The Crescendo: A Critical Piece Most Speakers Unfortunately Leave Out

Many speakers tell stories that have some ups and downs and maybe even good emotional twists and turns, but they don’t often reach a crescendo. Crescendos are so important because they are defining moments that bring the audience’s energy to its highest point. Without them, your audience can easily be deflated.   What’s a crescendo? […]

10 Places to Find Your Stories To Share With Your Audiences

One of the questions presenters ask me the most is, “Craig, where do you come up with your stories?” I generally look in the following 10 places for clues as to which stories I should develop and share. 1: Go to that part of your life where you don’t want to go. These are often […]

One Surefire Way to Keep the Attention and Interest of Your Audience

The Problem So often I watch speakers tell stories that sound like this: “I did this and I did that and then I did this and then I did that and then this happened to me and then I did that…” And then, at the end of the story, they turn to the audience and […]

How the Inner Game of Public Speaking can Make or Break your Speech (3 Scenarios and Solutions)

There is an inner game of public speaking. What’s going on inside of your mind determines the effectiveness of what comes out of your mouth. Some speakers simply memorize and recite their words and consider that a success. It’s not. That’s a memorization contest. If your mind is focused on remembering what comes next, then […]

My Favorite Secret to Quickly Influence Your Audience and Get More Speaking Engagements

Whether you want to get more speaking engagements, be way more successful every time you’re on stage, or simply have much more influence in business and in life, the following lesson is for you. It will help you create the life, speech, and income that you want. Ready? Dive in. Take a look at the […]

The Most Important Delivery Tool for Speakers to Connect Deeper than Ever Before

The best way to connect with your audience is to have each person feel like you’re speaking directly to him or her. You can use the following tool to make a deeper connection with your audience than you have ever felt before. Click the video for the tool that changed my speaking life and can change […]

Do NOT Forget to Step Out to Bring Your Audience In (a Lesson in Dialogue)

If you follow me at all, you know I believe that dialogue is the heart of your story and therefore the heart of your speech. It breathes life into your speech because… It automatically brings the audience into the present moment of your scene It lets your audience members hear what you heard and see […]

Connect with Your Audience in the first 30 Seconds (4 Ways)

One of the absolute best ways to connect with your audience at the beginning of your speech is with what I call a Customized Callback. Take a look at this video lesson to see 4 ways you can use this tool: Your Turn: What customized callback have you used in a speech?       […]

3 Sacrifices that will Strengthen Every Speech You Give

My mother was an English teacher. My wife is an English teacher. Therefore, I try my best to be grammatically correct. However, in public speaking, I do not believe you must use good grammar at all times. There are times when I sacrifice correct grammar for something that is more important when I am speaking. […]