Writing a pitch can be difficult, but something my good friend Derrick Wolbert passed on to me was to make them lean back in their chairs. What he meant was, you want them to be in awe. This visual stuck with me and I believe it sets a great goal for anyone preparing to give a pitch.

Public speaking is an essential leadership skill. But what if you haven’t had the opportunity to develop this skill? You may want to join Toastmasters, or you may want to hire an executive coach. Which to choose? Both have their benefits. Here are some facts and observations about each; you get to decide.

Too many speakers kill their credibility before the audience has even had a chance to hear them. Learn 3 or more unconscious habits that will kill your credibility in a presentation. In this conversation with Katie Hawkes, You’ll hear about one of my biggest presentation FAILS. (Teaser: It involves a Jenga tower.)

I’m a huge fan of icebreakers. They get the audience talking or moving. They also help the group get to know each other a little bit. Now, I’ve heard from some people, “I hate icebreakers!” If that’s the case, it’s because you’ve only been shown the wrong ones - the icebreakers that are tiresome or not very well-thought out. I’m here to correct that!

I love this time of year because I get to hear from and meet new people - people who want to become more confident, polished speakers. One thing we often overlook is, how can we use what MAKES us COMFORTABLE to support our public speaking? Below are two tips I share with just about every client. Give these a try:

I was so happy to reconnect with Kwame Christian of the American Negotiation Institute. We sat down to talk about why prepartion matters, and how it can be the difference between a strong, confident, persuasive speech, and a weak, unprepared one.