All this talk about which film will win the best film award, The King’s Speech, Black Swan or The Social Network, has got me thinking about the Oscars. And when you think about the Oscars, you can’t help but think about those awful acceptance speeches. These guys may be trained actors who know how to use their voice and deliver lines, but when it comes to a...