It’s that time of year again, when Randy Ford and I sit down and share the best and worst of speaking from the year. We share our own wins and sins, along with those of other speakers. The DNC took place in Chicago, so, of course, we had to pick on the public speakers in our hometown.

I was thrilled to join The Savvy Session for a second guest spot on a special episode. I joined franchisor expert Kristine Givens along with hosts Kirsten Ramos and Paula Kircher in a special episode where we shared our biggest business mistakes (#fails) and the lessons learned - and what we did differently.

Among some of the best places to practice public speaking, one of my favorites is Pecha Kucha. This in-person presentation show features presentations of 20 slides shown for 20 seconds each. The slides auto-advance, so the speaker has to keep up - and get their message across in 6 minutes and 40 seconds.

“What if the audience stops paying attention?” It’s on you, the speaker, to ensure they’re engaged. See my one of my top suggestions for how to find tools to keep people listening and interested during your online meetings.

An election year is the perfect time to become a confident speaker. Hey, lucky you - 2024 is an election year! Volunteering during election time is a great way to be a part of the democratic process AND become a confident speaker. It’s more fun and supportive than you might think. Let me show you!

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.