Visually Speaking

Fillers (um, uh, er, you know, right, etc.) are vocal distractions that interrupt the rhythm of speech and may reduce the effectiveness of the content. How many times have you found yourself unable to say just the right thing at the right time? In a featured article published in the January 2012 issue of the PresentationXpert newsletter, Tom Mucciolo and Leila Jahangiri share an excerpt from their recently published book, A Guide to Better Teaching.

Read the whole story: Eliminate Insidious Vocal Distractions in Speaking

A television commercial touting the business skills of a rising young executive only serves to make her look less than professional.

First aired during the 2010 Super Bowl, National Car Rental sends the wrong corporate message to would-be presenters in a corporate world. Read more… →

There are several elements of your vocal strategy that can take your presentation effectiveness to the next level. In a featured article published in the May 2010 PresentationXpert newsletter, Tom Mucciolo shares some ideas on ways to enhance your voice including techniques for breathing, projection, juxtaposition and interaction.

Read the whole story: Mediocrity to Mastery: Use These Vocal Techniques to Set Yourself Apart

Virtual space lets you connect the audience to invisible objects. In essence, you use virtual space to show the audience how you visualize the concepts you’re explaining. Although you see the concepts in your mind, the audience has no idea how to distinguish among them. Virtual space helps. Read more… →

This vocal exercise will help with voice pronunciation (phonetic sounds) and breathing (duration). The objective is to say the phrase in one breath, without rushing, in about 20 seconds. Read more… →

Once upon a time… a speaker claimed it was difficult to get an audience excited about information simply because the content was so boring. Content is never boring — people are boring. A boring presenter delivers boring details. While there are a number of ways to bring content to life, the most obvious method is to smile. You can choose from any of the three kinds of smiles: outside, inside, and in-depth. Read more… →

Using our research-based assessment tools, which measure the effectiveness of presenters, there appears to be a significant drop in quality when even highly rated “live” speakers deliver online content, specifically webinars, where the venue is limited to voice-over driven content. Read more… →

Part of the challenge of interaction is guiding your audience into asking the right question at the right time. While you may be able to anticipate possible questions, based on prior experience with the topic, you really can’t predict which people will ask what, when. But, you can increase your chances if you use a strategy of forced choice.  Read more… →

The DEPTH of your space is the most critical element to consider when positioning yourself in front of an audience. The only dimension that adds value is depth. Height and width are accepted instantly, but depth perception requires concentration and therefore creates an enduring effect. Read more… →

The common belief is that when interacting with someone, you should always make as much eye contact as possible. This is true when you are LISTENING. You would like to appear 100% attentive, so making eye contact with the person is critical. But what about when you are SPEAKING? Read more… →