Your voice is your leadership: ‘Be deliberate & afraid of nothing’
If there’s any doubt in your mind on whether or not you have ability to lead, I want to celebrate right now (and make clear) that you do. You have ability to take time to think a little about what views and ideas are most timely or important. You have ability to lead those ideas…
Join me 3pm Thursdays for your public speaking mentor hour
You are always invited to my weekly public speaking mentoring hour on ‘webby tube’ as my auntie likes to call it!See you each Thursday on YouTube live at 3pm. This week July 2nd we’ll mix it up with good ole love of language, goodwill, and gaining independence from your fear as a speaker or storyteller.
Props to panel moderators, your awesome goals are vast! And your leadership-content resource guide is here
What’s your interest in or overall perspective toward moderating a panel? Well the leadership and creative opportunity for panel moderators has fascinated me actually for forever. In related discussions, often speakers preparing to moderate panel events (on Zoom or offline) have said many panel programs are not very clear or engaged…or they sometimes come across as…
60 seconds from an awesome voice: Rep. Barbara Jordan at Nixon’s impeachment proceedings
One of my favorite quotes in modern oratory (!) Enjoy her linguistic power while celebrating Juneteenth. Image Attitude by Patrice-Photographiste, Creative Commons License
Technique for panel moderators: when your panelists forget the audience exists
The scene: You are jazzed-up to moderate your panel event! You now find yourself about to conclude a key question…and almost ready to move on with your panel to one of your most anticipated themes and next conversation. But you notice a few of your panelists starting to have their own “conversational tea party”, engaging…
(exercise) How to find a point of view for your talk when the words just aren’t comin’
An exercise just for you (but I love it too!). Set a timer for 20 minutes.Then answer this question: What five beliefs do you hold true about your business and your industry? Reflect upon core assertions that drive you professionally. Permit the flow of ideas without judgment. Then write, write, write. Write the phrase “I…
A vital storytelling decision: the first 15 seconds
A colleague-friend years ago scolded me for how I was preparing for a short talk (to be roughly five minutes of stage time). I recall being very concerned that five minutes with the audience ‘just wouldn’t be enough time to make a credible effort…’ During these informal rehearsals, the intro would start with biographical remarks about…
Forging trust with your stories
What cultivates trust with your audience? It is common for tackling this hot public speaking question in context of ‘to entertain is better’ vs ‘to offer teachable perspective is better’. This at least has been a more recent way to frame the issue in my head! I believe authentic clear perspective as speakers moves trust…
How great (AWESOME) is context for your next speech or story to tell?
I looove all the context ever. It provides orientation, setting, clarity for how the bulk of intended meaning shall ideally unfold. Context gives our oral stories a unifying and structural launching pad for both storyteller and the listeners gracing them. The storytelling experience for our audience builds from relatable ‘chunked’ or thematically grouped scenes, which…
A (fun!) critique for story-slam storytelling
A former colleague asked for critique and feedback for a talk she was to present at a Washington, DC venue. The informal event’s dynamic was inspired by The Moth’s compelling story-slam style and community. I was so curious how this really casual venue and audience could impact engagement for my colleague. So ‘Sure!’ I gladly attended her gig which…
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