It’s tough to leave the “coach” in me behind when I go on vacation. On a recent spectacular trip to Durango, Colorado and Albuquerque, New Mexico I found myself in analysis-mode while listening to our different tour guides. After all, they were giving presentations. Here’s my analysis from worst to best:

#4: His family nicknamed him the “Yellow Pumpkin” and he guided us through an amazing current working Pueblo village. He was funny and he told great stories….. I think. The big problem was that he mumbled and about 40% of what he said could not be understood. The message was …

I was really excited to receive an email from a colleague announcing that my book, 101 Ways to Captivate a Business Audience is featured in the new American Management Association newsletter. Wow! That is a great endorsement and great publicity. People love the book because it is a fun, easy read with tons of how-to ideas for immediate implementation. As soon as I heard the news I thought a great deal about what the book writing process was like, and for me, it was a real struggle to get started. If you’ve ever thought about writing a book, here are …

There’s a buzz in the air about the new Tony Robbins tv show, “Breakthrough,” and it reminded me of the time I attended a full-day motivational workshop – over 15 years ago. There are several things I remember from that day that are permanently branded in my system:
1. Be Authentic. There is no doubt in your mind that Tony is for real. His conversational style, his mesmerizing voice, and his wealth of real-life stories put the stamp on his sincerity.
2. Oh Yes! Tony explained that when he’s in his hotel room, getting pumped up for the session, he looks in …

A monotone voice is an audience’s nightmare. Too often, however, the speaker doesn’t know that their voice is boring. Perhaps worse yet, they know it’s boring, but they don’t know what to do about it. For example, what if you are in the 20% of the population that has trouble distinguishing one pitch from another, and your presentations coach keeps telling you to vary the pitch (which is a good idea if you can hear it!)?Here are three techniques to vary your sound without varying your pitch, that can take your voice from boring to soaring.
1. Vary …

I am very excited to be providing a two-day SpeakersTrainingCamp® workshop this fall near Washington, DC – at the Ritz-Carlton, Tysons Corner. The Protocol School of Washington will be sponsoring this workshop on November 6-7, and they will be opening it up to the public. I offer only a limited number of public workshops, and for years clients have begged me to offer something on the East Coast. This workshop will feature the very popular Presentation Planner, Applause! Meter, and the famous SpeakersTrainingCamp® individualized coaching system. Each person can expect to improve dramatically within the two-day period. For registration, please …