What is hitchhiking humor? It’s the humor you pick up on the way to your punch line. Let me explain. Often I put a story together and I know what the punch line is going to be. However, at times, through testing, I get a laugh much sooner than I thought and in an area I […]
Continue readingMy Confession I must confess that, in the past, I used to view some audiences as collective groups. For example, I’d think, “Okay, this is a group of engineers so I can’t bring my normal speaking style to this event.” And I’d change my style and almost always fail. Fortunately for me, another speaker pulled […]
Continue readingWhen you build yourself up, you let your audience down. Let’s face it; there are some speakers who use the platform to stroke their ego. I may have been one of them in the past. However, when we talk about how great we are and speak only of our successes, our audience members think of […]
Continue readingMost audiences do not want to be preached to outside of the church. However, it is sometimes easy to fall into preaching especially when you are very passionate about your message. Below are three guidelines you can follow to prevent destroying your speech due to preaching. Guideline #1 – The soft “you” The word “you” is the […]
Continue readingBecause this is the Holiday season, I felt like giving the gift that keeps on giving. Below are five very important newsletters from the past 2-3 years. I’m sure there may be other newsletters of mine that hit you more where you live. However, if you act on the suggestions from these 5, you should […]
Continue readingThis summer my wife and I drove to Erie, Pennsylvania for a wedding. While on Rt. 70 for quite a while, we saw a huge sign that read as follows: Last Place for Fuel and Food for 122 miles” Guess what we did? We stopped at that rest-stop/restaurant park. Why did we stop? It’s because […]
Continue readingBefore you see exactly what an Explosive Activity is, take a look at how it benefits you. After all, it has the power to transform and even save average presentations and turn them into unforgettable experiences for your audience. Benefits of an Explosive Activity Energizes your Audience (and you) while they learn Gives […]
Continue readingShould you toot your own horn when speaking? The answer is yes. However, it’s a must to do it without hitting a sour note with your audience. Why is it important to do? It’s important because your audience has the following question in their minds when you get up to speak: Why should I […]
Continue readingThe following mistakes will keep you from making the impact you should have and from being the speaker you should be. Be honest in evaluating whether you make the mistakes or not. Then, and only then, can you change them. 1. Don’t use too much set-up before you get into your story. This is a […]
Continue readingDo you want to move your audience to action when you speak? Do you want them to want to listen to what you say next? Is there a next step you want your audience to take after your speech? There should be! And it’s important to realize that when you are in speaking, you are in […]
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