I taught a public speaking class in Houston last week for a great group of people. We had an absolute blast. But the class was a little smaller than normal. And it got me thinking about a topic that I covered a couple of years ago, but we haven't really delved into a lot -- public speaking coaching. If you'd listened to a few episodes, you'll know that I am a big fan of public speaking classes because classes allow participants to practice speaking in a controlled environment. They are a safer w...
Jul 21, 2025•16 min
This week, I’m covering how to master Q&A Sessions in a speech . This is the part of the presentation that most people dread because it is spontaneous and unplanned. And, because it is spontaneous and unplanned, it can be terrifying for new presenters . So on this episode, I’m going to show you how this couple of minutes can be your secret weapon as a presenter (especially if you are trying to sell or persuade your audience.) I also give you five tips to help you master the Q&A session o...
Jul 14, 2025•17 min
This week, I'm going to give you a very simple, step-by-step process to help you improve your public speaking skills in just one week. This process is very similar to the one we use in our public speaking classes. And itis designed to help presenters create new habits that lead to better presentations. If you follow the process, you'll only need to put in 10 to 30 minutes of work on each of five workdays. And by the end of the work week, you will have created a pretty good persuasive speech that...
Jul 07, 2025•24 min
A couple of weeks ago, I started a series on how to get paid to speak. In week one, we talked about different types of motivational speakers and what a professional speaker is. Then, last week, I covered a few things that you absolutely need to do in order to get clients to pay you as a speaker. This week, I'll show you how to cash in on one of the most lucrative industries on the planet. We'll cover three ways to get clients to pay you to speak. Remember what we covered in the first session a c...
Jun 30, 2025•27 min
Last week I started a series on how to get paid to speak. And if you are a new listener to Fearless Presentations, you might be thinking, "How can I get paid to speak if I'm scared to death to stand up in front of a group?" If that is the case, just go back to some of the earlier episodes for tips on how to reduce nervousness. In this episode and the next couple, I'm going to show you how you can cash in on one of the highest-paid professions in the world. This week, I cover the five things you ...
Jun 23, 2025•19 min
Public speaking is one of (if not THE) highest-paid professions in the world . In this episode, I'll dispel the myth about what a professional speaker is. Basically, a professional speaker is just a person whom someone has paid to give a presentation . So, elementary school teachers are professional speakers. So are trial attorneys. So are salespeople, Realtors, and combat officers who give mission briefings. Each of these types of presenters delivers information in presentations or briefings th...
Jun 16, 2025•26 min
This week, I explain the difference between the different formats of public speaking training in 2025. Communication has changed a lot in the last decade, and you now have every piece of information ever printed in the world at your fingertips. AI can now write speeches for you. With all this technology and information available, what is the absolute best way in 2025 to reduce public speaking fear? Is there an easier way to conquer this fear now than in the past? Well, maybe. You can listen to p...
Jun 09, 2025•15 min
In his episode, we're going to talk about filler words and how to reduce the negative fillers that can be annoying. Fillers come in a few different formats. Some are just sounds. These fillers are the ones that, when we do them, we tend to get more nervous because we think the audience is judging us. These are the ers, the uhms, the youknows, etc. How to stop saying Um is one of the most common public speaking concerns. Um is a filler word. And filler words are a natural part of everyday convers...
Jun 02, 2025•19 min
On this episode, I cover seven easy ways for ESL presenters (presenters who present in English but English is their second language) to reduce nervousness. If English is your first language, don't worry, because most of the tips will help you as well. In fact, the first four of the seven tips are things that anyone can use to reduce public speaking fear. The remaining three tips are ones that are specific to ESL presenters (or presenters who are delivering presentations to international audience...
May 27, 2025•29 min
In his episode, I'm getting back to our roots -- so to speak. The topic is How to Overcome Stage Fright. In the past, we've covered different forms of this performance anxiety, like Imposter Syndrome, and I've covered how to reduce public speaking fear on a number of episodes. Stage fright is slightly different, though. It can come from public speaking fear or other types of stage performances like singing, playing music, acting, or performing in sporting events. While doing the research for thi...
May 12, 2025•32 min
If you are scanning the internet for PowerPoint tips, it’s most likely because something has happened recently that wasn’t ideal. Perhaps you stood up in front of a group and forgot what you were going to say. Or, maybe, you got tongue-tied during the delivery. Or worse, your audience looked sleepy-eyed or even walked out of the room while you were speaking. These are all symptoms of related to a few of the biggest PowerPoint mistakes that almost every presenter makes at some time in their speak...
May 05, 2025•19 min
This is lesson number 12 of our 12-lesson series on how to win group sales presentations. One of the myths that we tackled in one of the earlier episodes was that the PowerPoint slideshow itself is the shortlist presentation. That one mistake can cause teams to lose the high-level sales presentation more than any other mistake. What we started with last week was a different concept. I began to show you how to create the verbal presentation first. This means that you want to figure out what you w...
Mar 17, 2025•29 min
This is lesson number 11 of our 12-lesson series on how to win group sales presentations. So far, we've covered a lot of the foundational concepts of group selling skills and ways to get buying committees to buy from your team after you get shortlisted. Just as a 30,000-foot recap, we started by covering many of the myths about shortlist presentations. One of those myths is that the slideshow is the presentation so you should start by designing your shortlist slideshow. That one mistake can caus...
Mar 10, 2025•30 min
This is episode 10 of our 12-episode series on how to win group sales presentations. So far in the first 9 episodes, we've covered a lot of the foundational concepts of group selling skills. And we've spent a lot of time on how valuable case studies or success stories are in winning a committee over to hiring your team. In the last episode, I showed you how to pick the best presentation team. Then, we covered how to research the buying committee so that we can create a presentation based on spec...
Mar 06, 2025•19 min
This is episode eight and nine of our 12-episode series on how to win group sales presentations. So far, we've covered a lot of the foundational concepts of group selling skills. And we've spent a lot of time on how valuable case studies or success stories are in winning a committee over to hiring your team. Today's episode will be split into to parts. First, I'll give you some tips on how to pick your presentation team and how to divvy up roles for each speaker. I'll also cover the absolute big...
Feb 10, 2025•22 min
This is episode seven of our 12-episode series on how to win group sales presentations. Before the Christmas and New Years break, the last couple of sessions were about inserting case studies into your presentation as evidence that your potential clients can get what they want if they do what you want. I introduced a concept that I call an action/benefit statement. Just as a review, you'd tell a compelling case study. Then, add a call to action at the end. This call-to-action is another one of t...
Jan 14, 2025•20 min
This is episode six of our 12-episode series on how to win group sales presentations. For the last couple of weeks, we talked about how a case study is a story or example of how you've helped other clients solve similar problems to what this client has. And we showed how these stories help you show your experience to the buying committee throughout your presentation. We also showed how these stories capture attention, make your data memorable, build rapport, build credibility, build more of a te...
Dec 16, 2024•20 min
This is 2nd half of episode five of our 12-episode series on how to win shortlist presentations or other types of group sales presentations. Last week, we talked about how a case study is a story or example of how you've helped other clients solve problems similar to those of this client. They are also fantastic ways to make details in your presentation memorable and a great way to build rapport with the selection committee. In fact, the only thing that makes you different from your competition ...
Dec 09, 2024•21 min
This is episode five of our 12-week series on how to win shortlist presentations or other types of group sales presentations. Last week, we talked about how you can change the way that you introduce each team member when you present so that you edify each other and build their confidence. This week, we're going to cover how to get really, really good at delivering case studies. If you remember back in the very first episode, I talked about how most presentation teams create a bullet point called...
Dec 03, 2024•23 min
This is episode four of our 12-week series on how to win shortlist presentations or other types of group sales presentations. Last week, I gave you ten things you can do when preparing or delivering these presentations that will help you keep calm and poised. I also talked about how, in shortlist presentations, it is important to "dig your well before you're thirsty," so to speak. High-level sales presentations have a tremendous amount of pressure, which causes a tremendous amount of nervousness...
Nov 18, 2024•20 min
This is episode three of our 12-week series on how to win shortlist presentations or other types of group sales presentations. Last week, I briefly overviewed the five biggest secrets I've discovered about these high-level sales presentations. These secrets are the things that have allowed us to win over 80% of the interviews that teams that I have coached have been on. This week, I will give you ten things you can do when you are preparing or delivering these presentations that will help you st...
Nov 11, 2024•26 min
This is episode two of our 12-week series on how to win shortlist presentations or other types of group sales presentations. Last week, I explained what these presentations were and how I first got exposed to them. Just as a review, a Shortlist Presentation or Shortlist Interview is a very high-level sales presentation. Companies will often submit a proposal to a potential customer or client. The potential customer or client will weed through all of the proposals to create what they call a "shor...
Nov 04, 2024•33 min
This week, we start a new series on how to win Shortlist Presentations or Shortlist Interviews. Basically, this is a very high level sales presentation. Companies will often submit a proposal to a potential customer or client. The potential customer or client will weed through all of the proposals to create what they call a "shortlist." Then, the remaining companies will often each get a shot to come in and pitch themselves to the customer. If you think about it, this type of presentation has a ...
Oct 28, 2024•22 min
One of the real fears that many speakers have is that they don't feel like they are an "expert" on the topic. It actually leads to what some people call imposter syndrome. In this episode, I'm going to help you reduce that anxiety. Especially in the business world, if you are the person speaking, then, most likely, it is because you know more about the topic than anyone else in the room. Great speakers are great speakers because they are world leaders in everything. They are great speakers becau...
Oct 21, 2024•19 min
This is part four of a four-part series on how to make your presentations more interesting. So far, we spent the first couple of weeks cover my seven "impact ideas" which are fun things to add into presentations to jazz them up. Last week, we cover audience participation. In that episode I covered a few mistakes that presenters make when they try to get the audience to interact as well as my best secrets to get the audience to open up in a positive way. This week, I cover what I call the "Secret...
Oct 14, 2024•19 min
This is part three of a four-part series on how to make your presentations more interesting. This week, we cover audience participation -- how to get your audience to help you deliver your presentation. When you do audience participation well , you can really elevate your presentations! In the last couple of weeks, I mentioned that there are two major components of a fantastic speech. First, you have to have good content that the audience wants or needs to hear. And second -- and this is the par...
Oct 07, 2024•24 min
This is part two of a four-part series on how to make your presentations more interesting. If you recall, last week, I mentioned that there are two major components of a fantastic speech. First, you have to have good content that the audience wants or needs to hear. And second -- and this is the part that many presenters overlook -- you have to have entertainment value in your presentation. You can have great content, but if your content is boring, no one will really hear you. So, last week, we ...
Sep 23, 2024•15 min
We've spent the last few months covering ways to reduce nervousness and the last couple of weeks uncovering a few low-risk venues to practice presenting. For the next few weeks, I'm going to show you how to make your presentations more fun and interesting. There are two major components of a fantastic speech. First, you have to have good content that the audience wants or needs to hear. Second- and this is the part that many presenters overlook- you have to have entertainment value in your prese...
Sep 09, 2024•16 min
This is part two of a two-part series about low-risk venues where you can practice public speaking. In the introduction last week, I mentioned that the absolute best place to practice public speaking is in a public speaking class with a great coach. A good public speaking class is a controlled environment, so the risk is very low. However, over the years, I've come across a bunch of other low-risk venues to practice public speaking. Last week, I covered a number of low-risk virtual venues where ...
Sep 03, 2024•22 min
One of the most common questions that I get as a public speaking coach is, "Where can I go to practice speaking?" It is usually a good idea to practice your presentation skills somewhere that is more low risk than in front of a big client, or your boss, or the board of directors. Obviously, I'm pretty biased, but with good reason. I believe that the absolute best place to practice public speaking is in a public speaking class with a great coach. A good public speaking class is a controlled envir...
Aug 18, 2024•32 min
