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Does Wisdom Play a Role in Public Speaking?

“I have to give a speech in a few weeks and I’m already nauseous and anxious. I need to talk to someone wise. Can you please call me?”
This was a voicemail message I received last week from someone obviously in need of help.
Every once in a while I get a call like this one, and [...]


Want to Sharpen Your Public Speaking Skills? Begin Now!

I received a call a few weeks ago from an HR business partner at a large construction company. She was looking for someone to support the soon-to-be CEO in preparation for his first board presentation. She explained that this person needed major help with his public speaking skills because he was moving into the role [...]


How to Assess Your Public Speaking Comfort Level

Nervousness and public speaking go hand-in-hand. And in all my years as a presentations skills coach, I’ve found that people’s anxiety tends to fall into one of four categories. These four levels reflect a speaker’s comfort level and confidence. Which one best describes you?

Level 1: Pressured and Petrified: People in this category tend to display [...]


What Makes Women Successful Business Owners?

Recently, I’ve noticed an increasing number of women leaving their corporate jobs in favor of starting their own small business. In one case, the woman was let go, and in several other cases, she left voluntarily. Regardless of why she ventured out on her own, one thing seems consistent: women make great entrepreneurs.
Here are some [...]


How to Be a Great Woman Leader

In 2005, a year-long study conducted by Caliper, a Princeton, New Jersey-based management consulting firm, and Aurora, a London-based organization that advances women, identified several characteristics of women leaders. They found that when it comes to leadership, women are stronger than men in several areas. For example, women…

Are more assertive and persuasive
Have a stronger need [...]


Looking for a Mentor, Consultant, or Coach? Here are the 3 top things to look for

For most people, hiring a mentor, consultant, or coach is a tough decision. And for women it can sometimes be even tougher. After all, you’re hiring someone to help you look at all aspects of yourself. You want someone to help you address professional and personal challenges so you become stronger, more skilled, more strategic, [...]


Can Public Speaking Be an Enjoyable Experience?

For most people, giving a presentation—whether something formal to the board or something casual to a community group—is a stressful experience. And as we all know, too much stress can contribute to health problems and impede a person’s ability to live a robust life. The American Institute of Stress reports that some surveys show 75 [...]


A Public Speaking Lesson from My Sister

I’ve been on vacation in Maine for the last few weeks. Our family has a house in a small coastal village where we come every year. I love being in Maine, so far away from the bustling Bay Area where I live. It’s a quiet retreat, a respite from the traffic, noise and density of [...]


“Single-Task” Your Way to Presentation Success

Multi-tasking, a word no one used a few decades ago, is now firmly ensconced in our everyday language and has become a way of life for many of us. Generations X and Y in particular are known for the ability to speedily produce a surplus of results while working on many different tasks at the [...]


Refining Your Presentation Skills in a Group Format Works…Especially for Women

Women are, by nature, very social beings. This is a good thing in many respects. According to the head of psychiatry at Stanford University, when women spend time with other women, they’re not just having fun; they’re also experiencing many health benefits. In fact, the research concluded that spending time with other women is as [...]


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