Six Minutes weekend reviews bring the best public speaking articles to you.
This review features topics including:
This article reviews a thought-provoking speech by Dan Pink about the surprising science of motivation, which was delivered at TED in 2009.
Pink delivers a masterful speech which demonstrates many strong speech techniques, including:
The strength of this speech isn’t surprising at all, given Pink’s former role as chief speechwriter for Al Gore.
This is the latest in a series of speech critiques here on Six Minutes.
Six Minutes weekend reviews bring the best public speaking articles to you.
This larger-than-usual new year’s edition review features topics including:
Keith Kennedy asks:
At my Toastmasters meeting last night, one of the speech evaluators recommended that the speaker should “bookend her speech”. I’ve never heard that term before. What does it mean, and is it something you recommend?
In this article, we’ll define what it means to bookend your speech, and give a set of tips for exercising this wonderful technique.
Several readers sent in questions related to impromptu speeches, including Matthias K.:
I’m pretty comfortable when I have days or even weeks to prepare a speech, but I REALLY struggle when I’m asked to speak at a moment’s notice. Do you have any tips for impromptu speaking?
In this article, you’ll find a set of tips that will make you shine the next time you are asked to speak on the spur of the moment.
To design, prepare, and deliver a great presentation, you’ve got to commit yourself to the task. If you go in half-hearted or, worse, dreading it, your negative attitude will show in the final product.
This is the subject of today’s email from Melissa Cullen:
I’ve been a subscriber since 2010, and Six Minutes has really helped. I have to give presentations about once a month, and I get compliments on them now. However, every time another presentation gets scheduled, I’m filled with dread about having to speak, yet again. Does this feeling of apathy ever go away? What can I do to get rid of the speaking blues?
In this article, we’ll look at how to adopt a positive mindset about speaking.
Speaking outdoors is one of the most difficult challenges faced by a public speaker.
Do you know how to overcome the obstacles in this difficult scenario?
An anonymous Six Minutes reader asks:
Every speech I’ve heard given outdoors has been pretty much a disaster. Have I just been unlucky, or is this an impossible venue? Is there any way to succeed?
In this article, we’ll examine the unique challenges of speaking outdoors, and give several tips for effectively getting your message across.
Moses Cherrington asks:
Is there a most common problem associated with public speaking, according to your point of view and experience in public speaking?
There is, sadly, an abundance of common problems which afflict speakers. In this article, we’ll focus on three of the worst which sabotage many speakers.
Have you ever thought about the foods and beverages that can improve or degrade your speaking performance?
Do you have any good luck foods that you consume before speaking? How about a food or beverage you avoid?
Gonzalo Diaz asks this delicious question:
A month ago, I attended a conference where one of the speakers left for five minutes right in the middle of his talk. He apologized, saying it was something he ate.
I had never given much thought to it before. Do you have a list of foods that you avoid before speaking, or any foods that give you extra energy?
In this article, we’ll consider what you should — and shouldn’t — eat and drink for maximum speaking effectiveness.
Has this ever happened to you?
You’ve discovered a fascinating statistic that clinches your persuasive argument. You save it for your last point, and deliver it clearly. You expect a wave of emotion to hit your audience, but…
Nothing. Your audience doesn’t react at all. Do they not get it?
If this sounds familiar, then you are not alone. A Six Minutes subscriber, Akiko Takeshita, sends this question via email:
I wonder if you have any advice for working statistics into a speech. Sometimes it works for me, but I often feel like the audience isn’t impacted by the statistic when the statistic seems very powerful to me. What am I doing wrong?
In this article, we examine the importance of using statistics in your speech, and how to do so effectively.
Reading a speech is not the recommended way to deliver a speech.
But, there are many occasions where you may find yourself in exactly this situation, whether due to the circumstances of the event or unavoidable constraints on time. Or, maybe you’ve got to read a speech that you haven’t written!
When you must read a speech, are there ways to enhance your delivery? Two Six Minutes readers approach this question from different perspectives:
Patricia McArver writes:
How should a speechwriter mark up copy so that the speaker will deliver the message with emphasis and pauses in the right places? As a writer, you think it’s obvious, but that’s not always the case.
Jacob Miller asks:
Do you have any tips for annotating a speech? When I try to read my speeches, I frequently get lost in the print, and sometimes I put the emphasis in the wrong places. Is there anything I can do other than the obvious — practicing more?
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