There I was, driving down Interstate 95, listening to Charlie “Tremendous” Jones on audio CD the day after I shared the stage with him years ago. Suddenly, he gave the advice that changed my life as a speaker. It can change yours too. He said, Don’t get your audience to listen and memorize; get them […]
Continue readingThere are several do’s and don’ts for creating and walking a timeline on stage. Take a look at the following video and then see 5 tools below that you should keep in mind before your next speech. If you have problems viewing the video initially, then just hit the play button below. 5 Do’s and […]
Continue readingSurely you know the importance of letting your stories sell your messages. However, there are also some other very effective ways to get your audience to take action. Below are three ways including one regularly used by Dr. King and Abraham Lincoln. 1. Most People The words “most people” go a very long way in influencing […]
Continue readingDo you want to add humor to your speech? Don’t. Never add humor to your speech. Always uncover humor within it. There’s a huge difference. Added humor is often forced and you have to go out of the way on a detour to get it. However, uncovered humor is what I call Detour-free humor. In […]
Continue readingRecently I have received many questions from speakers regarding rehearsal. They say, “Craig, how do you rehearse? It seems like you really feed off the audience but you must rehearse, right?” The answer is yes. I rehearse. In fact, the main reason why I rehearse is so I can feed off my audience while still […]
Continue readingThe Most Common Storytelling Mistake By far the most common mistake speakers make with their stories is having too much narration and not enough dialogue. For example, they’ll say something like the following: “And the principal threw me out of the school and told me never to come back.” Now that’s narration. However, dialogue would […]
Continue readingSpeaking involves a series of scenes that you create and then invite your audience into. What does this require? Solid staging. I suggest that you watch this 4-minute video first and then take a look at the strategies below: Staging Strategy Number 1: Let the action prompt your movements The action in your story prompts […]
Continue readingMistake #1: They Tell the audience about themselves Have you ever heard a speaker say something like, “We all have problems and challenges that we need to overcome.”? What’s wrong with that statement? Here it is. Your audience members do not want to be told about themselves. A statement like that makes them think, “You […]
Continue readingDo you want to connect deeply with your audience? Great, then take advantage of the spontaneous moments that occur during your prepared speech. How? Well, before we get into how, let’s look at why. Why should you use spontaneity in speaking? After all, this is supposed to be a prepared speech, right? Why Use Spontaneity? […]
Continue readingIf you’ve been studying my materials, then you already know not to end your speech with the questions and answers section. Instead, if you’re going to have a Q&A, do it before you wrap up in your own powerful way. However, there is also something else that must be done before you close your speech […]
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