I remember one of the first times I was asked to speak at an event. I was new into a job after leaving university and this wasn’t a voluntary thing. Oh no. My boss at the time said I had to get used to speaking to groups and he had been approached by the local […]
Archive | Confidence
When to speak up and stand out
Meet Jan. Jan is spectacularly successful in avoiding presentations. She’s done it all her working life. As she rose through the ranks, she delegated presentations to her juniors in the name of ‘development’. She chose the one to ones, the intimate meetings over standing up and speaking to the group. She is the Wizard of […]
Learning from mistakes
When I started my first ‘proper’ job in retail management, my boss called me into his office, said I needed to be good and confident at speaking to groups and immediately set me two tasks. One was to prepare for a short slot at the next management meeting. The other was to go and deliver […]
Personality and purpose
Do you want to know what I love about my job? Seeing patterns and stories and helping others shape and craft their message so that yes, it has impact and influence but more importantly than that, that their personality shines through. I’ve just finished a session this morning with an absolute inspiration of a business […]
What’s your potential as a speaker?
11 ago, I attended a training course on presentation skills. I was an experienced trainer, loved speaking, was confident and had had to speak at meetings most of my managerial and professional life. 2 significant things happened at that training. Firstly, I learned that confidence, competence and enthusiasm were great but not enough Learning how […]
Three reasons why you should refuse to speak in public …and one reason you should
There are three reasons you should say no: If you don’t know what you are talking about If you don’t know what you are talking about you’ve got three options – find someone who does, go find out more or decline to offer to speak. Sounds easy, doesn’t it? And yet, this is a point […]
I speak twice a year (and even then I try to avoid it) – why don’t the nerves go away and why don’t I get any better?
Imagine you were just about to learn how to surf. ( if you are already an experienced surfer, then I am happy for you to comment on the accuracy of my analogy) You slip into your wet suit (doesn’t that make it sound easy!), grab your board and march determinedly towards the open sea. You […]
I want to be me…but my personality flows out of my boots when I stand up to speak
What do you think of when you think of a presenter? What images do you come across when you search for ‘presenter? Nine times out of ten, we think of booted and suited, behind a lectern, against a background of slides and of course smooth, suave and confident! Sometimes, that is what presenting is but […]
I’m ok one to one…it’s just when I stand up to speak in public when it goes pear-shaped!
If I had a pound for the number of times people said to me, ‘ I am fine talking one to one with people, it’s just the thought of standing up and speaking to groups that send me into a tizzy…”, I’d be a very rich woman! What is it do you think, that makes […]
How to deliver a presentation – should I stand or should I sit?
How to deliver a presentation – Should I stand or should I sit? I’ve been asked this question so many times and while the true answer is, it depends, often the real reason someone is asking is that they do not want to stand and are hoping for an easy reason to sit! Why don’t […]
