Podcasts about public speaking fear

It's time to set the record straight. ANYONE can be a fantastic, world-class speaker with a little bit of training, a little bit of coaching, and a little bit of practice. It doesn't take years of study and practice. It also doesn't require thousands of dollars of investment. In fact, one of the things that I tell my clients early in our coaching sessions is, "Just about everything that you have ever learned about public speaking is wrong."In this session, I'm going to debunk a few of the biggest myths about public speaking. Perhaps by identifying a few of these myths, you can reduce some presentation nervousness.For full show notes, visit:The Top Five (5) Biggest Myths about Public Speaking Fear and Stage Fright Debunkedhttps://www.fearlesspresentations.com/top-5-myths-about-public-speaking-fear/

From time to time, I hear people say things like, "She is a natural speaker." On the other hand, I also hear things like, "I've always been a terrible speaker." Both of these statements may be somewhat true. But they are also both absolutely false as well. No one comes out of the womb a fantastic orator. In addition, everyone has the talent to speak. Many people just fail to develop their natural talent.Your personality strengths and weaknesses will often lead you to think one way or the other. Every personality temperament has some strengths when they communicate. Of course, each of them have some weaknesses as well. So, if you understand your personal personality strengths and weaknesses, you can maximize your strengths and minimize your weaknesses. As a side benefit, this process is also helpful to reduce public speaking fear.SHOW NOTES: https://www.fearlesspresentations.com/Personality-Strengths-and-Weaknesses-that-Lead-to-Public-Speaking-Fear

When folks ask me what I do for a living, I answer, “I help people eliminate public speaking fear.” It is always fun to watch the looks on their faces when they process what I said. Inevitably, I will typically get a response like, “You do what?” or “How do you do that?” The process is really simple. In fact, anyone can reduce public speaking fear if they follow this process. Over the last 20 years, our great public speaking class instructors have perfected this three-step process. It works every-single-time!By the way, if you want details about the technical process that we use to reduce public speaking fear, click here.In this session, we explain this simple process.Identify Where the Public Speaking Fear is Coming From. If you know where the fear is coming from, you can mitigate the chances of it appearing.Minimize the Risk of Failure.. Once you know where the fear comes from, look for ways to minimize the risk when those situations occur.Stack Up a Series of Successes. When you practice the skill and have a success, your confidence will grow. So, the faster you can have a series of success, the faster your confidence will grow.SHOW NOTES: https://www.fearlesspresentations.com/eliminate-public-speaking-fear-in-three-easy-steps

There is an obvious reason why people come to the Fearless Presentations ® website and classes. They want to get over the fear of public speaking once-and-for-all. I have personally taught over 2000 public speaking classes in my career. (Yup... I'm old.) Although every class (and every class member) is a unique experience, all had a single thing in common. The people took time out of their schedule to find a way to eliminate public speaking fear.SHOW NOTES: https://www.fearlesspresentations.com/10-simple-ways-to-get-over-the-fear-of-public-speaking/

Catchy presentation titles are important when you begin to design a great presentation. Your audience will determine whether your presentation is worthy of their time almost instantly. In most cases, they make that determination based entirely on the title of the speech. In this session, I'm going to show you a quick and easy way to come up with a great title for your presentation. If you do this well, it will actually make your audience want to pay attention to your speech. I always say in class, "If you start with a great title, the presentation almost writes itself."SHOW NOTES: https://www.fearlesspresentations.com/catchy-presentation-titles-are-the-start-of-a-great-presentation

Want to know how to design presentations, from start to finish, in minutes versus hours or days? There are different types of presentations. Each different style has a different purpose. So the correct number of bullet points to cover and the correct amount of content to include is very important. The key rule is to cover as many bullet points as you need and absolutely no more. Secondly, add content to prove each bullet point until you're sure that your audience agrees with you, and then move on.In this session, I cover how to determine what content (and how many bullet points) are needed for each type of presentation. If you follow this format, you can design your entire presentation very quickly and easily.SHOW NOTES: https://www.fearlesspresentations.com/how-to-design-presentations-quickly/

This week, I was looking back over the 100 plus blog posts and podcast episodes that we have released. One of the things that hit me was that there is a very important part of the presentation that I have totally overlooked. In fact, this is one of the first things that I train my instructors on when I train new trainers. This important part of the presentation is the room setup. Proper room set up for a presentation can actually improve your performance in front of a group. The downside is true as well. Improper room set up can actually make you more nervous and make delivering the presentation more difficult.SHOW NOTES: https://www.fearlesspresentations.com/proper-room-set-up-for-a-presentation-can-help-you-present-better/

I was teaching the best public speaking course ever last month. Early in the program, I asked the class members, “What physically happens to people when they get nervous in front of a group?” One of the first answers was, “They lose eye contact with the audience.” My response to the class member was, “Yes, eye contact in presentation skills is important, but keeping great eye contact isn’t as hard as what you might think.” Lack of eye contact is a symptom of presentation nervousness. So, when you reduce nervousness, the symptom almost always automatically go away.SHOW NOTES: https://www.fearlesspresentations.com/eye-contact-in-presentation-skills-is-important-but-not-as-hard-as-you-think/

What happens when someone forces you to deliver a bad presentation? You didn’t design the speech. You didn’t even create the endless slideshow. However, you are the one who has to stand in front of the group and deliver this gem. So, how do you deliver a bad presentation? Are there things that you can do to make a lousy presentation better? Of course. In this episode, I’ll show you some things that you can do to improve any presentation.SHOW NOTES: https://www.fearlesspresentations.com/how-to-deliver-a-bad-presentation/

The Real Shark - How to Be a Professional Presenter with Guest Brian Burkhart

Once you have a great course designed, now you will want to spend time actually training your trainers. Step one is to help them develop good public speaking skills. Public Speaking is a Skill Remember that being a great public speaker is not a natural gift. It is a skill. This skill takes time to develop. When help companies create or revitalize a train-the-trainer process, we almost always start here. If the Subject Matter Experts are confident and if they communicate well, the programs are always more effective. If the SME’s are poor communicators, the process will fail almost 100% of the time.SHOW NOTES: https://www.fearlesspresentations.com/train-the-trainer-model-how-to-create-a-train-the-trainer-course/

The Train-the-Trainer Model is very common in the business world. However, many Train-the-Trainer programs have big flaws. A good analogy of what happens during this process is the old “telephone game.” Put ten people in a room. Whisper a phrase with more than 10 words into the ear of the first person. The second person then relays the message to the third person. This process continues over and over until the phrase reaches the final person. When you compare the first message with the last message, they will be totally different. This is what often happens when organizations try to implement a train-the-trainer model of employee development.SHOW NOTES: https://www.fearlesspresentations.com/train-the-trainer-model-how-to-create-a-train-the-trainer-course/

How, exactly do we collect feedback on a presentation? Are there ways to solicit feedback that will help us grow as speakers? The answer is, absolutely, YES! However, the way that you typically ask for feedback may not be the best way to gain confidence as a speaker. In fact, many traditional feedback techniques can actually make you more nervous. In addition, speakers will sometimes make adjustments to their delivery based on anecdotal issues. This can start a snowball effect that leads to terrible presentation skills.SHOW NOTES: https://www.fearlesspresentations.com/How-to-Collect-Feedback-on-a-Presentation/

This is part 4 of a five-part series of 101 Public Speaking Tips. In this episode, we cover 15 places that you can practice your presentation skills. Many of these venues are ones where organizers are constantly looking for presenters. They are also pretty low pressure. (most people who deliver in these venues are not that good. So, if you are, even just an okay speaker, these audiences will likely love you.SHOW NOTES: https://www.fearlesspresentations.com/101-public-speaking-tips/

This is part 3 of a five-part series of 101 Public Speaking Tips. In this episode, we cover ways to add showmanship to your presentation. We also give a few tips about organizing your presentations better. We finish with a bunch of PowerPoint Tips. So, if you have to create or deliver PowerPoint presentations, this episode will be great for you.SHOW NOTES: https://www.fearlesspresentations.com/101-public-speaking-tips/

This is part 2 of a five-part series offering 101 Public Speaking Tips. In this episode, we cover a number of tips that will help you add content and impact to a presentation. The first few tips cover how to be a better storyteller when you speak. We also cover a number of ways to get your audience to participate in your presentation. We end with some of Doug’s favorite Impact Ideas for presentations.SHOW NOTES: https://www.fearlesspresentations.com/101-public-speaking-tips/

In honor of our 101st episode, we have decided to violate a few public speaking rules and cover 101 Public Speaking Tips. This is part one of a five-part episode where we give 101 public speaking tips. Each of the five episodes is divided into sections. In part one, we cover four ways to create a great presentation outline. In addition, this episode has nine ways to reduce public speaking nervousness. We end with a number of ways to increase enthusiasm and energy.SHOW NOTES: https://www.fearlesspresentations.com/101-public-speaking-tips/

This is episode 100, A Revolutionary Way to Eliminate Public Speaking Fear. This is our centennial podcast, and for those of you who have been listening for a while, you’ll know that I have been promoting this episode for a while. Today, we are going to reveal our new process that is going to revolutionize the way that people reduce public speaking fear. We have been working on this content for the better part of an entire year. It started with the redesign of the 2-Day Fearless Presentations ® class that we released in February of this year. Next, we spent almost six months redesigning the online version of our training course. For the last few months, we have been working on ways to combine in-person training and coaching with digital training programs to reinforce content and speed up the learning process. By the way, if you listen to the entire podcast today, I’m going to give you a $600 gift at the end, so hang in there, I’m going to reveal a ton a fantastic content to you today.So make sure to listen to the entire podcast and share it with your friends!

Body language in public speaking is the nonverbal queues that your movements make during communication. Presenters often focus on what they are going to say and their visual aids. However, we often overlook an important part of the speech -- body language. In public speaking, if you look poised and confident, your audience will believe you are poised and confident.In this session, we'll cover a few simple public speaking ideas that will help you stand and move better. First, we show how important nonverbal communication is during your presentation. Next, I'll give you a few, simple tips to look more confident (even if you're nervous). Finally, I'll share a presentation secret that, once you understand it, will change the way you present.SHOW NOTES: https://www.fearlesspresentations.com/body-language-in-public-speaking/

If you deliver presentations at the office, you'll often look for ways to create better PowerPoint presentations. Let's face it. Most meetings are pretty boring. They are also repetitive. So, if you are a speaker, and you deliver PowerPoint slideshows, they can be a challenge. As the speaker, we want to do something a little different. Also, your audience will want you to do things a little different every once in a while. So, below are a few simple ways to create better PowerPoint presentations without a lot of additional effort.I'm embarrassed to say that, just this past week, I delivered a terrible PowerPoint speech to my office. Keep in mind, I've been teaching public speaking skills for over 20 years. I also deliver two to four classes, workshops, or speeches every week. So, if I can fall into this trap, anyone can fall into this trap.SHOW NOTES: https://www.fearlesspresentations.com/three-simple-ways-to-create-better-powerpoint-presentations

Here are a few tips to keep in mind when you present a bid proposal. Here is the scenario... You have done your homework. A team at your company painstakingly created the perfect sales proposal. In fact, the potential client was so impressed, that they moved you to their "shortlist." Now, though, they want you to present a bid proposal to the purchasing committee. Your team is one of just six to eight other companies competing for this contract. How do you make sure that the committee picks your team? Well, not to brag, but over the years, groups that I have coached have received over 80% of these contracts. Just follow this simple sales presentation outline, and your team will have a better shot at winning as well.SHOW NOTES: https://www.fearlesspresentations.com/present-a-bid-proposal-great-sales-presentation-outline/

You have identified a problem or opportunity for your company. Now you need to get approval. So, how do you present a proposal to management that will get approved? The process is actually pretty simple. In fact, the method of how to present a proposal to management that we use works about 100% of the time. Just follow the simple steps below, and your project will easily get funded.SHOW NOTES: https://www.fearlesspresentations.com/how-to-present-a-proposal-to-management/

As we approach the 100th podcast episode, I'm amazed at how my company and training program have changed. I'm actually shocked at how important continuous improvement methodologies have been to this process. By the way, if you are looking for a long series of academic continuous improvement methodologies, this isn't it. However, if you can see what happened to me, The Leader's Institute ®, and Fearless Presentations ® over the last year, I hope you can gather some great tips to improve your own success!SHOW NOTES: https://www.fearlesspresentations.com/continuous-improvement-methodologies-improve-success/

Do you need a business presentation coach? Well... It depends... Last week, I gave a number of different reasons why presentation skills are important to business success. Great presentation skills can create opportunities for advancement and increase income. How exactly do you improve your presentation skills, though? In this post, we are going to cover the pros and cons of hiring a business presentation coach. In addition, we'll cover how to choose a good coach.SHOW NOTES: https://www.fearlesspresentations.com/business-presentation-coaching-should-you-get-a-presentation-coach/

I was reminded this week about the importance of presentation skills in the workplace. Three participants in my presentation skills class in Detroit taught job placement skills. I noticed a couple of interesting things as the class went on. First, these participants offered tips in their class presentations similar to what I teach. These three class members also developed their presentation skills very quickly. Basically, they had well-developed communication skills that helped them be more successful in business. They developed presentation skills quickly because they already had great communication skills. The opposite is true as well. Presentation skills help you communicate better in the business world. (That is the importance of presentation skills in the workplace!)SHOW NOTES: https://www.fearlesspresentations.com/the-importance-of-presentation-skills-in-the-workplace/

Okay, so we know that stories are fantastic pieces of evidence during the formal presentation. In addition, stories are as fantastic as answers to tough questions during question and answer sessions. But when we are under a deadline or currently in front of a tough audience, why are stories hard to remember? Three challenges occur when we are asked a tough question from the audience or we are otherwise put on the spot. First, panic sets in. When we panic, it is very difficult to think clearly. Second, negative self-talk can make us feel even more uncomfortable when already feeling anxious. Finally, and most devastating, we second-guess ourselves constantly during the process.SHOW NOTES: https://www.fearlesspresentations.com/remember-stories-from-your-life-to-insert-into-presentations/

Great speakers know how to tell a great story. This podcast will give you the five key steps of storytelling that these great speakers know. This is a continuation of the podcast on how inserting stories into your presentations reduces public speaking fear. In that podcast, I mentioned a recent class member who told me that he just wasn't good at storytelling. If you feel the same way, then these steps of storytelling can be very helpful for you. Just between you and me, though... Whether you follow these steps exactly or not, just the fact that you are inserting stories into your speeches is a big advantage. Most presenters in the business world give very BORING speeches. A well-placed story makes your message much more interesting and entertaining.Want to Know How to Tell a Great Story, the Steps of Storytelling Are Not as Important as the Story Itself.Storytelling in our personal lives is very normal. When we get together with friends or family, we build rapport by sharing stories about ourselves. I went to my High School reunion a few years ago. I was visiting with friends that I haven't seen for decades. What was funny, though, was that I expected that it would be a bunch of old people reminiscing about stories from our teenage years. However, the opposite occurred. It was really interesting to hear about what my friends had done since High School. We spent hours catching up. And the way that we caught up was by telling great stories to each other about our experiences. Many of my friends had accomplished some pretty impressive things. However, none of them sounded like they were bragging.The biggest public speaking secret that I know is that you can do the exact same thing in your speeches. When you share stories of your successes, your audience lives vicariously through your stories. I remember growing up hearing the phrase, "Experience is the best teacher." After being a business owner for 20 plus years now, I realize how dumb that statement is. Experience is NOT the best teacher. Someone else's experience is the best teacher. When I hear a story about how someone else accomplished a goal that I want to accomplish, I can learn from it. I don't have to experience all the turmoil that he or she went through.So, follow the steps of storytelling below. However, just realize that the steps, in and of themselves, are not as important as the actual stories. Pick a good story to tell, the steps don't matter.SHOW NOTES: https://www.fearlesspresentations.com/the-5-steps-of-storytelling-how-to-tell-a-great-story/

Feel nervous about speaking in public? Tell a story in your speech (early), and you can reduce public speaking fear dramatically. One of the first public speaking secrets that we share in our public speaking training classes is that stories are your friend. When you tell a story, you reduce presentation jitters and build rapport with your audience. Don't believe me? Watch any professional motivational speaker on YouTube. You will find that their entire speech is composed of a series of individual stories that they link together. In this post, we will cover some of the major benefits of telling stories as well as some tips on how to do it.SHOW NOTES: https://www.fearlesspresentations.com/tell-a-story-in-your-speech-and-reduce-public-speaking-fear/

Looking for an elevator speech template? In this podcast, I'm going to explain how to create a 30-second commercial (elevator pitch) for yourself. (Or for your company.) This elevator speech can be used to introduce yourself to a new contact, help you get an interview, or help you sell an idea to a decision-maker. This type of presentation is critical when you have to grab a person's attention in a positive way and time is short. In this podcast, we will cover a brief history of the concept, an elevator speech template, and a few examples.SHOW NOTES: https://www.fearlesspresentations.com/elevator-speech-template-how-to-create-a-30-second-commercial-for-yourself/

Whatever your vocation, you’ll likely find yourself in front of a crowd at some point. And whether you’re a spokesperson, a motivational speaker, an athlete, an entrepreneur, a CEO, or simply a student, you’re a busy person, with more things to do than to sit there and memorize the lines for a speech or presentation. Take heart! The best speeches aren’t memorized line by line, but learned. Most people can tell when you’re reciting a speech from memory, rather than speaking about a subject you know thoroughly. That’s because when you deliver a speech you know inside and out, you sound more interested. There are inflections in your voice, and you’re not staring at your notes, so you’re freed up to make eye contact with your audience. You’d be a far better speaker than someone who is rattling off lines they’ve committed to memory.We’ve got some great tips about how to memorize your speech on a tight timeline.1) Don’t Memorize a Speech – Learn an OutlineInstead of learning eight pages of notes, which is impossible for most people in such a short period of time, commit to learning your speech’s outline.Write down points that you absolutely have to cover, in the order that you cover them, and commit that to memory instead. A common outline is introduction – supporting point 1—supporting point 2—conclusion. For business presentations, the common outline is: identifying the problem—presenting the solution—benefit 1—benefit 2—call to action.This is where knowing your subject comes in. You can talk around the points you have to cover, filling in the gaps and bridging the subjects with anecdotes, examples, and related stories. It’s far more natural-sounding this way.2) Assign Mental Pictures for Each Point You Write DownThis is a great technique if your short-term memory isn’t that good, or you keep forgetting a specific part of your speech.Dissect the section of the speech you’re stuck in, and imagine a scene or object that somewhat resembles it. For instance, if you’re speaking about animal health, and you want to talk about dogs, and then cats, don’t remember the words – try picturing a dog standing next to a cat. Why? It’s easier to remember images than words.Next time you’re reciting the speech, you might get stuck in the same topic again. What do you think will happen when you try to recall what’s next? You’ll probably see images of cats and dogs in your head, and that’s when your brain will start connecting the dots.3) Map it Out in Your Memory PalaceThis is the same principle used when memorizing a deck of cards. Basically, you picture a room then associate each item in that room with a particular card, to help you recall them.Now, pick a location you can easily remember in great detail. It could be your bedroom, kitchen, or even your closet. Then create a logical ‘route,’ based on which objects you see first. For example, what are the objects you’ll see on the walk from your bedroom door to your bed?After deciding on a route, imagine taking that route and focusing on the items AND the order you see them. Using the bedroom example, when you open the door, you enter and see your desk and laptop in front, and on the left side you see a bedside table and a lamp. Next to the bedside table is your bed.Now you can use the outline of your presentation to make visual associations with items in your memory palace. Don’t worry if the associations are weird, or outlandish, as that will actually help you recall them faster. The important thing is that the object and topic associations are in the same chronological order as the items you see using your chosen route.Keep Picturing until it SticksLet yourself get comfortable with your speech’s outline and image associations. Now, when you get up on stage, you won’t be struggling to remember words on a page. All you have to do is picture those objects, which represent your ideas and points, inside that room. Only thing you have to do now is imagine yourself opening

So you did it! You graduated at the top of your class. Now you have to write your Valedictorian Speech. However, since this is the first (and only) time you will ever do it, you may not know exactly how to write a valedictorian speech. You are not alone. Just about every Valedictorian or Salutatorian has gone through this. You work very hard to get to the top, and now you have five minutes to educate, entertain, and inspire your classmates. And, of course, the task is so much easier because your classmates are so accepting and non-judgmental. (Yeah, right!)Well, this podcast can show you step-by-step on how to write a Valedictorian Speech (or Salutatorian Speech). This is the final part of our five-part series on How to Design a Presentation. In the previous podcasts, we have covered how to persuade an audience, best practices for a commencement speech, and wedding toast tips. So, check out any of the other podcasts for additional details.SHOW NOTES: https://www.fearlesspresentations.com/valedictorian-speech-how-to-write-a-valedictorian-speech/

Have you been asked to deliver a commencement speech? Or have you worked your butt off to become valedictorian or salutatorian, and now you have to deliver a graduation speech? In this session, we will cover one of the more challenging types of presentation creation: How to Write a Graduation Speech. (By the way, I have also included a few popular graduation speech examples as a guide for you.)This post is a continuation of our How to Create a Presentation series. We are going to break this session down into three parts, though. We will show you how to create a commencement speech in this session. Next week, I'll show you how to write a valedictorian speech and how to deliver a salutatorian speech. Each of these graduation speeches has a slightly different purpose, but all of them need to be inspirational and funny.SHOW NOTES: https://www.fearlesspresentations.com/how-to-write-a-graduation-speech-graduation-speech-examples/

Want to learn how to write a persuasive speech? Want to make sure that you persuade your audience without raising resentment? Well, if you use the techniques that you likely learned in school, you will often fail at both of these goals. In high school, you most likely learned that to write a good persuasive speech, you have to do research, list the pros and cons, and then use lots of data to win over your audience. This technique is a terrible way to persuade people. Most often, it actually causes the other person to want to play "Devil's advocate" and argue with you. In this article, we are going to show you a simple way to win people to your way of thinking without raising resentment. If you use this technique, your audience will actually WANT to agree with you!SHOW NOTES: https://www.fearlesspresentations.com/persuasive-speech-how-to-write-a-persuasive-speech/

Continuing in our series on how to design a presentation, in this episode, we will show you how to write a wedding toast. Over the years, I've had a few people come through our entire presentation training classes just to be able to not be terrified when they give a best man toast or father of the bride toast. Even though this is typically a very short speech, there is always a lot of pressure involved. Anytime we are being honored with an important role in a wedding, we want to do well. This article can give you a few tips to make your words the absolute best wedding toast, ever. (By the way, even if you aren't participating in a wedding, this guide can help you deliver any short toast or speech.)SHOW NOTES: https://www.fearlesspresentations.com/wedding-toast-how-to-write-a-wedding-toast/

Looking for how to write a speech in a few simple steps? Over the last 20 years, our instructors have dissected thousands of speeches. In that time, we've been able to identify simple things that can easily make or break a presentation. We've assembled a simple, step-by-step process that explains how to write a speech quickly and easily. Once you understand the concepts below, you can use our Online Speech Creator to organize and print your presentation. A little warning, though, the process is straightforward if you follow every step. If you skip a step, you can get bogged down, and the process can take a lot of time. However, if you follow the steps, you can write any speech in just a few minutes (versus hours or days)!This podcast is the first in a series designed to help people create their presentations from scratch. Last year, I wrote a post about writing a eulogy. In this series, we will cover a few other types of speeches that are common such as a wedding toast, a school book report, a persuasive speech, and a graduation speech.A Few Concepts You Need to Know Before Writing a Speech Remember that, in a speech, less is more. Short is better than long. No one ever said, "That meeting was so good, I wish everyone would have spoken longer." So, a few concepts (bullet points) covered really well is much better than a bunch of stuff covered in a cursory way. Another great tip is that writing a presentation word-for-word and then trying to memorize your entire speech is hard. Instead, create a presentation outline and use literary devices to add "meat to the content." For instance, examples and stories are fantastic reinforcement for your points or concepts. You can also use analogies, quotes, and visual aids to prove your points.SHOW NOTES: https://www.fearlesspresentations.com/how-to-write-a-speech-just-few-simple-steps/

Want to know how to overcome glossophobia? Does stage fright sometimes make you pass up opportunities in your career? Do you feel like you have an irrational fear of public speaking? You are not alone! Glossophobia or the fear of public speaking is very common. After being in the presentation skill industry for decades, now, though, I've come to realize that the statistics about this fear are really confusing. I've seen public speaking fear statistics as low as 7% of the population and as high as 95%. What I have come to realize is that the statistics really depend on the definition of Glossophobia that you are using.SHOW NOTES: https://www.fearlesspresentations.com/how-to-overcome-glossophobia-an-irrational-fear-of-public-speaking/

Short anecdotes for speeches are a fantastic way to end a presentation with a bang. These stories can be fiction, actual incidents from history, or even just funny stories from your own personal life. When you deliver them well, though, they have a lasting impact. I often use these short anecdotes for speeches where I am training to teach something meaningful to the audience. So, in most instances, these stories are used in training sessions or motivational speeches. The anecdotes themselves are often entertaining, some are even funny, but when you use the story to relay a greater message, they have a magic quality. The important part of the process is to spend time, in the end, tying the incident back to the main point of your presentation.My daughter graduated from High School last weekend, and the keynote speaker was a local pastor in the area. He used a well-known anecdote in a masterful way as the start of the commencement speech (is that redundant?). Since he was a pastor, he told the story of John the Baptist baptizing Jesus. Being a professional speaker, I was wondering exactly how he was going to tie that story to a graduation ceremony. He went on to explain how many Christians might see a "Baptism" as the ending point. In Jesus' case, though, that was the start of his public ministry. The pastor then shared with the graduating class that many of them are likely seeing the ceremony at the end of their schooling. In reality, though, commencement means the beginning. It was really well done and very inspirational to the graduating class.So, I thought that it might be fun to just jot down a few of the most inspirational (or just funny) short anecdotes for speeches that I have come across in my career. Perhaps you can use them in your next presentation.SHOW NOTES: https://www.fearlesspresentations.com/short-anecdotes-for-speeches-and-parables-to-amaze-your-audience/

Looking for a quick and easy way to memorize an entire presentation quickly? Well, the solution to how to memorize a speech in minutes will likely surprise you. In this article, we will cover a few important points. First, we will cover the big mistakes that most people make when they design a presentation that makes memorizing the presentation much harder. Next, we cover a few memory techniques that are common among professional speakers. (These tips are fantastic, and they work really well.) However, in the third part, I will show you how to actually design your entire presentation where you won't have to memorize ANYTHING! If you use this technique, your audience will see you as being absolutely brilliant, and your speech will also be fantastically easier to deliver.SHOW NOTES: https://www.fearlesspresentations.com/in-a-hurry-heres-how-to-memorize-your-speech-in-less-than-60-minutes/

One of the most important aspects of many speeches is the ability to be persuasive. There is an art to creating a persuasive speech, but there is also a lot of communication skills that are important to the process as well. In this session, we will help you develop and strengthen communication skills that will help you use your words to gain enthusiastic cooperation from your audience.This is part five of our series on Improving Communication Skills. In part one, we talked about how a great communication coach can help you improve your communication skills more quickly. Next, we showed you a few simple things that you can do to shut down a heckler or someone who is peppering you with negative questions. In part three, we gave a number of ways to build trust and rapport with your audience. Then, finally, last week, we covered a few conflict resolution tips.SHOW NOTES: https://www.fearlesspresentations.com/how-to-gain-enthusiastic-cooperation-from-your-audience/

If you practice great presentation skills and focus on designing your presentations on what your audience needs and wants, you will likely not have much trouble with hecklers. However, it only takes a single mad-at-the-world heckler to quickly turn your presentation masterpiece into modern art. So, when you are rudely interrupted, you will want to have a strategy that calms the heckler and makes you continue to look like the expert in the room. One of the more recent occurrences in social media is the birth of "internet trolls." While internet trolls and hecklers have a couple of things in common, such as mean and offensive language, internet trolls are able to hide their real identities in fake online accounts. The majority of them aren’t really mean in real life. Hecklers, on the other hand, are braver in a way that they’re confident in attracting negative attention to themselves without masking their identity. Online trolls can be ignored. Ignoring a heckler while giving a speech is not so easy, though, and can cause you to lose credibility in front of your audience.SHOW NOTES: https://www.fearlesspresentations.com/4-strategies-for-handling-hecklers-while-giving-a-speech/

A good communications coach (formal or informal) can help you identify communication strengths and weaknesses. Years ago, I was having coffee with a colleague. He mentioned that he had just had a session with his "personal coach." During the session, this coach helped him the layout, in pretty good detail, so strategic goals that he should be focusing on. Between you and me, the whole discussion seemed weird to me. Honestly, I thought that this "coach" was, most likely, a con-artist. I had heard about these people who had never really accomplished anything in their lives, but who paid for some weekend certification to get a certificate to become a certified life coach. After he mentioned his session, I, in my sarcastic way, told him, "Man, I could have told you that for free."It's funny, because, I guess I'm a skeptic by nature. So, if you are trying to sell me on the value of something new to me, you'd better have some solid proof. Interestingly, just six years prior to that conversation, my communications coach had helped me increase my financial success by almost double. I just didn't realize that she was a "communications coach." I had been working for an oil company. At the time, the price of oil was at rock bottom, so chances of advancement were slim. In fact, my company had just started laying off people, and I was one of the last guys hired. I had spent four years getting a university degree that was specific to the oil industry, so I was terrified about what I was going to do for a living. Out of desperation, I ended up taking a three-month leadership development course. The instructor for this course was not a fly-by-night teacher who gained her experience from a seminar. Instead, she was a highly successful business person who had also trained with some of the most successful entrepreneurs in the area. She was able to shave years off of my learning curve.In fact, less than a year after finishing her leadership class, I changed careers and quickly been promoted into management. I was making more money in my monthly bonus checks than I had made at the oil company. The funniest part about that conversation I had with my colleague was that, if I had never met this leadership coach, I would not have ever been at that table, having coffee in the first place.SHOW NOTES: https://www.fearlesspresentations.com/a-good-communication-coach-can-help-shore-up-communication-weaknesses/

So how do you create an online training course that people don't hate? Six months ago, we set out to recreate the online version of The Fearless Presentations ® Course. To be blunt, when we started, I just assumed that we would just update the videos of the old version, make it look prettier, and be done. However, the more we updated the more opportunities that we noticed. I think my biggest obstacle at the beginning was my preconceived notions about online training.SHOW NOTES: https://www.fearlesspresentations.com/online-training-best-practices-that-supports-your-in-person-training-sessions/

The world is constantly changing. In the past, businesses thrived when they created a single new product or idea and brought it to market. Today, though, businesses thrive by adapting to and adopting best practices that are constantly evolving and changing. One thing is for certain, if you stay still or rest on your laurels, you will fail. The world of training and employee development is also evolving. If you are training and developing your employees the same way that you did 20 years ago, 10 years ago, heck, even just a couple years ago, you are likely falling behind many of your competitors. In this episode, we are going to delve into some modern examples of training and development programs for employees. We could call this 2019 Training and Development Models, and the title would be quite descriptive.SHOW NOTES: https://www.fearlesspresentations.com/modern-examples-of-training-and-development-programs-for-employees-2019/

What are the most important qualities of a good public speaker? What makes a great presenter? What are the qualities that allow one orator to get up in front of an audience and memorize the crowd while another fails? Well, science may offer the answer to these questions. When I first started teaching the Fearless Presentations® classes, I did so because I knew from my own experience that the more self-confident a presenter appears to an audience, the more respect that the audience will have for that presenter. In addition, chapter one of my first book was about enthusiasm, because I knew that out of all of the characteristics of a good speaker, enthusiasm was the absolute, most important. Over the years, though, our instructors have worked with over 20,000 presenters. Some had a natural presence in front of groups. Others, however, had to develop a public speaking skill in order to be perceived as being a great public speaker. Below are the seven qualities of a good public speaker that we have identified as the most important. In addition to our observations as public speaking coaches, we have also added the scientific proof that we also uncovered along the way.SHOW NOTES: https://www.fearlesspresentations.com/7-qualities-of-a-good-public-speaker-that-every-presenter-should-know-and-emulate/

I was teaching a presentation skills class in Houston this week, and I had two separate participants pull me aside at two separate breaks and ask the same exact question... "Why do I still get nervous when I speak in public?" This question is very common (both during a presentation class, and sometimes, even afterward). When you understand the answer to this question, though, you have a much better chance of eliminating your public speaking fear for good. The answer has three parts.First, many of the things that we do to reduce public speaking nervousness will actually cause the nervousness. Second, fear, of any kind, can be conquered if you both reduce the risk of failure and have a series of successes in a short period of time. Finally, the way that the Fearless Presentations® class works is that, as we cover new stages of delivering presentations, the stages get more complicated. So, the process is designed to make participants continually experience higher levels of nervousness but also allows them to experience success at each stage. Let's cover each of these three areas in a little more detail.SHOW NOTES: https://www.fearlesspresentations.com/why-do-i-still-get-nervous-when-i-speak-in-public/

We just finished a five-part series about How to Start a Public Speaking Career. If you haven't had a chance to read (or listen to) that series, it will help you understand the concepts that we talk about here, much more clearly. In this session, we are going to cover how to promote yourself as a professional speaker. In the earlier sessions, we talked about how to get experience speaking within your current industry. Some of the ideas were to start out as a trainer in your current industry and to speak to associations within your industry. This helps you practice your craft, but, more importantly, it helps you get a video of yourself in front of actual audiences. In the last session, we talked about how to create content like blog posts, videos, and books that you will be able to use to market yourself as a professional speaker.So, we are going to assume, at this point, that you have followed the guidelines in the previous session, and you have at least 20 blog posts, 20 podcast episodes, 40-50 two-minute to five-minute videos, and you have self-published a book comprised of 10 of your best blog posts. (If you don't have these yet, make sure to follow the guidelines in Start Your Own Public Speaking Company from Scratch.) Keep in mind that you don't have to have ALL of these things, but the more content that you have, the more professional you will appear to a potential client/customer. We are also going to assume that the content that you have created is in a specific niche within a defined market and that this particular market needs your content.SHOW NOTES: https://www.fearlesspresentations.com/how-to-promote-yourself-as-a-professional-speaker/

This is part five of a five-part series about how to start a public speaking career. In the past posts, we focused on how to use public speaking within your current career, both as an income stream and as marketing. We also covered a session on how to become a professional speaker for an established speaking company. In this session, we will cover a few step-by-step items that will help you create your own presentation company. If you want to be a professional public speaker, these tips can help you get started.SHOW NOTES: https://www.fearlesspresentations.com/start-your-own-public-speaking-company-from-scratch/

We are continuing our series on How to Start a Public Speaking Career, and in this session, we will show a shortcut by working for an organization that is already established. Just as a recap of what I discussed in the first post, the advantages of this route is that the company the speaker is representing has already done the hard work. They have already created the content, vetted the content, and created a customer base. The downside is that the speaker can't create or promote his/her own content as easily. In addition, if the speaker quits working for the company, he/she will likely have to start from scratch to create their own content and customer base.In this episode, I'll cover the pros and cons in more detail. I will also give a step-by-step process that you can go through if you want to become a speaker for one of these companies.SHOW NOTES: https://www.fearlesspresentations.com/become-a-certified-speaker-for-an-established-presentation-company/

This is part three of our sessions on How to Start a Public Speaking Career. In the last session, we talked about the easiest way to begin as a professional speaker — by Speaking within Your Current Industry. In this session, we are going to show you a few simple ways to use public speaking to promote or market your product or service. In fact, using a speech to promote a product or service is a fantastic way to conduct a marketing campaign.SHOW NOTES: https://www.fearlesspresentations.com/using-a-speech-to-promote-a-product-or-service-use-public-speaking-as-marketing/

One of the easiest ways to become a professional public speaker is by speaking to groups within your current industry. In this article, we will show you a number of ways to get paid as a professional speaker without having to change careers. This article is a continuation of our previous article, How to Start a Public Speaking Career. Although this is just one of the three routes that we will cover in details, this route is one of the most common (and perhaps the most lucrative as well). So, we will spend a little more time on this one.SHOW NOTES: https://www.fearlesspresentations.com/become-a-professional-public-speaker-by-speaking-within-your-current-industry/

In this episode on glossophobia or fear of public speaking, you will learn a powerful strategy on how to make deep mental and emotional changes to the roots of your fear. Dr. Mottley discusses why it is important to go back and embrace the roots of your fear of public speaking. He then shows you how to change the fear by spinning the meaning behind your fear and then adopting a totally different perspective. This is really mind-bending stuff.

Being a professional speaker is a very lucrative and rewarding profession. But, if you have never actually made money from speaking before, you may be looking for how to start a public speaking career. Just as an FYI, the way that I did it is not the ideal way to become a professional speaker. In fact, when I give advice to new speakers, I tell them to do the opposite of what I did. However, over the past 20 years, I’ve trained over 100 professional speakers, and many of these presenters are at the top of their industries. Below are a few ideas that may help.SHOW NOTES: https://www.fearlesspresentations.com/how-to-start-a-public-speaking-career

One of the more challenging parts of any presentation is the very first part. If you are wondering how to introduce yourself before starting your presentation, you are in good company. For most of us, once we get the first few sentences out, our nervousness will diminish pretty significantly. So, this initial self-introduction is really important. If we struggle here, our nervousness will increase. In addition, the old adage, “You never get a second chance to make a first impression” is very true.SHOW NOTES: https://www.fearlesspresentations.com/how-to-introduce-yourself-before-starting-any-presentation/

Want to know what not to do during a presentation? (I know it isn't grammatically correct, but that is what people are typing into search engines.) Well, here are 10 of the biggest public speaking mistakes that presenters make. This is a list of what we call the 10 deadly sins that turn off audiences. Use it as a checklist for yourself. If you find that you sometimes do one or two of these items, then the list will help you identify what to work on.SHOW NOTES: https://www.fearlesspresentations.com/10-biggest-public-speaking-mistakes-what-not-to-do-during-a-presentation/

I was doing article research this week, and I came across a statement by a world-renowned public speaking coach that made me stop dead in my tracks. This coach was answering the question, "If I’ve only got five minutes for a speech, how do I get my key points across in an interesting way?" The speaker answered by saying, "Five minutes is too short a time to persuade an audience of anything complicated, sophisticated, or controversial." I was dumbfounded. That is one of the most ridiculous statements I have ever heard. In fact, it is right up there with..."Read my lips... No new taxes.""I did not have sexual relations with that woman...""Saddam has weapons of mass destruction.""If you like your plan you can keep your plan."So, I guess that the statement is not the most ridiculous statement that I've ever heard, but it is in the top five.The way that I know that this statement is ridiculous, though, is two-fold. First, because I am a married man. If this statement were true, then I and about 95% of all men would never, ever get married. (Most proposals take way less than five minutes.)Second, for the last 20 years, students in the Fearless Presentations ® public speaking classes have put together thousands (cumulatively) of persuasive speeches that all lasted about five minutes or less. In fact, we create these presentations dozens of times each week. Here is the process that we use.SHOW NOTES: https://www.fearlesspresentations.com/how-to-persuade-your-audience-in-five-minutes-or-less/

I spent years (the better part of a decade) studying everything I could about presentation skills and how to deliver powerful speeches. Years later, I became a presentation coach. I had been coaching speakers for a few years before I got an interesting call from a prospective client. “We have a group of five presenters who are competing for a $300 million project. This contract is vital to the growth of our company. Can you make sure they are delivering the best possible group presentation for us?” That single request started me down a road that has been a fantastic accomplishment for hundreds of presentation teams over the last couple of decades. Just as an FYI, the group that I coached in that first session didn’t get the big contract. However, from that experience, we learned and adapted. Over the next three years, the group closed over 80% of the contracts that they competed for. Whether you are presenting group sales presentations, or you are presenting a group presentation in school, the following tips can be very helpful.In this group presentation guide, I will share with you some of the alterations and best practices that we found.SHOW NOTES: https://www.fearlesspresentations.com/group-presentation-guide-how-to-get-your-team-on-the-same-page-for-a-group-presentation/

Okay, so you may not want to be a motivational speaker (and live in a van down by the river). However, all of us, at one time or another, will want to be a more inspirational speaker. Sometimes, we just want to motivate our team. In other situations, we may be asked to speak at an annual meeting and want the audience to see us as being an inspirational leader. Whatever the case, there are times when the purpose of our speech is not necessary to inform or persuade but to motivate and inspire. These are a few tips that will help you be a more inspirational speaker and presenter.So what is the point? If you look at some of the most inspirational speakers of the last 60 years, you will notice a few important things. Each and every one of these speakers designed their inspirational talks around either a single concept or a few simple steps. Almost all relied heavily on powerful stories to build rapport with the audience and insert humor. However, each of these speakers adapted to the media of the time.For instance, Nightingale designed his speeches to fit a single side of a phonograph record. Why? Well, for those of you who are old enough to have ever played one, the good stuff was always on “Side 1” of the record. Side 2 was the filler. So, Nightingale, a radio guy, was creating a message that fit his media.MLK wasn’t concerned about recordings. He was more concerned about inspiring crowds in-person. So, his repetition and cadence made it easier for the crowds to remember his words and act upon them.Most of Zig, Les Brown, and Brian Tracey were most popular in the era of cassette tapes. Most of these tapes could hold 60 minutes of content. I have no research to back this up, but I believe that this is probably why most keynote speeches are still 60 minutes long today. (Although 60 minutes is just about a perfect time to keep people from having to leave the room when nature calls.)Anthony Robbins was one of the first speakers to create comprehensive box sets of inspirational speeches. He made a bunch of money selling CD-Rom sets on QVC. So, he began to create a series of shorter, bite-sized presentations that people could digest over a longer period of time. So, the Story, three-point-talk, story technique was perfect for him.Although Ted Talk seminars have been around for decades, they have become incredibly popular in the YouTube age. Ted’s normal time frame is about 20 minutes per speech. So, interestingly, many of the most-watched Ted Talks follow Earl Nightingale’s technique. So, it appears that we have come full circle.In the near future, I’m going to do a similar post about YouTube. I will do a similarly in-depth view of what people are looking for, today, from professional speakers on YouTube. I will give you a hint, though, most professional speakers aren’t yet giving this new market what they really want. Stay tuned!

Dr. Mottley speaks about his background growing up as a child and reveals the books he read that stirred up a desire in him that he could not fulfill because of his fear! He also reveals that he is working on a project where he will share the tips, strategies and techniques that helped him to obliterate his fear!!!

This is part 2 of a 2 part inspirational story about Doug Staneart — President and CEO of The Leader’s Institute ® and Creator of the Fearless Presentations ® Public Speaking Training Programs. This is my inspirational story of triumph over public speaking fear that allowed me to create one of the most successful training companies in the world!

Doug Staneart — President and CEO of The Leader’s Institute ® and Creator of the Fearless Presentations ® Public Speaking Training Programs. This is my inspirational story of triumph over public speaking fear that allowed me to create one of the most successful training companies in the world! I overcame being an incredibly shy kid who got beat up and bullied in grade school to become an NCAA football player. My first formal presentation in the business world was such a failure that it cost me my first career, but that failure allowed me to help over 100,000 people conquer the same challenge. In fact, each of these obstacles taught me truths about life that have allowed me to create one of the most successful training companies in the world.

It's time to set the record straight. ANYONE can be a fantastic, world-class speaker with a little bit of training, a little bit of coaching, and a little bit of practice. It doesn't take years of study and practice, and it doesn't take thousands of dollars of investment. One of the hardest things to get across to new presenters is the immutable fact that just about everything that you have ever learned about public speaking and creating good business presentations is flat out WRONG! The following are some of the biggest myths about stage fright and public speaking training. For Podcast notes, visit https://www.fearlesspresentations.com/30

Are you a nervous public speaker? A majority of the population has some type of fear of public speaking. Ironically, a great deal of this nervousness or anxiety comes from well-meaning friends or coworkers who are just trying to help. When we see a friend struggling, we naturally want to help. So, we might offer a little constructive criticism as a way to help a new presenter improve his/her public speaking. However, these "helpful" pieces of advice can actually have an extreme negative effect. This session shows how constructive criticism can actually cause public speaking fear. We'll also cover a few ways to reduce this nervousness when we coach or mentor a nervous speaker.

In the podcast this week, I interview Cody Smith who is the author of the book Stage Fight — How to Punch Public Speaking Fears in the Face. It is a hilarious interview where Cody tells about all of the trials and tribulations that he experienced trying to overcome public speaking fear. Have fun listening to and learning from Cody Smith.Cody Smith is a young entrepreneur who realized very early in his academic career that public speaking fear has the ability to hold people back. His new book, Stage Fight, How to Punch Public Speaking Fears in the Face is a very funny and informative outline of all of the steps that Cody took to eliminate his nervousness.Early in the conversation, I asked Cody about his background, and he surprisingly told me that he didn’t write the book to become a professional speaker. Instead, he wrote it because he noticed that a number of his colleagues, who were technically exceptional in their jobs, were getting passed over for promotion by less technical people who could present well. He wrote the book as a way to pass along the tips that he uncovered in his journey to confidence so that other people his age could benefit as well.Public Speaking Failure is Just an Opportunity to Grow and LearnCody spent a lot of time telling us how when he was a nervous speaker, he saw himself as a victim. It wasn’t his fault he was nervous. The fault was someone else’s. So the first step that he had to take in eliminating the nervousness was to stop hiding behind the “victim shield”. He started to look back on those “failures” to see what he could of done to eliminate the bad results. Once he started to see his past failures as opportunities for improvement, he grew much more quickly.How Long Does It Take to Eliminate Public Speaking Fear?After Cody changed his mental state, he needed practice. So, he set out to speak at least one time per week for 90 days. He said that it worked like a charm. By the end of his 90th day, his confidence was soaring. However, he mentioned that if you follow the step-by-step plan in his book, you can cut that time to just 30 days. He mentioned that unlike what he did, when he coaches people now, he has them practice that presentation each week with a couple of peers. In addition, he also has them go speak on an impromptu basis at least once per week. This increased practice speeds up the process dramatically.To download Cody’s book on Kindle, just click this link: Stage Fight Kindle Version.

We back up a little in this podcast to explain exactly where public speaking fear comes from and how to eliminate that stage fright in just three simple steps.SHOW NOTES: https://www.fearlesspresentations.com/podcast-9-eliminate-public-speaking-fear-in-three-easy-steps

Both skills, the presentation tips, and the memory technique are invaluable to a speaker because a poised and confident speaker who can easily remember what he/she wants to say is very rare in the business world.SHOW NOTES: https://www.fearlesspresentations.com/10-ways-to-reduce-public-speaking-fear-online-seminar/

One of the fears of public speaking that comes up the most is, "I'm afraid I will lose my train of thought," or "I'm afraid I will forget what I'm going to say." So in the first session of Fearless Presentations®, our instructors combine the teaching aspect of delivering the 10 tips with a memory skill that helps people improve their memory dramatically in just a few minutes. When participants first experience this skill, they are often amazed at the "magic" that they have just witnessed, but in reality, the memory technique that we teach has been around for over 1000 years. It's just been lost in our modern society. With technology at our fingertips, we don't challenge our brains the way that our ancestors did. The potential is still there inside all of us, but it takes a little practice to tap into this hidden potential. However, when I say "a little practice," that is exactly what I mean. Most class members are able to improve their memory dramatically in less than ten minutes. So, it is an easy skill to master very quickly.SHOW NOTES: https://www.fearlesspresentations.com/10-ways-to-reduce-public-speaking-fear-online-seminar/