Category: Speechwriting & Presentations

  • Want to Write a Keynote Speech? You Can Steal My Structure.

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    This is the keynote speech structure that works for me and my clients: For me, the keynote speech is the ultimate in speechwriting. Creating these elements is complex and intuitive. A great result comes from extended experience. It is the most creative part of the speechwriting that I do –…

  • To all Keynote Speakers, When You Give a Speech, How Long Can You Hold a Pause?

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    A powerful question needs to be followed with a pause. A powerful statement is emphasised with a pause. Just about every key moment in a speech is best followed by a pause. A silent pause. The more pauses there are, the more impactful the speech. People feel a need to…

  • 😰 😰 Do You Get Nervous Speaking to An Audience? These Three Tips Worked for Me 😰 😰

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    It’s hard to keep a level of perspective when you’re stressed. Public Speaking is a stressful task for many people, and speaking to an audience feels stressful because the sense of perspective is lost. The event in front of you can look bigger and uglier than it is. Here are…

  • White Spaces Matter

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    Well-designed magazine layouts use white space to draw the eye to the main message. Great web pages do the same. Look at Google’s home page. Uncluttered, clean, and easily digestible. Plenty of white space. The same with well-crafted speeches. By creating pauses of silence, a speaker can draw the audience…

  • Can Web 3.0 Help Me Learn, Speak and Play?

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    I’m determined to wrestle the concept of Web 3.0 to the ground over the next few weeks. If only to see if it can apply to public speaking and presenting. My understanding of Web 3.0 is that it is a person to person connection that allows both parties to avoid…

  • I’ve Never Met a Professional Speaker Who Doesn’t Have Butterflies

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    🦋 Everybody is nervous before they go on stage. 🦋 “There are two types of speakers: Those who get nervous and those who are liars.” – Mark Twain If a speaker is not ever so slightly anxious before they start to speak, then they probably aren’t going to be that…

  • Speechwriters are ‘Verse Jumpers

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    I bet you think I’m referring to some sort of poetry athletics. Not this time. ‘Verse jumping is when you move between universes. The speechwriting I do often asks me to immerse myself in someone else’s universe to get a feel of their nuances, their view of the world, their…

  • Elite Public Speakers Practice and Practice, But They Do It in a Very Special Way

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    They practice with distractions. There have not been too many speeches I’ve given over the years where there has been dead silence and no interruptions from the audience. There has nearly always been a disruption or distraction of some sort: plates being dropped fire alarm going off late comers arriving…

  • 25+ Tips to Help with Your Public Speaking,OR One that Will Definitely Work

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    You only need to do one thing to be a great Public Speaker. But here are 25 other things you could do if you prefer ……. Choose a topic you’re passionate about. Keep your presentation short and sweet. Make it interactive. Start strongly to grab your audience’s attention. Remember to…

  • 🎤 I’m No Expert Presenter 🎤

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    Just because I write about Public Speaking doesn’t make me an expert. In fact, I’m not a highly skilled public speaker myself. I’m not up there with the elite. I’m probably technically sound and can hold the attention of an audience for a while. I’ve won a few competitions, but…

  • 🎨 I Haven’t Got a Creative Bone in My Body 🎨

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    I’m a particularly uncreative type of person. Just ask my parents and my teachers – for years they kept telling me that. So I need to rely on all sorts of resources to give me ideas (and answers). Speechwriting is a combination of: technical skill, and creative flair. I’ve learnt…