What you do in the first two minutes can absolutely make or break your speech. My number one goal is to connect quickly with my audience and I can do this using humor, curiosity, and involvement. Click below to listen to the first two minutes of a recent 45-minute keynote speech I gave to […]
Continue readingYou might have the greatest content in the world, but, if you do not connect with your audience, it all goes to waste. That’s like being on the phone and having something very important to tell your friend but the call keeps dropping. No matter what you had to say will not get through. However, […]
Continue readingAudiences remember what they see and what you say. As you watch the following video of me coaching another speaker, you will pick up 7 Secrets that will help you… Breathe life into every story/speech Uncover organic humor Make your message memorable 7 Speaking Secrets Secret #1: Don’t be the hero of your own […]
Continue readingWhen you connect with one audience member, it usually does wonders in helping you connect with the entire group. I believe this is because, by pointing out individuals in the group, the group begins to realize that you see them as individuals and not as one large group. They realize that you are really listening […]
Continue readingWhat 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 […]
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