Writing in the excellent weekly newsletter SpeakerNetNews, Ron Shapiro, a speaker and consultant in career development, education and learning, shares an effective technique for collecting feedback from attendees at his programs.

He notes that while doing an extensive survey might be nice, it would consume a disproportionate amount of time in short programs. Instead, he asks participants to summarize the program in one word on business card stock which he distributes. He then makes this feedback into a word cloud which he sends to the sponsors displays on his website.

This is a creative, and fun, way to capture the essence of his programs and serves to show how the participants felt afterwards.

Writing in today’s Washington Post Emily Wax-Thibodeaux highlights the oddball and usual gifts found in the gift shops of federal agencies like the DEA, CIA, Centers for Disease Control and National Security Agency. The tchotchkes on sale include NASA’s freeze-dried Neapolitan ice cream with a three-year shelf life; an inflatable NASA astronaut; sheets of $2 bills from the Bureau of Engraving and Printing; and a gavel-shaped pencil with a two-headed eraser from the Supreme Court.

The article does warn that some agencies also have safety concerns. After the Sept. 11 attacks, shops have been more careful about selling clothing with the insignia of national security and law enforcement agencies. These items could turn the wearer into a target of anti-American violence.

At the NSA gift shop, near the National Cryptologic Museum, store manager Robin Bunch said she often thinks about this. So she typed up a warning and taped it to the wall:

“Although owning an NSA logo item does not necessarily imply that one is an NSA employee, it can raise a level of interest. Consider for example where the item will be worn/used and take into account local threat conditions.”

This might be something the members of the National Speakers Association (the other NSA, y’know, the one that SPEAKS, not LISTENS) might want to keep in mind. While our logo bears absolutely no resemblance to the other NSA and features a hand-help microphone with a cord, there are professional speakers who wear shirts, caps and bags they buy at conferences with the logo on. A past president of the Northern California chapter once told me he was boarding a flight wearing a golf shirt with an NSA logo when a guy in horn-rimmed glasses gave him a knowing wink and said “Remember back when we weren’t even able to tell people where we worked…”

It’s a case of Caveat emptor quid emeris aut circumdatio. Loosely translated: Buyer beware of wearing what you buy.

Toastmasters International has come a long way since founder Ralph C. Smedley held the first meeting in the basement of a YMCA in Santa Ana, California on October 22, 1924.

As society has changed, so as Toastmasters. In contrast to the white males who formed the original club, diversity is evident at any Toastmasters meeting today. What a difference nine decades makes! But to be fair, back in 1924 women in America had only won the right to vote four years earlier. However, it took almost 50 years for the idea that women could speak in public to sink in–membership was not opened to women until 1973. Indeed, Helen Blanchard, the first woman President of the organization, joined prior to 1973 under the name “Homer Blanchard”. The President at the time told her ‘You didn’t do too bad – for a woman.’ (I swear, you couldn’t make this sort of thing up!)

Since 1924, more than four million men and women have become more confident speakers and leaders through the Toastmasters experience.

Smedley’s idea of turning young business leaders into “would-be orators” has led to a thriving global organization with membership exceeding 313,000 in more than 14,650 clubs in 126 countries. The first club outside the United States was formed in Southport, England.

I’m a big proponent of anyone who wants to improve their public speaking and leadership skills joining a local Toastmasters club, even if you’re a woman!

Hall of Fame keynote speaker and executive speech coach Patricia Fripp spoke to the members of the NSA Northern California Chapter Speakers Academy on Saturday. Fripp is the founder of our Chapter and a leading authority in the world of professional speaking.

Her entertaining and informative morning session touched on many aspects of her own 30-plus year career as a top speaker. She shared valuable information for aspiring professional speakers who want to prepare and present powerful presentations, including:

• Ask: Are you practicing to improve or to reinforce bad habits? As a novice, start with best practices from the beginning.
• Take advantage of the opportunity the Academy and NSA chapter gives us to network with others who have a passion for speaking.
• Expect to bomb — if you’ve not failed somewhere on stage, you’re probably not challenging yourself enough.
• Asking questions is the best education. The quality of the information you receive depends on the quality of your questions.
• Be willing to promote yourself in an ongoing, consistent and relentless way. Refocus and redirect what you are doing.
• To build a long-term sustainable business you need to exceed expectations, or you won’t be invited back.
• Desire trumps talent. You must have a relentless commitment as well an interest in speaking on your topic.
• The most powerful way to learn any topic is to teach it to others.
• Find a topic for your speeches by looking within your experience and talent, such as the expertise you’ve accumulated in your day job. No matter how technical your field, build your speech by thinking how you would explain what you do to your grandmother.
• Despite the fact that there’s only so much truth in the world, you have a unique point of view. Deliver that in your speeches. Don’t invalidate your life experience.
• A great way to develop material for a speech is to become a customer of the client who books you for a speech. Be a secret shopper and report your learnings. Talk to lower-level employees.
• Structure your speech on a strong premise or central theme that is a basis of argument, leading to a conclusion. Be sure your talking points back-up and prove your big idea.
• Remember the first 30 seconds and last 30 seconds of any talk have the most impact. Don’t waste them with empty pleasantries.
• Engage the audience in your subject by asking “Would it interest (horrify, amaze) you to know…”
• Populate your presentations with flesh and blood characters other people can relate to. Stories do this.
• Your audience will remember what they “see” in your stories.

These were among the many lessons shared by Fripp in her session. For anyone who would like to dive deeper into what she has to offer, I highly recommend her Virtual Training program. This online resource gives you access to one of the most in-demand executive speech coaches and sales presentation experts available. Fripp’s Virtual Training is engaging and fun. It is designed for ambitious professionals, executives, sales teams, and professional speakers. Heck, she’ll even give you a 7 day free trial. What’s not to like?

To hear a brief extract from Saturday’s event, where Fripp shares the secret of her own career success, click on the podcast icon below.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 3:20 — 3.1MB)

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Kyle Ingham is the founder of The Distilled Man, a website that helps men learn essential “gentlemanly” skills. Like knowing how to cook a perfect steak. How to mix a cocktail. Or how to give a toast. The Distilled Man is dedicated to giving guys a second chance to discover these lost “gentlemanly” arts. Click here to get a free copy of his new ebook, “48-Hour Gentleman.”

18 Tips for Mastering Public Speaking, by Kyle Ingham

I can still remember my worst public speaking moment.

I had just started at this ad agency and our new client was coming to the office to do a meet and greet.

I desperately wanted to make a good first impression. I had to show what I was made of.

I’m not generally a shy guy, but it turned into one of those awful public speaking moments everyone fears. As I stood up in the front of the room, my heart raced, my palms sweated, I couldn’t catch my breath…

But worst of all, as I spoke, I had this self-sabotage commentary running through my head: “Oh. My. God….I wish I could just STOP. I wish I could just FINISH right now. But everyone’s eyes are on ME…”

Fortunately, the moment did eventually pass. And I made it through the meeting without wetting my pants or throwing up on a client. I even managed not to get fired. My boss was gracious about it, saying later that maybe I could use a bit more practice with public speaking, “you know, to clean up some of the umm’s, etc.” Yeah, there were those, too.

I never had a moment quite that bad again. But over the years, sometimes I’ve felt like my public speaking skills were just as inconsistent and elusive as my pool game: sometimes I was epic, other times I was epically bad. And for awhile I couldn’t seem to figure out when the Steve Jobs version of me was going to show up and when it was going to be Steve Urkel.

I wish there was some magic bullet—some secret—to amazing public speaking. But what I’ve learned after years of trial and error is that the solution isn’t that sexy. It’s like other things in life: great public speaking comes from practice, plus a few little tricks that can improve your chances of success.

I can’t help you with the practice part, you’re on your own there. But here are 18 tips that will help you avoid stage fright and take your public speaking skills to a new level:

1. Connect with the audience before you speak

A crowd is scary, but individuals aren’t. If you can just remember that the crowd you’re getting in front of is just made up of individual people you’ll be okay. Before the presentation, try to meet as many people as you can—introduce yourself. You’ll find that most of these people are just regular humans. Everyday people.

The typical advice is to imagine your audience in your underwear. At some events that may not be very pleasurable. So, as a close second, just try to connect with them as people, find out about their personal life, their hobbies, their family. It will make you feel much more at ease when you’re up on stage later looking out in the audience: you won’t see a random scowling audience member, you’ll see Jason, the accountant from Pittsburgh who has 2 daughters and loves to watch karate movies and drink PBR when his wife goes on yoga retreats.

2. Stand up straight and look sharp

Some people think what they say while giving a speech is the most important thing. Turns out that according to research, people’s perception of public speakers is most influenced by 2 things: one is how you appear visually—do you look confident, are you standing up straight? The other is how your voice sounds—does it sound commanding, are you using interesting inflection?

Standing up straight is maybe 60% of the battle. If you just stand up there in front of the audience and LOOK confident, you’re already more than halfway to being a great speaker.

3. Use gestures deliberately and make them count

One of the most nerve-racking things to think about when you’re up in front of an audience is what to do with your hands. A lot of speaking coaches will say that you should try to keep them down at your sides and not gesture too much. But this is easier said than done. And besides, it’s natural for people talk with their hands. I say, don’t worry about it. Use your hands the way that you would talk when speaking with someone one-on-one.

The key, however is to avoid the appearance of “flailing” where there’s too much hand motion. When using your hands, it’s important to be deliberate—keep your gestures big and purposeful. Whenever possible, if you have numbered points, use your hand to clearly call out the number for each point. “There are 3 things…[hold up 3 sign]. The first point is [hold up 1 finger].” It may seem like it’s overkill and like you’re playing charades, but this really helps the audience follow your points.

4. Breathe…Then Keep Breathing

While it’s pretty basic advice, it absolutely needs to be said. If you don’t control your breathing, you’re allowing your body to stay in that initial “fight or flight” stage that you may have felt right before you walked up there. In contrast, when you slow yourself down with deep, oxygen-rich breaths, you are able to be in the moment, you’re able to loosen up your body and most importantly, able to think on your feet. When you can think on your feet you inhabit your speech more, so you’re not just reciting lines. You believe each point and feeling the weight of each statement as you deliver it, which ultimately makes it more believable and engaging for the audience.

5. Maintain eye contact

Eye contact is the key to connecting with your audience. While it may sound touchy-feely, there is a definite exchange of energy when a speaker scans the room, connecting with individuals. If you’ve ever witnessed a speaker who just looked off into space vs. a dynamic speaker who made it a point to connect with a few individuals, the difference is palpable.

From a purely practical standpoint, making eye contact with your audience has the effect of keeping everyone awake: ”I better pay attention, he might pick me next.” What’s also interesting is that by looking at a single individual and connecting with them, often others around them think you’re looking at them as well. Sort of like 3 for the price of one…

6. Jump right in with dramatic flair

One of the signs of a seasoned presenter is the ability to launch their presentation and immediately hook you. None of this “ok, I’ll go ahead and start now.” Or, “Uh hi guys, uh thanks for having me here.” A seasoned presenter doesn’t ever make you think about the fact that they’re presenting. Instead, from the moment the presenter walks up there, everything they do is part of controlling your experience of their presentation.

A few great ways to start with dramatic flair are to begin with a famous quote, mention a key statistic, ask a provocative question, mention a news item, begin with a personal revelation of some kind (Last Tuesday was the first time I ever used deodorant!). Or, if you’re really feeling ballsy, the most masterful presenters begin with a dramatic pause. Yep, just you and the audience, separated by a big pregnant pause. It’s like just in that moment when the audience has just quieted as they see you coming up, you just stop, breathe and survey the room. When done well it can be powerful: you could hear a pin drop. The audience is on the edge of their seats. And that brief tension heightens what you say right after that. Like you’ve withheld water, and finally quenched their thirst.

7. Be a Storyteller

The best public speakers don’t just give you their point of view in a series of statements. They paint pictures with their words. They use the age-old advice in writing: show, don’t tell. Instead of telling you how bad things are in Detroit, they tell you a story about a man with 4 kids and a wife who used to make great money at the auto plant until he lost his job and now has to collect cans and do odd jobs to make ends meet.

Humans are hard-wired to get involved with stories. Stories are like oratory crack: as soon as we hear a little bit of a story, we gotta have more. “But how does it end? Does he end up finding another job?” What’s great about this is that telling a series of stories can help you reinforce one singular point in rich ways. Many great books do the same thing: Dale Carnegie’s How to Win Friends & Influence People (affiliate link) makes maybe 3 points total, but reinforces them with about 30 different stories, each story adding another layer of persuasiveness.

8. Master the pause, play the empty space

One of the biggest signs of a novice speaker—and you’ll notice this in interviews as well—is the inclination to fill the empty space. As amateurs, we’re worried if we pause too long, it may sound unintelligent. In fact, the opposite is true. Some of the most masterful public speakers deliberately pause between points. A well-paced pause has an amazing effect. If the audience has been listening, it has the effect of being a massive punctuation on the previous point. Or it has the effect of building suspense for the point to come. From a practical standpoint, it also allows the audience a moment to digest the point you’ve just communicated and let it sink in.

It reminds me of a quote I heard about music once: the best soloists (think Miles Davis) don’t just play the notes, they play the empty space between the notes. It’s not just the notes that communicate feeling and tone and emotion; it’s the way they’re spaced out and they way they are punctuated and amplified by silence. So too with dramatic pauses in public speaking.

9. Recharge on individuals

One of the best ways to keep the fear of the crowd from psyching you out is to pay attention to the individuals, and use them to “recharge” when you can—to regain your mojo. When you start to feel yourself getting nervous, look to one individual and stay with them for a bit. Look into their eyes as you speak. There’s a 99% chance that when you focus on them, they’re going to be highly intent on looking back at you, and if they can sense you’re feeling a little nervous, they’ll give you some encouragement through their intent gaze and encouraging smile. Stay with them a moment, until you feel like you’ve regained your stride, and then move on to other audience members.

10. Engage with the audience during the talk

Another way to calm your own nerves and keep the audience attentive is to engage them early and often. Some of the best speakers keep an audience on the edge of their seats by involving them throughout their presentation. An easy way to do this is by asking the audience questions—especially at the start. “How many of your have ever…raise your hands?” By forcing them to physically get involved, they can’t help but be engaged. I mean, who know what you’re going to make them do next? You’d also be surprised at how quickly this gets rid of any of your nerves. This is one of the best ways to remember that you’re not standing in front of some faceless crowd silently judging you. These people are just individuals…who hope you don’t put them on the spot next.

11. Never memorize, but cheat sheets are ok

You should never memorize your speech. You’re much better off if you can try to remember the main points—and think about those as the skeleton that you’re going to add “meat” to as you speak. When you memorize your speech word for word, all it takes is forgetting a few key sentences and you can be totally thrown off. And even if you do pull it off, unless you’re very good, it can come across as wooden—people can tell you’re reciting a script and it’s less engaging. If you need a cheat-sheet, it’s ok to use prompt cards with some of your high-level points jotted down or an outline you can refer back to.

12. Know What You’re Talking About

Nothing will take the edge off the nerves as much the simple knowledge that you actually know the topic you’re speaking about. There were times I would worry about doing a presentation because I was fretting over the details. Then I would remember, hey I know this stuff. If I was sitting on an airplane next to someone we could chat about this and I could hold my own. Not that I would stop preparing and just wing it. But it helps give you a certain fortitude.

You may think, well when would I present on something I’m not knowledgeable about? Where I’ve seen it happen most often is in a group presentation where the content gets carved up and shared by multiple presenters. Especially if you’re the junior person, you may end up getting stuck with a few odds and ends. And while you can speak to the surface level to all these things, it pays to do some research and make sure you have a deeper comfort-level with the subject matter.

13. Practice, Practice, Then Practice some more

Most people don’t practice their presentations enough, and it shows. I’ve written about this before in the context of best man speeches. If you really want to wow your audience, you need to go through it multiple times until it becomes muscle memory. Again, not that you should count on memorizing the words verbatim. It’s more that you should be getting used to the cadence and the dramatic pauses. And the sections where you might engage the audience. Or the way you’ll use a visual aid. In The Art of the Start (affiliate link), Guy Kawasaki recommends practicing a presentation at least 25 times. He says that ironically, the more you practice, the easier it is for you to sound natural, like you’re delivering it off the cuff. Another trick as you’re practicing is to film yourself or record the audio. The first watch is going to be painful, but you’ll pick up on some fine-tuning things you may not have noticed otherwise.

14.Visualize Success

Henry Ford said “Whether you think you can or think you can’t, you’re right.” It’s easy to self-sabotage even before you go on stage and think “oh boy, I’m going to bomb!” But as Ford’s quote reminds us, it’s just as easy to psyche ourselves into believing that we’ll succeed. So why not give ourselves an advantage by being positive? Visualize success—actual success. Visualize confidently delivering your speech, and looking out to see the women swooning, grown men crying, old men stomping their canes in uproarious approval (ok, maybe it won’t be quite like that, but you get the idea).

15. Know Your Audience

Another critically important tip is to really know your audience. The more you know about who you’re speaking to, the more you can tailor your message to them. Also, the more you’ll remember that these are just people—not some abstract scary audience who’s judging you. Most importantly, it reminds you that your presentation is part of a dialog. Even though you might be the only one on stage with a mic, you need to treat it like a dialog. You should be speaking with them, not at them.

16. Structure your presentation

As you’re preparing a presentation, sometimes it’s easy to get lost in all the details. “What am I even trying say here, or am just filling time?” And if you feel that way, you can imagine how your audience feels when you get up there. If you take the time to map out the high-level structure of your presentation, it can go a long way to making your planning and prep easier. But it also makes it clearer for the audience. The best way is to use the old approach of “tell ‘em what you’re going to tell ‘em, tell ‘em, then tell ‘em what you told ‘em.” You may think that repeating your main point 3 times is overkill in a short presentation, but In fact it’s critical to drive home your point. Even better is to include some signposts along the way so your audience knows where you are. For example:

I’m going to tell you 3 reasons that Rocky Road ice cream should be declared the US national dessert
The first reason Rocky Road should be declared the national dessert…
The second reason…
The third and final reason…
So, I think I’ve shared some compelling reasons why Rocky Road should be formally recognized by our country for the superior dessert that it is. I urge you all to write your congressmen, thank you!

The sad fact is that the audience isn’t always hanging on your every word. They might zone out for a moment. They might have to check their smartphone. So it helps to ensure your presentation is well-structured and reinforces your main point consistently throughout.

17. Spend some time in the space if you can

While this may not help everyone, I find it helpful if I know the venue or the room where I’m going to speak. That way I can truly visualize what it’s going to be like when I’m up there. Sometimes, if you envisioned the room setup a different way it can throw you off when you get up there.

18. Embrace Nerves

As a novice presenter, when you get anxious before your presentation, you immediately think, “oh no, I’m just going to get way too nervous and not be able to regain my composure on stage.” What’s reassuring is that almost all of the greatest presenters say they are a little nervous right before going on stage. In The Exceptional Presenter (affiliate link), Timothy Koegel writes about how Johnny Carson did 4000 shows for the Tonight Show, and said he was always a little nervous right before going on stage. Other performers have said similar things, and gone so far as to say that the moment they don’t feel a twinge of that last-minute nervousness, they’ll know it’s time to give up show biz—it would be a sign their heart’s no longer in it.

So, next time you feel nervous right before getting up there, take comfort in knowing it happens to everyone, even the pros. And nerves can be your friend: when you are a little nervous at the beginning of your presentation, your senses are sharpened, your energy level is up, it shows the audience that you care about this moment.

Conclusion

Again, there’s no real magic fix for avoiding stage fright and being a more effective public speaker. The best thing is just to continue getting up on stage and taking advantage of opportunities to practice. And beyond that, the tips above—if consistently used—can help you hone your presentation skills so you can crush stage fright and become a masterful public speaker.

In 1897, while serving as a 22-year-old Army officer in India, Winston Churchill wrote an unpublished essay The Scaffolding of Rhetoric. It begins, with considerable prescience given Churchill’s later career, with an appreciation of the lasting power of public speaking:

Of all the talents bestowed upon men, none is so precious as the gift of oratory. He who enjoys it wields a power more durable than that of a great king. He is an independent force in the world. Abandoned by his party, betrayed by his friends, stripped of his offices, whoever can command this power is still formidable.

Churchill refutes the idea that oratory and rhetoric are no longer relevant. Today, this might be claimed because of the influence of YouTube and Twitter, in 1897 people blamed “the newspaper … and the growing knowledge of men”.

He states that the orator “is the embodiment of the passions of the multitude.” But warned that “before he can inspire them with any emotion he must be swayed by it himself.”

He notes the features all great speeches and public speakers have in common:

1. A “striking presence” is necessary. But this does not mean classic good looks. “Often small, ugly or deformed he is invested with a personal significance…”. Indeed, Churchill claims from first-hand experience that “a slight and not unpleasing stammer or impediment has been of some assistance in securing the attention of the audience…”
2. Correctness of diction and an exact appreciation of words. It’s best the speaker use “short, homely words of common usage so long as such words can fully express their thoughts and feelings.”
3. Rhythm, or a cadence that more resembles blank verse than prose. In other words, he’s reminding us we must write for the ear, not the eye. Indeed, James Humes notes in Speak Like Churchill, Stand Like Lincoln that he once critiqued the text of a speech by Anthony Eden because there were too many semi-colons and never a dash.
4. The accumulation of argument, via a series of facts pointing in a common direction, coupled with “waves of sound and vivid pictures.”
5. The use of analogy which “leads to conviction rather than to proof” and has an electrifying effect on an audience.
6. A “tendency to wild extravagance of language…so wild that reason recoils.” Indeed, Churchill notes that the power of oratory is so great that, were it not for the need for the speaker to be sincere before he can be persuasive, oratory could easily incite violence, and be judged a crime.

Churchill, like the young Cicero who spent two years studying rhetoric, was focused early in his career on learning the art and science of public speaking. Both prospered as a result.

The most telling sign of an amateur speaker is their inability to pace themselves and speak slowly. If you can learn to get comfortable with silence and pauses, the quality of your delivery will improve instantly. Here is an excellent primer from Nadine Hanafi on five ways to help you use the silent pause effectively.

Sir William Jones (1746 – 1794) a linguist and hyperpolyglot who knew 13 languages thoroughly and another 28 reasonably well, was an Oxford graduate and lawyer who moved to India where he studied Sanskrit.

A recent article in Mental Floss notes that as a young man, while working as a tutor to English nobility, Jones developed what he called an “Andrometer”, or timeline, to check that a person’s moral and intellectual development was on track.

(Click to enlarge)

Jones explained that this

…enables you to measure every man’s merit by looking for his age in the scale, and then comparing it with the other side, and seeing to what degree he has risen in arts, sciences, and ornamental qualifications.

I find it fascinating that the checklist includes early focus on the art of rhetoric (aka. oratory or public speaking), starting around age 16, continuing with exercises in public speaking and the study of Ancient Orators (presumably Cicero, Quintilian and the like).

Although the list might have been prepared tongue-in-cheek, the focus on rhetoric in a well-rounded education certainly featured in ancient Greece and Rome and continued through to the late 19th century.

According to Jones, by the time a person is in their mid-30’s they should focus on improving their habits of eloquence and start to publish their speeches. At age 38 the checklist states “Eloquence perfect”.

At age 62, we are to enjoy “a glorious retirement” (if only!) and, after three score years and ten, engage in “Preparation for ETERNITY.” Jones, unfortunately, only made it to 47, dying of overwork in Calcutta.

For the first time in its 90-year history, Toastmasters is holding its International Convention outside of North America at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre in Malaysia, Aug. 20-23.

The featured presenters include Robin Sieger the former Head of Development at BBC Television who will deliver the keynote presentation during the Opening Ceremonies on Wednesday, Aug. 20. A former television executive and comedy writer, Sieger is the author of Natural Born Winners and a motivational speaker from Scotland who speaks about innovation to Fortune 100 companies around the world.

Astro Malaysia Holdings’ CEO Rohana Rozhan will be honored as the recipient of the nonprofit organization’s 2014 Golden Gavel award. The prestigious award is presented annually to an individual distinguished in the fields of communication and leadership. Rohana joins an illustrious list of Golden Gavel honorees, including Walter Cronkite, Stephen Covey, Deepak Chopra, Anthony Robbins and Zig Ziglar.

Other presenters include:

Jana Barnhill, Accredited Speaker and Toastmasters 2008-2009 International President from Lubbock, Texas. She is a five-time winner of the District 44 International Speech Contest, and has placed second and third in the Toastmasters World Championship of Public Speaking.

Mark Brown, 1995 Toastmasters World Champion of Public Speaking. Originally from Kingston, Jamaica, Mark now lives in the U.S., in Lizelle, Georgia. He is a member of the National Speakers Association and delivers more than 200 presentations per year.

Douglas Kruger, Author, motivational speaker and presentation skills coach based in Johannesburg, South Africa. He delivers motivational presentations and training seminars for large organizations, including Old Mutual, Caltex and Vodacom.

Lance Miller, 2005 World Champion of Public Speaking. A resident of Glendale, California, he is a former executive for Nestle and Anheuser-Busch. Miller engages his audience with a unique mix of talent and life experience that bring his messages to life.

Florian Mueck, A speaker, coach and author based in Barcelona, Spain, who speaks three languages (English, German and Spanish). In 2010, he gave a talk for TEDxBarcelona titled Europe: How to Unleash a Common Spirit.

Rory Vaden, Entrepreneur, consultant and author from Nashville, Tennessee who speaks to audiences about how to say no to things that don’t matter, and yes to things that do. At age 23, he placed second in the 2007 World Championship of Public Speaking.

I’ve just found out that parts of this years National Speakers Association (NSA) conference in San Diego are being livestreamed for free from Sunday June 29th at 5:00pm through Wednesday July 2nd 5:00pm.

Highlights include:

• Monday 8:30am Nancy Duarte and Steve Forbes “Resonate: Present Visual Stories that Transform Audiences”
• Monday 2:45pm Storyboarding Workshop
• Tuesday 1:30pm Roundtable including Alan Weiss, Roxanne Emmerich
• Wednesday 10:00am Million Dollar Positioning: How to Position Yourself as the Expert with Alan Weiss

Lots more on the Livestream Agenda that is hosted by Jim Cathcart.

Register here for the livestream.

Also follow on Twitter: #NSA14