My son is wild about Teslas! He can't afford to buy one (yet), so he wastes no opportunity to tell me how great they are and how I NEED to get one (so he can drive it). To help me to arrive at the correct decision, he's accompanied me to an Auto Innovation show, the Tesla store, and an Electric … [Read more...] about Are you an Erudite, an Evangelist, or an Enthusiast?
Huge confidence monitor blocks presenter
Is there such a thing as an "overconfidence monitor"? I think I found one in the wild at a training session I attended in early February. Why confidence monitors are awesome In a perfect world, people memorize every presentation they give and always maintain eye contact with the audience. But … [Read more...] about Huge confidence monitor blocks presenter
Breaking away from the Engineer’s Sine Wave
I joined Toastmasters in 2013 to improve my public speaking. In the past seven years, I've learned a lot about being aware the many aspects of vocal variety. Using skills I've learned at Toastmasters, I make an effort to adjust the pitch, speed, and tone of my voice to keep my audiences engaged. So … [Read more...] about Breaking away from the Engineer’s Sine Wave
A little audience research goes a long way
In 2016, Massachusetts citizens voted to legalize recreational marijuana use for adults aged 21 and older. But not everybody is welcoming the cannabis industry with open arms. Last night, a businessman who wants to open a retail shop and growing operation in my small Central Massachusetts town … [Read more...] about A little audience research goes a long way
Fascinating impeachment wordplay
The 2019 impeachment inquiry has been dominating the US news lately. It's been very dramatic, with closed sessions, bombshell public hearings, recanting of depositions, and hours of riveting testimony. As interesting as the insight to the impeachment process is to me, perhaps more fascinating was … [Read more...] about Fascinating impeachment wordplay
Think your presentation’s awesome? Get some feedback.
At the last minute, I signed up to be a speaker for a recent meeting of my Toastmasters club. To make it easy on myself, I decided to present an excerpt from a tried-and-true presentation I’d given many times before. What I didn’t expect was to receive feedback that would make my speech even … [Read more...] about Think your presentation’s awesome? Get some feedback.
Bad at public speaking? Not a problem!
On September 28, Elon Musk contradicted everything I've ever learned about public speaking. He stuttered, looked nervous, went off on tangents, and forgot where his slides were. But guess what? He gave a great presentation! Mr. Musk spoke at an event that was being held at a SpaceX launch site in … [Read more...] about Bad at public speaking? Not a problem!
What upspeak says about you?
I attended a women-only technical conference in the spring and was extremely distracted by a speaker who used upspeak during her presentation. What is upspeak, and why might somebody want to minimize that tendency during a tech talk? What is upspeak? A rising inflection is when the pitch of … [Read more...] about What upspeak says about you?