common mistakes

I was watching Alan Weiss recently on Periscope, and he was discussing self worth. One of his pieces of advice was to “learn to ignore unsolicited feedback”. In a shocking twist, this made me think of Toastmasters. As a speaker in Toastmasters, I get a lot of feedback. Every speech I give, which is on average 2-4
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Today I attended a half day session with FranklinCovey in Kansas City. One segment of the training was titled Presentation Advantage and obviously is a topic I am familiar with. I was curious what take FranklinCovey had on this topic, and how it would differ from Toastmasters. Purpose: This program defined a presentation as “The sharing
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Why cynicism is easy: 1. It gives us an out. We can dump the responsibility somewhere else, so the failure isn’t our fault. After all, effort is a risk, while blaming a poor economy, not enough time or not having support removes that risk. Remember – this also means the success doesn’t get to be
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What is the ideal outcome you’d like to experience? From Alan Weiss – Million Dollar Coaching (reviewed here) Have you ever had a speaking goal to achieve, such as winning a speech contest or speaking in front of a larger group? Worried that practicing in front of your mirror, or even your Toastmasters Club, may
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Darren’s #10 Speaking Mistake was, Not Getting Clear on the Message. (more on his top 10 list here). I was asked recently, “What if I don’t have a point for my speech?” My reply…”Why are you speaking?” In Darren’s session, he made two points about this mistake that I felt were very important: 1. What
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“Don’t Dilute your Power” One of the more interesting things I learned from Darren LaCroix last night was how using, or misusing, the stage could add to, or dilute, your power as a speaker. Darren demonstrated this by showing how a point made while moving across the stage comes off as less powerful than a
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Have you ever sat in a training class with an instructor that spoke non-stop, perhaps with some nice slides? When the session was over, he assumed you got it and went on his way? I have, and I usually don’t “get it” just because I’m supposed to. Don’t get me wrong, there is a time
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2015 is bound to be a great year. If you’re the type to make a New Year’s Resolution and stick with it, the I imagine you’ve already decided on a course of action for 2015. But if you’re more like me, resolutions can sometimes lead to positive results, but not usually the wish you had
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When I speak, I have a tendency to ask a lot of questions. I do this for at least three reasons. First, to check in with the audience and keep them engaged. Second, to help them see that they aren’t alone. Third, to learn something about the audience so I can tailor my message (if
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