The intimacy of public speaking
Something has changed since World War II, and I don't mean lapel widths and skirt lengths. Public oratory as FDR ...
What is rhetoric?
A study of rhetoric begins with the Ancient Greeks. Most of the basics of public speaking were figured out thousands ...
What’s the difference between a speech and a presentation?
Some people make a great deal out of two words -- 'speech' and 'presentation'. I don't give speeches, they may ...
Who is the hero of a speech?
Most of us are accustomed, whether we acknowledge it or not, to cast ourselves in the role of hero of ...
How Fast Do You Speak?
So you got asked to give a speech, and you've been given 30 minutes. How much material is that? A ...
Take your audience on a quest
Life is a quest, and so is a good speech. Quests are something we understand; they are deeply imbedded in ...
Change the world this year
I began my book on public speaking with a story about how an old friend of mine, a speechwriter and ...
Openers
How do you start a speech? There are still human beings who wander this earth recommending beginning with a joke ...
Get your audience to do something
A speaker asks a lot of an audience. Understanding, enthusiasm, support -- and inactivity. Audiences are expected to be passive ...
Words that weaken speech
Here's a pop quiz: which is stronger, to say, "I love you" or "I really, really love you"? If you ...
