Twitter was the social networking phenomenon of last year. It’s a site that allows you to share your thoughts and feelings with the world by “tweeting” your answer to this simple question - what are you doing now? The only limitation you have is that your answer or “tweet” must be 140 characters or less. [...]

Happy New Year and welcome to 2010. The New Year is a great time to start afresh. We can leave behind the things that didn’t work out in the past that is 2009, and start the New Year with a fresh set of ambitions and dreams. What are your dreams and aspirations for 2010?
Do [...]

Generally I try to encourage clients to stay away from using notes while they give a speech. I find they become the object of the speakers’ affection - they spend their entire speech looking at a couple of pieces of paper rather than the people who’ve come to watch and listen to them. However some [...]

Let me start out by stating that PowerPoint is not the greatest speech writing tool ever invented. Although I can forgive anyone who’s mistakenly believed it was. Let’s face it; most speakers are PowerPoint dependent – reading every word from each slide of their presentation.  If we’re lucky they might adlib a few sentences, but [...]

The last few minutes before you stand up to share your presentation can seem like only a few seconds if you’re nervous and apprehensive about speaking in public. While the audience files into the room and settles in their seats most speakers I’ve seen will find themselves a private corner and go into a period [...]

A common visual aid used in many meetings and presentations in offices around the country is the Whiteboard. Like most visual aids, when used skilfully it can be a valuable asset to help you communicate your message or reinforce a point, but too often; it is used like a blunt instrument that does more harm [...]

Does it feel good when you start your day off in the right way? I did this morning… and I’m feeling good! When the alarm rudely started beeping at 5:45, rather than turning it off and turning over to go back to sleep I got myself up and went for a nice brisk walk. The [...]

Wow… The last couple of mornings have been foggy in Sydney. As I’ve jumped into the car and headed out for the day I’ve needed to take things a bit easier because the fog has impaired my ability to see other cars on the road and their capacity to see me. While most drivers have [...]

I spent yesterday morning watching a series of presentations, in a five start hotel, at an event hosted by a major international IT services company. A lot of time and effort had been spent trying to ensure the event was a success… However, as with so many things in life, even with the best made [...]

Well my competition speech didn’t work out as I would have liked… In placing second I learnt a valuable lesson that I can apply to all my future speeches. To have a speech that stands out you need to ensure that the following three areas are considered:
1. Setting
2. Material
3. Delivery
On competition night the setting wasn’t [...]