If you need to improve your public speaking skills, you may want to join Toastmasters, or you may want to hire an executive coach. Which is better - a speaking coach or Toastmasters? Both have their benefits. Here are some facts and observations about each; you get to decide.

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.

Nothing sucks the air out of a presentation like a long, boring introduction Here are the best 3 tips for introducing yourself. Kick off your speech and get your audience engaged. Your audience needs to know why you’re the expert - not your entire resumé.

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.