PSB’s 10 Most Influential Bloggers on Public Speaking
Finding quality content on public speaking is like finding a needle in a haystack. It’s almost an impossible task! Try searching for “public speaking” in google and you will be overwhelmed with over 64 million websites and bear in mind that the first five websites may not be necessarily what you are looking for. It’s not like public speaking isn’t stressful enough. Thankfully, life’s a bit easier at Technorati, one of the top blog aggregators on the internet. A quick search on “public speaking” pulls out 182,263 blog posts. Nevertheless, it is going to take years to plough through every single post… and your business presentation is day after tomorrow.
Don’t you wish that you know who’s the top 10 most influential bloggers on public speaking? So that you can just visit their websites and have the latest, most insightful and top-notch speaking tips at your disposal.
Well, since no one is doing it, I shall do the honor of giving you my list of “10 Most Influential Bloggers on Public Speaking”. Here are five aspects that I look at to score.
Frequency: How often does the writer posts his entries? Is he very active at his public speaking blog? Or does his blog reminds you of Amityville - abandoned and dead?
Quality of Content: How valuable is his content to the readers? Are they exceptionally insightful? Easy to read and apply? Or is the content run-on-the-mill kind?
Traffic: How many visitors does his blog receives daily? What’s his blog’s outreach and influence?
Authority: What’s the background of the blogger? Does he has the credibility to write at his blog?
Personality: Does his blog has a personality or a distinctive style that connects with the readers and makes you want to visit daily?
Top of the list goes to …
Frequency: 8/10
Quality: 8.5/10
Traffic: 8/10
Authority: 8/10
Personality: 9/10
Total Score: 41.5/50
30 Seconds Rundown:
Garr Reynolds is currently Associate Professor of Management at Kansai Gaidai University where he teaches Marketing, Global Marketing and Multimedia Presentation Design. Garr is active in the Japanese community and can often be found presenting on subjects concerning design, branding, and effective corporate communications.
Why Should You Visit His Blog?
Garr discusses at great length the multiple approaches to delivering an effective presentation, approaches that are creative, simple and highly visual, with many real world examples. The design principles he shared in his blog are frighteningly insightful and incisive, many of which I have applied in my own presentations with great success. The visuals he used in his blog entries are also very zen-like, soothing and thought-provoking. Some of my favorite entries include Presentations and the “Laws of Simplicity”, Ira Glass: Tips on Storytelling and Inspiring Visual Presentations. You will be happy to know that he is writing a presentation book based on the content at his blog. Click here to read more about his soon-to-be-published book.
Frequency: 9/10
Quality: 7.5/10
Traffic: 9.5/10
Authority: 6/10
Personality: 8/10
Total Score: 40/50
30 Seconds Rundown:
Lifehacker is a self-help blog for geeks. Updated several times daily, Lifehacker points out software downloads, web sites, do-it-yourself projects, how-to’s, tutorials, shortcuts and tips for going beyond the default settings and getting things done in the most clever, unexpected and efficient ways. Public Speaking is one of their most popular categories.
Why Should You Visit His Blog?
Though Lifehacker is managed by a team of writers with a lot of public contribution, it is a site that deserves your attention especially if you are looking for quick tips in helping you deliver a kick-ass presentation. The entries are straight to the point, packed with high value content that answers directly to your burning questions on public speaking. A few months ago, one of my posts was picked up by them and within a day, my traffic quadrupled. (Click here to read that post) As you can tell, they have a solid fan base which further justifies the value of the site.
Frequency: 8/10
Quality: 8.5/10
Traffic: 7/10
Authority: 8/10
Personality: 8/10
Total Score: 39.5/50
30 Seconds Rundown:
Working as a part-time magician for over ten years, John Kinde discovered that adult audiences needed more than tricks and puzzles. Laughter was the key. In the mid-1970s, he began an intensive study on humor skills which continues today. On top of winning two years in a row as first-runner-up in the humorous speaking competition representing the best of over 20,000 people, John was also honored by the Los Angeles Chapter of the National Speakers Association as the sixth winner of the Connie Award for Professionalism On The Speaking Platform. His expertise in humor was also milked when he served as the past chair of the Humor Professional Expert Group at the National Speakers Association (NSA).
Why Should You Visit His Blog?
Humor is like rocket science. Easy to appreciate but hard to teach. Yet at John’s blog, he makes it look so ridiculously simple to be funny and the humor tips actually works contrary to popular belief! Unlike the common humor bloggers, John does not only tell you how to be funny. He demonstrates!
There are two particular types of blog entries that you will find extremely valuable. The first is his series of case studies on observational humor. (Click here to see one of such posts) He begins by sharing with his readers what happened during the meeting (his observations) and then proceeded to make them funny. He will even explain why it works. By seeing humor in action, it gives the readers clarity on how they too can milk everyday happenings for humor.
The second type of blog entries you will find extremely helpful is the monthly humor contests he run at his blog. Not only does such contests promote interactivity at his blog, they give the readers an opportunity to exercise their humor muscle. John also provide specific tips that will help the readers do well at the contest. Click here to check out one of his latest humor contest - “Jobs To Please Our Parents”.
–> Unconditional Confidence Blog
Frequency: 8/10
Quality: 8/10
Traffic: 6/10
Authority: 7/10
Personality: 8.5/10
Total Score: 39.5/50
30 Seconds Rundown:
Nancy Tierney is a professional singer and a confidence coach who teaches people how to have complete confidence, creative freedom and tons of fun any time they are speaking or performing in public. What gives her the credibility to teach confidence is her lack of during her siging days. For over five years, Nancy researched, trained and experimented with many methods offered by experts. Her blog is a culmination of tips and techniques that do work.
Why Should You Visit Her Blog?
As suggested by the title of her blog “Unconditional Confidence”, Nancy’s blog is an absolutely must-read if you - like most speakers - wish to escape the torment of your fear and self doubt. She cleverly dishes out her advice through analysis of real life personalities and everyday examples, making her daily reads fun and refreshing. I must also add that Nancy is extremely vocal when it comes to sharing her point of view, as you can tell from here and here.
–> Great Public Speaking Website
Frequency: 9/10
Quality: 7/10
Traffic: 7/10
Authority: 8/10
Personality: 6.5/10
Total Score: 37.5/50
30 Seconds Rundown:
Tom Antion is a full time professional speaker who has been featured on major news media worldwide including the Canadian Broadcast Network, The Australian Broadcast Network, Associated Press, The Tokyo Today Show and hundreds of radio, television and print outlets in United States. He is also the creator of the “Wake ‘em Up Video Professional Speaking System”, a training course considered in the standard for training professional or aspiring professional speakers in the art of speaking and the sceience of marketing professional speakering and training services.
Why Should You Visit His Blog?
On top of being ranked first on the google under “public speaking blog”, Tom is a regular at his blog. His entries are succint yet they are packed with tips and techniques that serve a punch. He covers almost everything you can think of when it comes to public speaking - building rapport with audience, delivering on stage, preparing a speech, making your audience laugh at cue, speaking to an international crowd etc. One of his most famous posts is on how to make money through public speaking. Though the targeted audience of his public speaking blog are training professional and aspiring professional speakers, Tom’s entries are equally relevant to people who are looking to become better speakers. If you are looking for quick reads, his blog is the one to go for.
–> Instant Speaking Success Blog
Frequency: 6/10
Quality: 7/10
Traffic: 7/10
Authority: 7.5/10
Personality: 7/10
Total Score: 34.5/50
30 Seconds Rundown:
Paul Evans is a professional speaker in United States and the author of six books. What led him to fame was the creation of the Instant Speaking Success Program that has helped over 35000 people all around the world.
Why Should You Visit His Blog?
Paul’s blog is based on the Instant Speaking Success Program that he created, which includes all his best speaking practices and philosophies. What gives his entries credibility is the fact that he is a practitioner who speaks to thousands each year on subjects more than just public speaking. Paul’s step by step approach also makes it easier for the readers to understand and apply the speaking techniques that he shared generously at his blog. He doesn’t just sell you the fish, he teaches you how to catch one yourself!
Frequency: 5/10
Quality: 8/10
Traffic: 8/10
Authority: 6/10
Personality: 7.5/10
Total Score: 34.5/50
30 Seconds Rundown:
Steve Pavlina started his blog in October 2004, and partially because he was one of the first in the field, he’s become the most popular personal development site on the Internetm, with over a million visitors daily. Pavlina has written popular posts on how to become an early riser, success, personal growth, the Law of Attraction, personal discipline and more. According to a recent post, he now makes $40K per month, mostly from joint-venture promotions, advertising, affiliate programs, and donations.
Why Should You Visit His Blog?
Although the public speaking related articles in his blog only takes up less than 2%, they are very insightful, informative and incisive. Because of the huge number of daily visitors (1 million), the online forum he sets up has also become a substantial resource for readers. The discussion made on each post offers new perspectives which is extremely useful. Here’s one example.
Being an expert in personal development, Steve’s writing approach is also more inward-focus. He gets you to look at your internal blockages and blindspots point-blank. So not only will you take home tips to help you become a better speaker, you will also learn how to become a better person! You can get a sense of Steve’s style by reading one of his speeches delivered at Toastmasters (a public speaking organization), titled A Cup of Tea With The Grim Reaper.
Frequency: 5/10
Quality: 7.5/10
Traffic: 5/10
Authority: 8/10
Personality: 7.5/10
Total Score: 33/50
30 Seconds Rundown:
Darren Fleming is Australia’s Public Speaking Coach. For over 13 years Darren has taught public speaking and confidence skills across Australia. During this time he has helped numerous companies’ leaders increase their confidence in public speaking. He has appeared in national publications such as BRW, MyBusiness and other newspapers as an expert on public speaking and communication skills. In May 2007, Darren outspoke over 2000 other speakers from across Australia to win the 2007 Impromptu Speaking Championship for Toastmasters International.
Why Should You Visit His Blog?
It’s clear that Darren has only recently started blogging on public speaking related topics but his credentials alone warrants you to bookmark his blog for future reference. One of the most outstanding posts he has written is titled Should You Follow The Rules of Public Speaking? where he challenged the ancient rules of speaking and gave them a new spin.
–> Connexion! Communication Resources!
Frequency: 7/10
Quality: 7/10
Traffic: 5/10
Authority: 6/10
Personality: 8/10
Total Score: 33/50
30 Seconds Rundown:
Gary is a young entrepreneur, communications trainer and speaker from the sunny island of Singapore! He is also the current President of the National University of Singapore (NUS) Toastmasters Club. Although Gary may not have the speaking credentials compared to the rest of the nine bloggers, his sincerity and willingness to share makes him popular among his readers.
Why Should You Visit His Blog?
Because if you write to him, he will surely reply! Gary’s responsiveness and eagerness to help is his U.S.P (unique selling point). Sometimes he will even take the extra effort to write a new post in order to answer a particular question posed by his readers. His experience in Toastmasters (a public speaking organization) also allows him to share very tangible tips that you can use immediately to improve your speaking skills. One of the more popular posts in Gary’s blog is 10 Tips To Overcome Stage Fright. If you are a newbie in public speaking, his blog is a must read because he will leave you feeling inspired!
–> Pivotal Public Speaking Website
Frequency: 6/10
Quality: 7.5/10
Traffic: 5/10
Authority: 7.5/10
Personality: 6/10
Total Score: 32/50
30 Seconds Rundown:
Bronwyn Ritchie has 20 years’ experience speaking to audiences and training in public speaking - from individuals too nervous to say their own names in front of an audience, to community groups and corporate executives. On top of managing her blog, she also dishes out free tips, articles, resources and quotations on public speaking and presentations through a fortnightly ezine titled Pivotal Public Speaking.
Why Should You Visit Her Blog?
Unlike the other bloggers, Bronwyn doesn’t exactly write the articles at her blog. Instead, she searches for interesting articles revolving around presentation and then share them online. Powerpoint users will find her blog extremely useful since she covers extensively about the proper use of powerpoint, including the designing and delivery of a quality presentation. Through her blog, you also get introduced to other competent bloggers in the areas of public speaking. So if you are looking to explore fresh ideas and perspectives on public speaking, her blog is the one to go for.
Endorsed By The Public Speaking Blog
[…] unknown wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerptNot only does such contests promote interactivity at his blog, they give the readers an opportunity to exercise their humor muscle. John also provide specific tips that will help the readers do well at the contest. … […]
[…] After an entire month’s research and evaluation of 40 public speaking sites, The Public Speaking blog has released its list of the Top 10 Most Influential Bloggers on Public Speaking! […]
[…] I was named one of the Top Ten Most Influential Bloggers on Public Speaking by THE Public Speaking Blog published by Eric Feng! What a surprise and a huge honor. I came in 4th on a very impressive list of expert bloggers who contribute mightily to the field of public speaking. […]
Hey Eric, I’m number 11, right?
Hey Lisa! Will putting you 11 make me stay in your good books?
Possibly. . .
Ok Lisa, you are number 11! Haha. Hope you are doing GREAT at your side!
[…] Following on from my last post about the Top Ten Most Influential Blogger’s on Public Speaking I think that Motivational keynote speaker, humorist and corporate comedian Brad Montgomery should have at least got a mention. […]
Thanks, Eric. Things are going great over here!
I will definitely go check out Brad Montogomery’s website. Tks for the information!
omg.. good work, bro