I’ll never forget that night. It was several years back and I was sitting in a hotel lobby preparing for a talk I was about to give. I opted to skip dinner that particular evening because the nervousness set in
Your Pre-Speech Checklist: Ten Things to Do Before a Big Speech
Part of the reason that even experienced speakers feel a bit nervous before a speech is that there is a lot that must be done before you even walk on stage. If you don’t have a pre-speech checklist, here are
The Magic Formula for Overcoming Communication Fears
Fears limit us more than anything else. They prevent us from meeting new people, strengthening relationships, moving ahead in our career and achieving financial abundance. While the internet and social media give us the opportunity to communicate with thousands (and
What Many Experts and Gurus Try to Hide
An interesting side conversation popped up the other night while I was teaching networking. I had mentioned that I got a lot of the material for the course from the many mistakes I made when I first started to learn
Toastmasters Turns 85 – Imagining the First Meeting Ever
85 years ago today, Dr. Ralph C. Smedley met with a small group of people in a YMCA in Santa Ana, California. That was the first Toastmasters meeting ever. It’s amazing how since then the organization has grown to over
How to Have a Productive Meeting
Meetings are tricky. When done correctly, they can communicate information to the right parties or hammer out a sensitive issue. When done incorrectly, they can waste people’s time, make the meeting host look bad and de-motivate the people in attendance.
Inspiration: Life is Too Short
I’ve heard the phrase “Life is Too Short” a number of times throughout the years. Sometimes it refers to a person’s reaction to someone else’s behavior (Life is too short to hate your sister) and other times it’s just a