Why don’t we see many women speakers on stage? In a well-known article about the number of conference speakers across 23 countries in the world, men outnumbered women. Is this because women don’t have as much to say? Is this because men are more confident speakers? What’s going on? It is my belief that men […]
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I’ll buy my own wine thank you – and other reasons why we should be standing up and speaking up
She stood there her mind blank. This was the time for her to speak, wasn’t it? It felt like the right moment. But what to say? And how to start? For Catherine, at that moment, there was an opportunity to stand up and speak out…but she bottled it. In the absence of knowing what to […]
Pancakes and possibilities
I made pancakes for breakfast yesterday. They were delicious even if I say so myself. But up until recently, I couldn’t make them for the life of me. I’d pour the batter in the pan, try to stop it from sticking, try to flip and nearly always ended up with some sort of unappetising scrambled […]
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 […]
How do I design PowerPoint slides?
How do I design PowerPoint Slides? First of all – don’t design them, first of all. It’s a misleading title I am afraid. PowerPoint (or other packages) is great. There are many books on slide design and the well-designed slide can make a presentation stand out from all others. I’m all for using slides. But. […]
How to give the best presentation – ever
I attended an event where I heard one of the best presentations I’ve heard for a long time. It wasn’t a professional speaker. It wasn’t very long. And it wasn’t especially professional. But it did three things: It engaged me from the get-go and I never once lost attention The speaker reached out to me […]
How to write a presentation – don’t!
The answer to how do I write a presentation is… you don’t! Let me qualify. If you are a speechwriter, if your presentation needs to be word perfect or you’re speaking in Parliament or the world stage for example, then your speech needs to be written. You may want to write down prompts, links, important […]
Speaking Lessons from Photography..
Just recently I have taken part in a photography challenge Let’s get a few things out in the open first: I am no photographer! I like snapping away on the iPhone (like many of you I suspect) but until recently I was a point and snap type of gal. My camera (Nikon 1) did all […]
Presentations in disguise – are you wearing camouflage?
It is tempting isn’t it…if we have the Big Presentation coming up, the one that matters, the one where it is critical that all goes well – to include all that we know. After all, we want to be credible. We need people to know that we know. But the more information we include the […]
Me, burpees and how you can get better as speaking (by stealth)
For the last year in the mornings I have attended an outdoor boot-camp exercise class… come rain or shine, wind or heat wave, myself and around ten other women run, swing kettlebells, press ups and a variety of other strength exercises. My personal nightmares though are the evil exercises called burpees. For those of you […]
