One of the best ways to improve how you come across as a speaker is to cut out filler words. Often known as the “ums and ahs”, they fill in silences when a speaker is thinking about what to say next. It isn’t just ums and ahs that are fillers. Speakers often use other words […]
Communicating purpose is powerful. The previous two blogs explored why in terms of speaking and meetings. Although broad, I want to touch on its importance in other situations too. Understanding the purpose of an organisation – its reason for being – is vital for all activities being undertaken. It should be the very essence […]
In the first article of this series, we looked at the power of purpose in speaking – essentially communication. The fundamental reason for meetings is to facilitate communication. Often, meetings are viewed as an inconvenience. This could be because the person calling the meeting hasn’t properly thought about the purpose of the meeting. Or hasn’t […]
You could have an amazing presentation, but if the set up of your speech is off, it could derail your impact before you’ve even begun. To achieve speaking success, ensure you have prepared, not just your speech, but also your stage. Setting the scene One key thing I’ve learnt since joining an advanced speakers group […]
I’ve said in the past that I am a totally different person from the one I was 15 years ago. Others have noticed this too. Those who met me back then came across an extremely quiet individual. Someone who hardly ever spoke up in meetings. A person unsure how she could contribute to a team. […]
Quiet is the name of Susan Cain’s seminal book on introverts. Anyone who identifies as an introvert has inevitably been asked “why are you so quiet?” at some (in reality probably many) points in their life. Introverts think before speaking, so don’t just say whatever is in their head, often hesitating to say anything at […]
A typical Toastmasters speech is between five and seven minutes long. When I first started out in Toastmasters, I would write around 800 words and delivering this length of speech would take around six minutes. Now, if I write more than 700 words for a speech, I’m in serious danger of going over the time […]
I’ve had many roles in not-for-profit organisations, including national president (chair); leading a board of volunteers from across the county. Although I’m not exactly reticent about my love for these organisations, I don’t shout about the achievement of being National President of JCI as much as I probably should. The more I come into contact […]
If you’ve ever done some kind of communication training, you’ve probably heard some discourse on the relative importance of the content of what you say, how you say it (tone of voice) and what your appearance conveys (facial expression and body language). You may have seen this chart: This is based on research by Professor […]
As a child, I really struggled with confidence. I was incredibly shy and quiet – the person in school who actually got told off for not talking. As such I’m fascinated with confidence – is there such a thing as being “naturally” confident, how does someone go about gaining confidence, what makes you appear confident? […]
