Speaking Stories
On empathy – and why you need to show it
“Is Argentina a safe country?” I asked innocently. “Yes, Argentina is a safe country,” replied President Nestor Kirchner, before listing all the things his government had done to improve the security situation. But set against a backdrop of a spate of...
On background: why what’s behind you matters
“I’m here live. I’m not a cat!” And with these words - and his uncannily cat-like features - Texas attorney Rod Ponton became an Internet sensation. For this, of course, we can blame Zoom (or perhaps Ponton’s secretary). Whatever the case, and the much-needed...
Let there be (good) light
To get good lighting, God just had to use words. For mere mortals, it requires a bit more effort. Yet despite years of Zooms, webinars and video interviews, many people still don’t get it right. This is a shame. Good lighting can make or break an appearance just...
Dealing with the Past: Reframing Negative Beliefs
We all carry baggage from the past. Things happen to us in childhood and as young adults. These events trigger feelings that shape beliefs. And these beliefs lead to negative patterns of behaviour. These patterns can persist. And they can be very...
How brain chemicals can make you a better speaker
In 2015, public speaking guru David JP Phillips gave a wildly popular TED Talk on an apparently self-serving subject: inducing dopamine and oxytocin in audiences. But what about the role these neurochemicals play in the brain of the speaker? Dopamine, aka “ the...
Welcome
This is going to hurt. That's what I was watching when inspiration came calling. In the episode that evening, the doctors in the maternity ward of a British hospital were holding a clinic. The patients sat in the dreary waiting room. When they were called into the...
Body matters
You’ve probably seen the chart. You know, the one that shows that what you say - your verbal communication - only accounts for 7% of what the people you’re talking to take in. The rest is accounted for by tone of voice and body language. Yet as The Economist...
The Secret to Speaking Success
In his bestselling book Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell introduced us to the so-called “10,000 hour rule”. Most people took this to mean that if they spent 10,000 hours’ practising something, they’d become an expert in that field. Although Gladwell didn’t say this...
