Articles
everything I know about public speaking, elevator pitches, and communication just for you
The Top 10 Reasons that entrepreneurs, who need an elevator pitch, say they don’t have one
Reason #10 - Is the Elevator Pitch even relevant anymore in 2017? Good question! Let's consider the stats. Consumer research tells us that: On average each of us is exposed to over 5,000 different brands every single day. Every single day each of us will see over 360...
There are 17 basic mistakes in this Elevator Pitch. Most people can only spot 8.
First, let's watch this terrible 1-minute pitch. It's full of all sorts of elevator pitch mistakes, so keep an eye out! (click to watch the video) Before we get to all the elevator pitch mistakes in this terrible elevator pitch, one thing I think we can all agree on....
The Joyful Meeting Formula (or how to hold productive meetings that don’t destroy everybody’s will to live)
Bad meetings are like bad sex. You start off with high hopes of a mutual coming together and leave feeling deflated and dissatisfied. Everyone hates bad meetings. Bad meetings are soul-destroying. They sap your will to live. If it's not that annoying know-it-all, who...
“A large chair does not make a king” – The four fundamental flaws of leaders that fail
In September 2013 David Moyes took over as manager of Manchester United from his predecessor, Sir Alex Ferguson (the most successful manager in Premiership history - and that's hard for me to say as a West Ham fan!). Moyes took over the same team that had won the...
Five Ways to improve Emotional Intelligence (for cold-hearted emotionally challenged people like me!)
You are the head of your thing (for "thing" read in company, organisation, committee etc) You have an IQ of 135 (so you're pretty smart) Your vision is clear and you've given great speeches and presentations about the future and what it means for everyone. It was...
19 Video Presentation Tips to help you give a great presentation (even if you hate the way you look on camera)
I know you don't want to hear it, but video is eating the world! Video is everywhere. It's taking over everything. Video even killed the radio star! Vlogging; sales promo videos; skype; online video workshops; Facebook feeds; Youtube; Instagram; Facetime; webinars;...
The Ultimate Speech Preparation Checklist
You'll have heard it all before"Fail to plan. Plan to fail""Proper preparation prevents piss poor performance""Success is what happens when opportunity meets preparation"There are lots of pithy pretty quotes that big talking experts like me and others like to trot out...
10 Quotes by Homer Simpson to celebrate the tremendous wisdom of stupidity.
This is the best of times. This is the worst of times. On the one hand, this is the most prosperous, healthy, and progressive the world has ever been (even despite the huge disparities in the wealth of nations and individuals). On the other hand, WTF is going on with...
How to analyse your audience so you know exactly what to say to make them listen
Wouldn't your speech be so much easier if you knew exactly who your audience was and what you needed to say to get them to do what you wanted? It was June 2000 and Prime Minister Tony Blair had been invited to speak to an audience of 10,000 women of the volunteer-led...
The 7 Deadly Sins of Public Speaking (that hold you back from being a speechmaking rockstar)
Success does not consist in never making mistakes but in never making the same one a second time - George Bernard Shaw The problem with studying people who are great at what they do, is that they make things look easy. Want to learn how to play tennis? Watch Roger...