PUBLIC SPEAKING: CLOSE YOUR SPEECH WITH POWER [This week's blog post contains an excerpt from my book 'How to be a DIVA at Public Speaking'] As both a public speaker and a singer, in my years of performing on stage, I always took it as a slight affront if the crowd didn’t ask for [...]
Public Speaking - is it helpful to have a book? Recently, a few people have asked me if I thought writing my book was worth the time and effort. I would say yes! And here are three reasons why: 1- Enhances your credibility as a speaker Having a book gives you cred. There have [...]
Hi! I'm a bit dolled up in today's video as I'm about to sing at a corporate event. There are, of course, vast amounts of overlap between performing and speaking and I love to speak about the business and voice-related aspects of both (as you may already know from my book 'How to be [...]
Today, let's talk about business networking and why it's so important to stand out. Last week, I was chatting with the head of business development of a decent sized law firm here in London. We were talking about some potential training opportunities for their staff. He mentioned that some of their staff don't enjoy [...]
When I first started speaking to promote my biz I made every mistake in the book. There's a lot to keep in mind. You're anxious to ace your presentation, give the audience a great experience, keep your host or event planner happy, and so much more. So it's no surprise that most of us, [...]
After a recent keynote, among the many positive reviews that came back, I received...one stinky one!! The experience prompted me think about how to deal with negative feedback. My hard working intern, Sally, created this infographic from a Facebook Live video I recorded on the subject (see bottom of the post). I [...]
Are you nervous about making a speech but you’d happily run a workshop? Well, the two are closer than you might think. I recently delivered a workshop on behalf of Hearst Live - think the events arm of Hearst Publishing, which owns Harper’s Bazaar, Red, Esquire, Elle and a host of other household name [...]
In this post I’ve listed a few of the rhetorical devices you’ll often find in speeches, poetry, and prose. It might not be your first thought to include them in your own works. Reconsider, because they can genuinely raise the quality of a talk and provide your audience with a richer experience. [...]
Did you ever watch a speaker and grow to trust them as a result of the bits of information they subtly shared? If so, you probably saw 'seeding' in action. As a professional singer as well as a speaking coach, I like to use examples from the world of pop music, so bear with me [...]
Did you ever fluff your Q&A session, coming away from a speech thinking you could have made a better impression? It’s a good idea to conclude your talk after the Q&A rather than before. Q&A sessions can be difficult to control and it’s better for you to leave the audience with a positive final image [...]
