Public Speaking with Peter George

Your brain’s primary functions include keeping you alive and steering you clear of harm’s way. When it determines that you are in a dangerous situation, or even in a stressful one, it initiates the fight or flight response. Once that adrenaline begins flowing through your body, all sorts of things start to happen, including your brain becoming super vigilant. In this episode, you’ll learn how your brain, in an effort to help and protect you, may actually undermine your talk and how you can keep it from happening.

Everyone has their own public speaking styles practices. The key is to learn from others, take the ideas that resonate with you and your style and make them your own. Of course, once you do that, you should continue to learn, always advancing and honing your skills. One of the people you want to learn from is my guest, Jeff Belanger. In this episode, he explains how he has developed his public speaking skills, including how he learned from those in other professions.

How long do you have to establish a connection with your audience? Is it 3 minutes? 1 minute? 30 seconds? How about 15 seconds? Or 3 seconds?   I side with those who say 3 seconds. Now, you might be thinking, “How can I possibly connect with an audience in 3 seconds?”   Listen in and learn how you can connect with your audience before walking on stage and still have 3 seconds to spare.

Leaders have the opportunity to effect change, to move people, to make a difference. And to do that, they need many skills, but one of them perhaps more than any other. Of course, it's public speaking.   As leaders, too many of us miss out on these opportunities because we don’t spend the necessary time building these skills, thinking of them as soft skills, as opposed to the power skills they actually are.   In this episode, Simon Trevarthen shares ways that you can use these skills to better communicate with others, ultimately providing yourself with a greater chance for the success you’ve been striving for.   Takeaways - 3 Keys to connecting with your listeners - The 3 most powerful words in the English language - Using the rightly-timed pause - Delivering the powerful 3-minute presentations - How to create and tell hi-def stories - The reason to combine emotion with data - Why butterflies are your friend - How short sentences connect with your audience   Resources - ElevateYourGreatness.com - https://www.linkedin.com/in/simontrevarthen/ - https://www.facebook.com/simon.trevarthen.9

Does it drive you crazy when the car in front of you takes an abrupt turn without using a turn signal? If you’re like most people, it does.   Why couldn’t they turn on the signal? The lever’s right there. It’s incredibly easy to use. And for something so simple, it provides a significant benefit to them and the people behind them.   And what about you? Do you use your turn signals? Tune in and learn how to use transitions so your audiences follow you throughout your presentations.

Richard Strauss once said, “The human voice is the most beautiful instrument of all, but it is the most difficult to play.” How well do you play this wonderful gift you have?   Do you vary your pace? Do you alter your pitch? How about your tone and volume?   If you’re not sure you’re including enough vocal variety or if you’re using it to its greatest advantage, listen in as Madonna Hanna shares tips and ideas that will add color to your presentations, making them more engaging and compelling.   Takeaways - How practice helps develop your vocal variety. - Why you should include vocal variety in your presentations - How to develop vocal variety? - Exercises do you have for practicing the elements of vocal variety - Why it's important to record practices   Resources - DropKickTheDrama.com - instagram.com/madonnafitfastandfabulous - Toastmasters.org

One of the questions I get asked often is, “How do I know my presentation connected with the audience?” That’s a fair question because just about every speaker is curious, if not eager, to know if they served their audience well.   Here’s what I tell them. First, listen to the subject of their comments. If it’s about you, you probably didn’t achieve your objective. If it’s about themselves, it’s more than likely that you nailed it! Sounds counterintuitive, doesn’t it? Please stick with me while I explain.   Tune in to this quick episode and learn an easy way to know if you served your audience or not.

The mission of basic training is to motivate, train, and inspire the generation of service men and women. And in that spirit, who better to discuss the basics of public speaking than a veteran of both the service and the White House communication Agency.   In this episode, Darrell Williams, a man who served his country and now his fellow citizens, covers fundamentals that help you serve your audiences.

What do you do if your energy level and that of your audience are different? Do you try to force them from their sluggish state or go to where they are and raise their energy level as you progress through your presentation? The latter may be the correct answer, but the former might be implemented more often.   In this episode, you'll learn how to ramp up an audience's energy and enthusiasm so you can engage them and deliver the takeaway you had intended.

As a speaker, you want to get more gigs, especially higher-paying gigs, so you can share your message with more people. To accomplish this, you need to market yourself, your expertise, and the result your message provides.   Perhaps the most cost-effective way to get in front of your target audience is to be covered in the media. And media coverage delivers an extraordinarily high level of authority, credibility, and trust.   That’s why I’m thrilled to have with us today Dr. Roseann Capanna-Hodge. She is going to share ideas on getting media coverage and how it can help you achieve your goals.   Takeaways - How to get hits on top-tier media sources - The key to building authority - Why clarity is important - How to build  - Is TV king? - Where to connect with the media   Resources - DrRoseann.com - HARO