Be Silent. Be Still. Do you want or need to get people’s attention? You can get it with volume and movement: yelling and screaming and waving your arms. It’s hard to resist looking, when you hear a sudden squawk from a baby or voices raised in an argument,...
From Talking to Speaking to … Presenting Awhile back, I observed a man give a twenty-minute presentation at a formal event. He leaned one elbow on the podium, making occasional languid gestures, as he meandered his way through his points and finally closed....
To Recover from Embarrassing Moments, Practice These Three Things One time, during a presentation, I asked an audience member a question. Instead of getting the type of answer I expected, I got one that left me feeling flustered and embarrassed. I wished I could crawl...
3 Ways to Overcome Performance Anxiety You present yourself to others all the time. Every day, you say hello, answer questions, and tell stories. Most of the time, you do this without batting an eye. “Good morning. How is your day going? Can you believe this...
I TOTALLY SCREWED UP! A few years ago, a colleague and I gave a “Lunch & Learn” presentation on nonverbal communication skills for W.I.F.S. here in Portland. We wanted to make it entertaining and engaging, so we (and by “we,” I mean “I”) thought it would be...
