Ulysses knew he could not resist the Sirens, so he developed a strategy to prevent himself from succumbing to temptation.  Before he passed their island, he tied himself to the mast of his ship, and instructed his crew not to let him loose, no matter how desperate his pleading.

If you know your weakness as a speaker, develop a strategy to prevent it from damaging your success.  Declare a specific goal.  Tell people what you’re working on. Ask them to hold you accountable.  Invite them to your presentations.  Have them sign a contract to support you, and, for you and them, let there be consequences for failure and rewards for success.

Tie yourself to a promise and then get a little help from your friends.

Sims Wyeth & Co. provides public speaking courses, executive speech coaching, presentation skills training, voice and speech training, speech writing, and courses that address stage fright, body language, presentation strategy, and effective use of PowerPoint, all of which contribute to greater executive presence and personal impact.  Sign up for our presentation tips and learn more about us at http://www.simswyeth.com/.

For some reason, it is my increasingly common experience to encounter people who talk too fast. Am I listening slower, or is there something happening to average words per minute?

It could be that the pause is going out of style because attention spans are shrinking, triggering the need for speakers to spit it out pronto.

To train yourself to slow down, talk like a bride walks down the aisle, pausing between steps, as we should pause between phrases and thoughts. Surely the occasional pause will lend power to what you say.

Sims Wyeth & Co. provides public speaking courses, executive speech coaching, presentation skills training, voice and speech training, speech writing, and courses that address stage fright, body language, presentation strategy, and effective use of PowerPoint, all of which contribute to greater executive presence and personal impact.  Sign up for our presentation tips and learn more about us at http://www.simswyeth.com/.

A presentation is judged to be good to the extent that it is good for something.

Most business presentations are delivered for two reasons: to help an audience make a decision or a prediction. “We should hire this law firm,” is a decision. “We expect to face competition within six months,” is a prediction. Therefore, a good presentation is one that facilitates a wise decision, or an accurate prediction.

Presentation skills can only be considered good if they contribute to better outcomes for the audience. Their value lies in what they create, not in their creation.

Sims Wyeth & Co. provides public speaking courses, executive speech coaching, presentation skills training, voice and speech training, speech writing, and courses that address stage fright, body language, presentation strategy, and effective use of PowerPoint, all of which contribute to greater executive presence and personal impact.  Sign up for our presentation tips and learn more about us at http://www.simswyeth.com/.