"How can I learn to think on my feet?" That's one of the most frequently asked questions I get about public speaking. It's usually followed by, "I'm OK if I have time to prepare a presentation, but I'm petrified if...

What is the value of the words you use? In the last post we debunked the oft-quoted figure that words only account for 7% of the message received by the listener. If that were the case, then the speaker was...

If you've ever had a public speaking course or read more than a book or two about public speaking, you've likely encountered the statement that 55% of the message you convey comes from your body language, 38% comes from your...

It's been so long since I last posted, even our dog, Daisy, noticed. Here she is in my study, pencil in mouth, signaling it's time for me to get back to work. What she won't acknowledge is that she is...

Looking for a way to create a powerful sound bite? Combine two seemly contradictory words into a word pairing that grabs the reader's attention and jars the senses. That's what my friend, Roz Trieber, has done in naming her blog,...

A key benefit of media training is learning to be quotable. And one tried-and-true tool you can use is the much-maligned cliché. As Suzanne Fields wrote in a recent column: All we have to sustain us on the journey to...

Here's a fun bit of trivia about American painter, James McNeill Whistler, perhaps best known for his painting commonly titled, "Whistler's Mother." As you will see, it has little to do with leadership communication, the focus of Speak to Lead....

Speak to get results. That's our goal for clients. I am adamant that you as a leader must know what result you want from your presentation. That's true whether you're delivering an inspiring speech or conducting a high-content workshop. As...

Obama adviser Samantha Power, a Harvard professor and Pulitzer Prize winner, resigned from the campaign today and apologized for referring to Hillary Clinton as a monster during an interview with a Scottish newspaper. Where did Power go wrong, and how...

In advocating a position on an issue, you'll be more successful if you are able to define, or frame, the terms of debate. That's why getting out in front of the issue is critical. Better for you to get there...