How to Engage an Audience When Public Speaking

How to Engage an Audience When Public Speaking

What makes a great speech? What can you do to deliver your speech in the most impactful and engaging way possible? The key to keeping your audience engaged from start to finish is to, first and foremost, connect with them on a human level. In his book TED Talks, Chris Anderson provides several strategies on how to engage an audience in public speaking: Meet their eyes, drop your ego, be vulnerable, use humor, and tell them a story. Let’s explore each strategy in more detail.

The Key Elements of an Effective Speech

The Key Elements of an Effective Speech

Do you have an important speech coming up? What are some things you need to consider when planning your speech? According to Chris Anderson, all effective speeches begin with an idea, and they come alive with a throughline. So first, you’ll need to determine what your speech will be about—your idea. Then you’ll need to decide what message you want your audience to take with them—your throughline.   In this article, you’ll learn how to plan an effective speech and keep your audience on track from start to finish.

Bottom-Up Learning: Success in Small Steps

Bottom-Up Learning: Success in Small Steps

What is bottom-up learning? How does bottom-up learning breed success?  Bottom-up learning is taking small steps with limited knowledge, making mistakes, and adjusting. On the other hand, a top-down approach to learning is when a small group of elites builds theories to capture the truth about something.  Read more to understand why a bottom-up learning approach advances human society. 

Learning From Failure Is Critical for Your Success

Learning From Failure Is Critical for Your Success

Why is learning from failure beneficial? How can you develop by learning from failure? Black Box Thinking shows how learning from failure can benefit you personally and society as a whole. Without making mistakes and learning from failure, the world would be a very different place.  Read on to explore why human development requires learning from failure. 

A Look at the Future of VR (Outside of Gaming)

A Look at the Future of VR (Outside of Gaming)

How can virtual reality be useful outside of gaming? Is VR the future? Will the virtual world sever interpersonal relationships? What kind of effect will VR have on mental health? When most people think of virtual reality, they think of an expensive gaming headset with mediocre graphics and limited games. However, VR is for a lot more than just video games. VR technology is becoming more prominent in healthcare, education, and even in the workplace.  Learn why VR may just be the future of technology.

Public Speaking: Strategies for Success

Public Speaking: Strategies for Success

What makes a great speech? What are some things you need to consider to plan an effective speech? To make an impactful and memorable speech, it’s essential to have a strategy in place. The first step in planning your strategy is to identify what type of speech you’re giving: explanatory—when you teach your audience something new,  persuasive—when you try to change your audience’s mind, or “revelatory” or imaginative—when you aim to delight or inspire. Let’s explore how public speaking strategies differ depending on the type of speech.

How to Give an Explanatory Speech: Tips & Strategies

How to Give an Explanatory Speech: Tips & Strategies

What’s an explanatory speech? What are some things you should consider when explaining a difficult concept or idea to an uninitiated audience? An explanatory speech is one where you’re teaching your audience something new or explaining a difficult concept. The key to delivering an effective explanatory speech is to be mindful of your audience’s level of knowledge on the matter in question. To that end, beware of the curse of knowledge: just because something is basic knowledge for you, it doesn’t mean it is so for everyone. Here are some things to keep me in mind when giving an explanatory

Persuasive Speaking: 5 Strategies for Success

Persuasive Speaking: 5 Strategies for Success

What strategies do master persuaders use to sway people to their point of view? How can you implement those strategies? To change someone’s opinion, you must nudge them in your direction one small step at a time so that by the end, your argument is completely plausible in their minds. You should start by priming your audience, and by the end, they should be motivated to make a change. In the middle, you can employ strategies such as appealing to logic, discrediting the opposite stance, or guiding them to the conclusion through the process of elimination. Here are five persuasive speaking

Crucial Accountability: Book Review & Context

book review

Are you looking for a Crucial Accountability book review? What is the historical and intellectual context of the book? This Crucial Accountability book review has the answers. Crucial Accountability was published as part of the Crucial Learning series to discuss the importance of accountability conversations and how to effectively manage them. Keep reading to explore our Crucial Accountability book review.

Public Speaking: Voice and Body Language Tips

Public Speaking: Voice and Body Language Tips

What makes a good public speaking voice? Is it better to speak in a flat or oscillating voice? Where should you put emphasis as you speak? The best speech in the world will fall flat if the speaker doesn’t appear and sound genuine and passionate. According to Chris Anderson, the author of TED Talks, there are three things you can do with your voice and body to be as enigmatic as possible when speaking. Here’s how to bring your best to stage using voice and movement.