We’ve all heard that speaker, the one with a particular type of poor me story that can actually be dangerous. I had a wonderful career doing what I loved and making lots of money. I lived in a beautiful house … More ☛
Never play the victim card, on stage or in life. Don’t use your audience as a therapist. Your triumph over cancer, escape from an abusive relationship, or successful battle with addiction is admirable but… When we’re in pain, we tend … More ☛
How many of you have heard speakers address the audience as a group? Is it okay to do that? What do you guys think? There are a few problems here: If I ask “How many of you,” I’m asking a … More ☛
Here’s a simple rule: If you bring your audience into darkness, bring them back into the light. Not every story has a happy ending, but it should at least offer a worthwhile lesson. If everybody in your story loses and … More ☛
WordPress is a content-management platform used to drive over 455 million websites. Written with open-source technologies like PHP and MySQL, this free software is supported by a huge developer community that extends its functionality through thousands of free and commercial … More ☛
Like the Chauffeur story, here’s a tale that thousands of speakers love to tell but shouldn’t: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=speaker+telling+the+starfish+story A man walking along the beach noticed that thousands of starfish had been washed up on the sand by a storm tide. And … More ☛
Like the Starfish story, the Chauffeur story get recycled over and over. In the story, Max Planck, the famous physicist, is being driven around Germany on a lecture tour. One day, the driver makes a suggestion: “Mr. Planck, these scientists … More ☛
Have you ever been disappointed with a judge’s call—in a courtroom, on a ball field, or in a contest? Who are you to judge? In August of 2020, I watched eight finalists compete in the World Championship of Public Speaking, … More ☛
