Education
**Fearless Presentations**

Want to eliminate public speaking fear and become a more poised and confident presenter and speaker? Fearless Presentations is the answer. This podcast is based on our famous two-day presentation skills class offered in cities all over the world. Each week, we offer free public speaking tips that help you develop the skill to present with poise when you deliver presentations. This is the fastest, easiest way to eliminate public speaking fear.

Latest Episodes:

How to End Your Presentation with a Bang Jan 30, 2023

Show notes

A few weeks ago, I gave you a few of my favorite ways to start a presentation. Then, for the last few weeks, we have covered several ways to make presentations more interesting. This week, I give you a few of my favorite ways to end your presentation with a bang.
You want to make the last thing that you do or so in your presentation memorable so that the audience leaves the room seeing you as a qualified speaker and more likely to use the information that you gave them.
I cover seven very effective ways to end a speech along with a few "show stoppers." The show stoppers are things that you want to avoid. The last thing that you want to do is design and deliver a great presentation and then end on a downer.
Show Notes: How to End Your Speech (https://www.fearlesspresentations.com/how-to-end-your-presentation-with-a-bang/)

Storytelling in Speeches-How to Reduce Presentation Fear Quickly Jan 23, 2023

Show notes

Storytelling in Speeches-The Easiest Way to Reduce Nervousness During a Speech

Feel nervous about speaking in public? Tell a personal story in your speech (early), and you can reduce public speaking fear dramatically. One of the first public speaking secrets that we share in our public speaking training classes is that stories are your friend.

When you tell a story, you reduce presentation jitters and build rapport with your audience. Don’t believe me? Watch any professional motivational speaker on YouTube. You will find that their entire speech is composed of a series of individual stories that they link together. In this post, we will cover some of the major benefits of telling stories as well as the best way to do it.
In this episode, we comer the ins and out of why you should insert stories into your presentations. We also cover how, when you do this, your nervousness will drop dramatically.
Show Notes: Storytelling in Speeches (https://www.fearlesspresentations.com/tell-a-story-in-your-speech-and-reduce-public-speaking-fear/)

How to Tell a Good Story in a Presentation in 5 Simple Steps Jan 09, 2023

Show notes

The 5 Steps of Storytelling During a Presentation. Follow these Tips to Become a Better Storyteller.
In this episode, we cover the Five Steps of Storytelling that we have identified in our presentation skills class. These best practices will help you organize your stories better. Remember that audience members have a short attention span. Good storytelling, though, can help you capture and hold the attention of your audience. In fact, inserting better stories is a simple way to improve your presentations dramatically.

The tips on this episode can help you improve your story structure,. However, the best way to deliver a story in your presentation is to just play the video in your head. Then just tell the audience what you are seeing. Great storytelling is really just sharing your own experience with your audience. So if following these steps is a little out of your comfort zone, start by just inserting a single personal story from your own experience into your next presentation. Then try each of these tips, one at a time, in future presentations.
This final tip isn’t really one of the steps of storytelling, but it is an important part of how to tell a story. It is a good idea to practice different versions of your story. I got this from my friend Ton Antion when I interviewed him about building a personal brand. He suggested having a 30-second version, a one-minute version, and a two-minute version of every story.

By the way, I’m not saying to have three different kinds of stories. I’m suggesting that you get good at telling your stories in different ways, so the timing of your story is the right length, whether you have three minutes to speak, 30 minutes to speak, or three hours to speak. The best storytellers can condense the whole story down in time if they absolutely have to do so.

Although I had been teaching students how to tell a great story for years, I never really taught this. I’d say, “If time is short, just condense your story down.” After Tom mentioned this tip, though, I began to pay attention to the look on my student’s faces when I said this. I’d sometimes see a little confusion. So we actually started practicing this in class. It has been a big help. In fact, we sometimes find that a well-worded 30-second story can be more impactful than a longer one. Try it yourself and see!
Show Notes: How to Tell a Good Story in a Presentation in 5 Simple Steps (https://www.fearlesspresentations.com/the-5-steps-of-storytelling-how-to-tell-a-great-story/)

How to Design an Entire Speech in 3 Simple Steps Jan 02, 2023

Show notes

Looking for how to write a speech in a few simple steps? Over the last 20 years, our instructors have dissected thousands of speeches. In that time, we’ve been able to identify simple things that can easily make or break a presentation. We’ve assembled a simple, step-by-step process that explains how to write a speech quickly and easily.

In fact, once you understand the concepts below, you can use our Online Speech Writer to organize and print your presentation. A little warning, though, the process is very simple if you follow every step. If you skip a step, you can get bogged down, and the process can take a lot of time. However, if you follow the steps, you can write an effective speech in just a few minutes (versus hours or days)!
Show Notes: How to Design an Entire Speech in 3 Simple Steps (https://www.fearlesspresentations.com/how-to-write-a-speech-just-few-simple-steps/)

How to Introduce Yourself Before a Speech Dec 19, 2022

Show notes

One of the more challenging parts of any presentation is the very first part. If you are wondering how to introduce yourself before starting your presentation, you are in good company. For most of us, once we get the first few sentences out, our nervousness will diminish pretty significantly. So, this initial self-introduction is really important. If we struggle here, our nervousness will increase. In addition, the old adage, “You never get a second chance to make a first impression,” is very true.

In this post, we are going to cover the best way, a very simple three-step process that will help you introduce yourself in a presentation. A summary of the steps is below.

Start with your name and company (or organization or school).
Tell your audience what problem you can solve for them.
Share some type of proof (social proof works best) that you can solve this problem.

I will break down each step into a simple-to-follow process.
Show Notes: How to Introduce Yourself Before a Speech (https://www.fearlesspresentations.com/how-to-introduce-yourself-before-starting-any-presentation/)

7 Foolproof Ways to Start a Presentation - Part 2 of 2 Dec 12, 2022

Show notes

This is part two of a two-part episode on how to start a presentation.
Looking for a few ways to start a presentation that are dynamic? The opening is really the most important part of your presentation. You want to make a good first impression. In addition, you also want the audience to see you as a subject matter expert.

Last week, we covered three ways to start a presentation to help your audience retain the content of the presentation better. This week, I give you five ways to capture the attention of even the most stoic audience right away!
If you stick around for the last six minutes, I will give you my very best tip for starting a presentation. It is a bonus tip. It doesn't always work, but when it does, it is a show-stopper. So, stick around for it!
Show Notes: How to Start a Presentation (https://www.fearlesspresentations.com/how-to-start-a-presentation/)

7 Foolproof Ways to Start a Presentation - Part 1 of 2 Dec 05, 2022

Show notes

Looking for a few ways to start a presentation that are dynamic? The opening is really the most important part of your presentation. You want to make a good first impression. In addition, you also want the audience to see you as a subject matter expert.

Of course, we’ve all been there as a speaker. First, we design a powerful presentation. Then, we nervously walk out onto a stage or into the front of the room. The audience stares with skepticism written all over their faces. This stoic crowd has no patience for speakers who waste their time. And their demeanor is showing that fact right now. In a timid voice, we start with a simple, “Good morning.” We get no response from the audience — no warm welcome at all. As a result, our nervousness increases dramatically.

The good news is that your speech doesn’t have to start this way. Your first words will create first impressions.

So, in this session, I’m going to give you the best way to start a successful presentation so you can win over the audience members. Below are a few of my favorite ways to start a speech that will help you capture the attention of your audience and get even the most stoic crowd to want more from you.
Show Notes: Best Ways to Start a Presentation (https://www.fearlesspresentations.com/how-to-start-a-presentation/)

10 Ways to Get Rid of the Fear of Public Speaking Nov 28, 2022

Show notes

In this session, I’m going to cover 10 simple ways to overcome the fear of public speaking. This is a continuation of the 3-step process to eliminate public speaking fear. In that episode, I showed you the process that a nervous speaker should go through to reduce speech anxiety.

As a review, the first step is to find out where the fear of public speaking comes from. Then, do a few simple things to reduce the risk of failure in those instances. (We will cover 10 of these tips in this episode.) Finally, you want to string together a series of successes speaking in front of a group of people. Basically, you want to get lots of practice so you can develop good presentation skills.

This is the process that we use in our public speaking classes. Your local toastmasters' club and your local speech coach might use this process as well. So, presentation tips can help you eliminate presentation fear symptoms. However, to permanently reduce nervousness, you have to follow the process over and over. Every time you use one of these key tips and have success, your confidence will grow.

That is why a good public speaking class or coach can help you move through this process more quickly. If you only give a single presentation once a year or a couple of times a year, you will find it difficult to string together this series of successes. You will become a much better speaker if you speak more often.

Remember, stage fright is a common form of anxiety. And public speaking is a learned skill. No one comes out of the womb as a great public speaker. So a good coach or class can speed up the process exponentially.
Show Notes: 10 Ways to Get Rid of the Fear of Public Speaking (https://www.fearlesspresentations.com/10-simple-ways-to-get-over-the-fear-of-public-speaking/)

President Abraham Lincoln’s Thanksgiving Proclamation (Oct 3, 1863) [with Commentary] Nov 21, 2022

Show notes

Happy Thanksgiving. And for those of you outside of the United States, happy third week of November.
I wanted to take a break from the normal public speaking tips and share with you this week one of Abraham Lincoln's least quoted speeches but the one that has a significant impact on US citizens every November, his Thanksgiving proclamation that created the holiday.
Where did the Thanksgiving Holiday come from? Yes, the pilgrim created the first Thanksgiving in Plymouth. And yes, President George Washington made the first Thanksgiving proclamation in 1789. But it was actually Abe Lincoln who created the national holiday. Ole’ Abe reinstituted the holiday that Washington created during his presidency.
This episode covers the words of the Thanksgiving proclamation. I also add a little commentary to show you how you can incorporate some of Lincoln’s techniques into your own speeches as well!
Show Notes: Abraham Lincoln’s Thanksgiving Proclamation
(https://www.fearlesspresentations.com/president-abraham-lincolns-thanksgiving-proclamation-oct-3-1863-with-commentary/)

Eliminate Public Speaking Fear in 3 Easy Steps Nov 14, 2022

Show notes

When folks ask me what I do for a living, I answer, “I help people eliminate public speaking fear.” It is always fun to watch the looks on their faces when they process what I said. Inevitably, I will typically get a response like, “You do what?” or “How do you do that?”

The process is really simple. In fact, anyone can reduce public speaking anxiety if they follow this process. Over the last 20 years, our great public speaking class instructors have perfected the best ways to reduce anxiety symptoms. And we have organized the process into three simple steps. The process works every single time!

In this session, we explain this simple process. However, if you looking for public speaking tips, see 10 Ways to Eliminate the Fear of Public Speaking. In that episode, we show you how to lower your heart rate, take deep breaths, and eight other ways to calm speech anxiety. This session is a little different, though. We are not going to give you a bunch of tips about how to reduce stage fright. Instead, we will show you how to become a good public speaker, so the nervousness goes away altogether.
Show Notes: Eliminate Public Speaking Fear in 3 Easy Steps (https://www.fearlesspresentations.com/eliminate-public-speaking-fear-in-three-easy-steps)

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