Fearless Presentations

Episoade

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  The Real Personality Temperment Test 14.09.2026 24min

  From time to time, I hear people say things like, “She is a natural speaker.” On the other hand, I also hear things like, “I’ve always been a terrible speaker.” Both of these statements may be somewhat true. But they are also both absolutely false as well. No one comes out of the womb a fantastic orator. In addition, everyone has the talent to speak. Many people just fail to develop their natural talent. Your personality strengths and weaknesses will often lead you to think one way or the oth...
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  Even Trainers Need Training | Train-the-Trainer Model 07.09.2026 31min

  The Train-the-Trainer Model is very common in the business world. However, many Train-the-Trainer programs have big flaws. A good analogy of what happens during this process is the old “telephone game.” Put ten people in a room. Whisper a phrase with more than 10 words into the ear of the first person. The second person then relays the message to the third person. This process continues over and over until the phrase reaches the final person. When you compare the first message with the last m...
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  101 Public Speaking Tips | Part 4 of 4 31.08.2026 22min

  Alright we've reached the end. These 101 public speaking tips aren't all you have to know and all you need to master, but it's certainly a good start. On top of the 101 things you should do as a presenter, stick around till the end to find out the 10 things you should never do as a presenter! Show Notes: 101 Public Speaking Tips For Delivering Your Best Speech (https://www.fearlesspresentations.com/101-public-speaking-tips-for-delivering-your-best-speech/)
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  101 Public Speaking Tips | Part 3 of 4 24.08.2026 25min

  This is part three of the 101 Public Speaking Tips series. In the first couple of weeks we covered 53 public speaking tips. In week #1, we covered tips to create an outline of a speech, a few ways to add energy to boring speeches, and finished with a few ways to add pizzaz to the presentations. Last week, we covered a few ways to use stories and examples more effectively to explain your data. Next we covered a few ways to to use audience participation to make your speeches more interactive. A...
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  101 Public Speaking Tips | Part 2 of 4 17.08.2026 31min

  This is part two of the 101 Public Speaking Tips series. Last week, we covered 24 tips in less than 24 minutes. Last week, we covered tips to create an outline of a speech, a few ways to add energy to boring speeches, and finished with a few ways to add pizzaz to the presentations. We ended last week with tip #24. This week, we start with four ways to use stories and examples more effectively to explain your data. Then, I'll cover eight ways to use audience participation to make your ...
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  101 Public Speaking Tips | Part 1 of 4 10.08.2026 20min

  This is episode 401, and way back on episode 101, we did a fun episode called 101 public speaking tips to coincide with the episode number. When we did that episode, it was like a summary of all the 100 episodes from the first couple of years of the broadcast. So, basically, I crammed absolutely everything that I know about public speaking skills into a few episodes. Then, on episode 201, we did it again. But, by then, the tips had changed a little because we had an additional 200 extra episo...
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  3 Ways to Add Humor to Your Speech Without Being Cringe-worthy 03.08.2026 26min

  Want to add humor to your speech? Quite often, when we are designing speeches and presentations for a professional audience, we discount the value of entertainment and humor. However, a good presentation should be both informative and entertaining. You have to have both. If you aren't providing the audience with good information, then you're wasting their time. If you aren't providing some type of entertainment, though, you will likely bore your audience. As a result, they will lose int...
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  Recognizing the Causes of Public Speaking Fear 27.07.2026 18min

  What causes the fear of public speaking? Why do I get heart palpitations? I mean, I like to think of myself as being an expert in your field (at least within my own company.) And I know what I’m talking about. After all, I’ve worked in my field for years. I’ve done my research. So, why do I break out into a cold sweat when I have to speak in front of groups of people? Well stick around and hear about exactly what causes these symptoms and the fastest and most efficient way to treat them! S...
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  Get Better Audience Participation During Your Presentations! 20.07.2026 24min

  Audience Participation is an excellent way to make a good presentation into a stellar presentation. It can also be the scariest. That is why most speakers — even seasoned professionals — avoid asking their audience questions. It is too risky. Or is it? The truth is that the types of audience participation that most speakers use can come across as cheesy or forced. Also, our audiences have been trained to not interact with us. From the time we are in grade school, we are trained to sit still ...
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  How to Present a Proposal to Your Boss 13.07.2026 22min

  You have identified a problem or opportunity for your company. Now you need to get approval. So, how do you present a proposal to management that will get approved? The process is actually pretty simple. The method of how to present a proposal to management that we use works about 100% of the time. Just follow the simple steps below, and your project will easily get funded. By the way, if you are presenting a proposal to a customer or potential client, see this post. The technique below is ma...
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  How to Present a Proposal to a Client 06.07.2026 26min

  Here are a few tips to keep in mind when you present a proposal to a client. Here is the scenario… You have done your homework. A team at your company painstakingly created the perfect sales proposal. In fact, the potential client was so impressed, that they moved you to their “shortlist.” Now, though, they want you to present a bid proposal to the purchasing committee. Your team is one of just six to eight other companies competing for this contract. How do you make sure that the commi...
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  How to Collect Feedback on a Presentation 29.06.2026 25min

  How, exactly do we collect feedback on a presentation? Are there ways to solicit feedback that will help us grow as speakers? The answer is, absolutely, YES! However, the way that you typically ask for feedback may not be the best way to gain confidence as a speaker. In fact, many traditional feedback techniques can actually make you more nervous. In addition, speakers will sometimes make adjustments to their delivery based on anecdotal issues. This can start a snowball effect that leads to t...
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  The 10 Biggest Public Speaking Mistakes | What Not to do During a Presentation 22.06.2026 18min

  Most of what we cover on this podcast are things that you need to do. The secrets to effective visual aids, curbs against anxiety, the right ways to present, but what about the wrong ways? You have to know what not to do in order to know what to do and, for a lot of us, we do a lot of what we shouldn't do. There are so many small habits you might not even realize you do that are actively hurting your speaking and snuffing those out as early as possible is extremely important. So lets g...
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  5 Ironclad Ways to Prepare for a Presentation 15.06.2026 21min

  “I don’t present very often, so how do I prepare for a presentation?” That is, by far, one of the most common questions that we get as presentation skills coaches. In fact, most public speaking fear comes from situations where presenters just don’t speak very often. They have a hard time building up momentum. For instance, if you only drive a car once every couple of years, you will likely be nervous every time you slip behind the wheel. However, if you drive every day, the process bec...
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  How to Find Venues to Practice Public Speaking 08.06.2026 21min

  I often get a common question after people attend our 2-day presentation class. “Now that I feel more confident, where do I go to practice to continue to get better as a speaker?” “How can I continue to grow as a great speaker?” The best way to continue to grow is with continued and consistent use of your presentation skills. If you take a public speaking class and then don’t present again for a year, your new skills wither away. Today I'll be telling you just how to avoid that! Here i...
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  Riskier (and More Rewarding) Ways to Start Your Presentation 01.06.2026 20min

  Now that you know a few of the best (and safe) ways to start your presentation right, let's get spicier. No memorable speech you've ever sat through took no risks. The bare minimum a speech can be to not be bad is inoffensive. All the introductions I gave you last week are enough to make sure you don't have an embarrassingly awful first impression but they're not enough to make an amazing first impression. That's what this week is for. So if you're ready to learn how to make a statement from...
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  The Best Way to Start Your Presentation 25.05.2026 14min

  The opening is really the most important part of your presentation. You want to make a good first impression. In addition, you also want the audience to see as a subject matter expert. Of course, we’ve all been there as a speaker. First, we design a powerful presentation. Then, we nervously walk out onto a stage or into the front of the room. The audience stares with skepticism written all over their faces. This stoic crowd has no patience for speakers who waste their time. And their demeanor...
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  How to Write a Valedictorian Speech 18.05.2026 21min

  So you did it! You graduated at the top of your class. You’ve proved you are the apex of knowledge, skill, and potential within your school, and now you get to prove it with a beautiful Valedictorian Speech. Just one problem, since this is the first (and only) time you will ever do it, you don’t know how to write a valedictorian speech. Don’t worry, you’re not alone. Just about every Valedictorian or Salutatorian has gone through this. You work so hard to get to the top, sacrifice time ...
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  How to Write a Commencement Speech 11.05.2026 23min

  Most of the time, if you're good at writing one style of speech, you're good at writing all of them. Speech writing is a very transferable skill no matter if it's for a keynote, a lecture, a sales pitch, or pretty much anything else. But there are some exceptions. Commencement speeches draw a weird, wobbly fine line between being casual, inspirational, funny, and reflective. You can't talk about yourself too much or it'll sound self indulgent. You can't talk about the grads too much cau...
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  5 Ways to Calm Down Before a Presentation 04.05.2026 25min

  Want to calm down before a presentation? Even if you don’t regularly experience the fear of public speaking, just before you start a speech, it is easy to feel anxious. This initial nervous energy can cause a speaker to have a shaky voice, dry mouth, or sweaty palms just before a presentation. The good news is that this experience is very common. Most of the time, if you start your presentation well, the level of nervousness will drop very quickly. However, sometimes when people feel that st...