Photo credits to Slimmer Jimmer

Let’s set things straight. There is absolutely NO way you can learn how to swim or cook from just reading a book or attending a seminar unless you are a genius. Yes?

And there’s a reason why there are still a gazillion number of people who are not rich in spite of the number of books on how to get rich. Yes?

If you have realized by now, the fastest and most effective way in mastering a skill is by DOING it. As the saying goes:

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A couple of days ago, I raved about having a female winner for the International Speech Contest held by Toastmasters International. This competition is akin to the Olympics of public speaking. Anyhow, one of the readers (Simon from UK) commented that “a Toastmasters competition is not the best way to measure skills as a public speaker…” and he sees “competitions as a bit too artificial to give a decent idea”. If you are curious about why he thinks that way, check out his blog.

Nonetheless, our conversation triggered a question - Can a winning speech be considered an excellent speech?

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Two weeks ago, I wrote an article that raised some eye brow among the readers here. I brought in Hillary Clinton, Helen Fisher and Patricia Fripp as examples of how women are scoring in the public speaking arena. You can read all about it here: Are Women Any Less Capable Than Male Public Speakers?.

A strange thing happened shortly after writing the article.

I receive an email from my friend informing me of the winner of the International Speech Contest held by Toastmasters International.

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Photo credits goes to Sifu Renka

This week, we’re featuring another fellow Public Speaking Blogger, Lisa Braithwaite. She is the author of Speak Schmeak

Take it away Lisa!

One of my clients was talking about her initial nervousness when she gives a presentation and how much it would help her to have a better opening.

We usually talk about strong openings as a benefit to the audience: as a way to engage them, pique their interest and encourage them to get involved.

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Do you know that there are a total of 418 articles written for The Public Speaking Blog since March 2006? Each article contains about an average of 10 insider strategies to help you become more confident and charismatic speakers. And if you were crazy enough to read EVERYTHING here, you would have gained access to over 4180 time-tested speaking tips and tactics that would have cost you a thousands of dollars to acquire. Yet, I realize that most of my revered readers (that includes YOU!) only manage to scrap the surface and read about 10% of what’s written for you. What a shame!

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Photo credits goes to Paul Watson

Aren’t you curious about how to take the guesswork of public speaking?
Aren’t you dying to find out that ONE lesson top speakers learn that made all the difference?
Aren’t you intrigued by how some amateur speakers could wow the crowd by applying that one tip-bit?

I did.

And lucky for you, I took the liberty to find out.

Presenting to you a list of 60 public speaking tip-bits that kept the top speakers ahead of the speaking game. So can you… if you take the next five minutes or so to study the list. (Check out the hyperlinks as well!)

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Photo credits goes to Angela Radulescu

Today we’re going to talk about something a little more unusual… and potentially more controversial!

No, we won’t be talking about crop circles. However, we are going to talk about a phenomenon that is just as rare but also just as impressive, and most definitely not a hoax:

Female speakers.

Many top public speakers seem to be male – and indeed, they are. If there are any feminists in the audience, hold the rotten eggs – I’m not saying that there aren’t any top female speakers, but it could also be because there are still less women than men in top positions of power or leadership, although the gap is closing.

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Always wondered how these people can get up there and be absolutely in control. Even when things screw up, you never knew it happened until a week has passed?

As an emcee myself, I must say that this isn’t easy. Its surely a lot more challenging than giving prepared speeches. For this entry, I answer some FAQ’s on emceeing and I won’t be alone. With me this time is Gary Guwe and Nina Sabrina, 2 of the founders of Public Speaking International.

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Image by TeeRish

The average attention span of a literate adult is 20 minutes.

Good, you think to yourself. 20 minutes is plenty of time.

But how many speeches have you sat through where you fell asleep within the first two minutes?

And how afraid are you that people are going to do the same for yours?

It seems terribly obvious: unless you’re interesting, no one is going to pay attention. When you watch an episode of the O.C. or Gray’s Anatomy, you’re there to be entertained. You watch because the plot twists and the developing relationships on-screen are interesting. Not interesting? You switch the channel.

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Photo by charlybarley

You step onto the stage.

Your audience stares back at you – a sea of unknown faces. If you’re lucky, they’ll be receptive. If you’re not, they’ll be bored.

And if it’s just not your day, they’ll even be hostile.

There’s a lot of information out there on how to make sure your speech is effective. But what most people don’t realize is that half the battle is won if your audience is awake and eager before you even open your mouth.

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