When you’re nervous about an upcoming presentation, it can cause stress on your body and mind which will impact on your ability to communicate your message effectively. In this article I outline a simple exercise to help combat the symptoms and instil a sense of calm; it can be done anywhere at any time you feel a little scattered, apprehensive or anxious.
What's the best piece of advice you've received about public speaking? In this article I share the two words that changed EVERYTHING for me about how I prepare and deliver presentations.
Long ago I lost count of the number of people who have said to me “I HATE public speaking!” But what if I told you that you could learn to love public speaking?
If you fear or loath public speaking and avoid it at all costs, you may be missing out on opportunities to promote your business, progress your career or share a few words about a special person at an important occasion such as a wedding or a funeral.
Having the right speakers and break out session facilitators is crucial to the success of an event. Therefore, if you’re in charge of planning, it’s important to put time, effort (and money) into finding the right speakers who will engage and inspire your audience and ensure your event is talked about for years to come. In this post I share my top tips to help you book the ideal speaker.
As presenters we are in the privileged position of being able to share our knowledge, experience, and passion with an audience. However, with this privilege comes responsibility – a responsibility to ourselves to ensure we don’t kill our credibility, but more importantly, a responsibility to our audience to ensure that our message is relevant and interesting to listen to. It is vital that you avoid these 11 mistakes that will make your audience cringe...
How often have you been in a meeting or at a conference where one or more of the presenters have gone on and on beyond the time that has been scheduled for them? Getting the timing of your presentation right is crucial; if you go over time it’s disrespectful to your audience, the organiser and other speakers. Read on for tips on how to keep your presentation on time.
The Scottish EDGE round 8 saw 22 companies pitching to a panel of expert judges for up to £100K each in grant funding and loans. If you’re considering entering any kind of pitching competition, read on for my tips on how you can ensure your pitch stands out for all the right reasons.
Nerves before a presentation are normal and important. Feeling nervous means you care and, therefore, you will put extra effort into ensuring that your message is communicated to your audience in the best possible way. Nervous adrenaline is also useful for giving your presentation the energy it needs to keep your audience engaged, as long as you use your nervousness effectively rather than allow it to overpower you. So here are five easy ways to manage your nerves and to look and feel more confident when speaking in public.
Regardless of whether you worry like crazy when asked to do a presentation or see it as a great opportunity to share your knowledge or passion, you will probably have a certain way of preparing what you're going to say.
And whilst what you say is fundamental, how you say it is equally, if not more important. In order to bring your words to life and ensure they have the most impact, you need to prime the elements that communicate the words – your body, your voice and your mind.
I have developed a simple formula for what I like to call a 'pitchtastic' pitch. It can be applied to any type of pitch from a 30 second elevator pitch that you might deliver at a networking event right through to pitching for millions of pounds worth of investment. This post looks at each element of the formula individually...
Pitching competitions are a great opportunity for companies to raise funding and support to grow their business, but in order to win you need to be able to stand out from the competition. Based on what I observed at a Scottish EDGE fund final, here is a list of dos and don’ts to help your next presentation or pitch stand out...
More and more business pitching competitions are taking place around the UK offering opportunities to win prizes, support and funding to help grow your business. In this post I share pitching tips from the Scottish EDGE fund, tips that can be used in all types of situations to give your company an edge. Is it time for you to polish your pitch?
