My daughter is four years old. At the end of last year I watched her carol service, and I noticed the level of confidence of all the performers: Absolutely 100%. Regardless of their ability, I saw no fear. Some were thoroughly engaged in the process, enthusiastically enunciating every word, while others seemed almost unaware of what was taking place around them: […]
Speak Like No-one’s Listening Read More »
Prologue: I’ve seen every Star Wars movie. Impressed? No? OK, I saw every Star Wars movie when they were released. Better? Star Wars is important to me for various reasons, and I’ve just realised that seeing ‘The Force Awakens’ tomorrow is actually rather significant; it continues a personal saga that stretches much further than a few VHS cassettes, DVDs, visits to the cinema and
Star Wars: My Story Read More »
Last week a client told me they were worried about rehearsing their current presentation beyond a certain level for fear of affecting their delivery, and they correctly identified the solution (I was extremely chuffed). Let’s be clear, I think that rehearsal is a very good thing, and the more of it you do the better, but (and it’s a but
Word Perfect is Wrong Read More »
I loathe uninventive, predictable talks, delivered by boring characters with little enthusiasm. I love original, surprising talks, delivered by unusual characters who love their subject, know it inside out and want to show how fascinating it is. You have to care what you’re talking about when you’re trying to sell something – Simon Sinek’s ‘Start with Why’ explains this beautifully. Whenever you
The Fear Before a Talk and the Thrill of Success Read More »
Here’s a video of a remarkably confident young man (Casey Gerald) giving a speech at Harvard Business School in 2014. The speech itself is inspirational, but for this post I’m only concerned with the 20 seconds at the beginning (0:06 – 0:26), as it demonstrates what I consider to be the perfect start. Observe the following: He puts
