Speaking Diversity
Diversity of people

Diversity is a huge topic being tackled in many ways throughout business and society. Given its history, the property industry in no exception. How does diversity in speaking relate? I recently attended a public speaking competition.  All of the participants were brilliant.  Was the winner the best public speaker?  Probably.  Were they the person I […]

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The Technicalities of Feedback
technical screen

Recently I watched a friend practice a technical speech at our public speaking club.  This was in anticipation of him delivering the presentation at an industry conference.  I didn’t understand the presentation. He’d written it for an audience which would.  As he should have.  But this made giving feedback challenging. Thinking about your audience is […]

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Who’s your audience?
Empty seats awaiting an audience

At a conference earlier this year, I hosted a panel discussion of experienced speakers. I asked them their thoughts on the most important aspect of public speaking.  Every panellist said the same thing – your audience.  If you are an accomplished speaker – confident, polished, charismatic – but your audience is not interested in or […]

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Why having an MC matters (Virtual Events 4)

Following on from my previous blog about audience interaction and engagement, I want to highlight just how influential an MC can be.  They have the power to set the tone, engage the audience and facilitate the smooth running of the event. Many of these insights come from the larger scale events I’ve attended – conferences […]

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Audience Engagement (Virtual Events 3)

We attend events for a variety of reasons – to learn something, to be entertained, to meet people.  Often it’s a combination of these things.  If you are bringing people together for anything other than a purely information conveying webinar, your participants are likely to want to be able to interact with the speakers and […]

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Tech Set-Up (Virtual Events 2)

My first article on virtual events was about preparation. Related to this, is preparing and operating the tech you are going to use. Firstly, you need to research and choose the most appropriate platform. Then learn how to use it effectively. A disclaimer: I am not an overly techy person.  I know and can do […]

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Preparation (Virtual Events 1)

It’s coming up to a year since we all moved to virtual events.  Over that time I’ve attended innumerable webinars, training sessions, meetings and conferences.  Some have been huge, with hundreds of attendees.  Some have had just a handful.  I’ve been involved as a participant, as part of the organising team and as a trainer.  […]

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