Gestures and what to do with your hands are always a concern – even with some not-so-new presenters.

There is a lot of advice out there from the gurus and experts about gestures but one of the best I have seen was a few years back from Kelly Decker at Decker Communications.

It was simple: “Go big and then go home.”

A reason first, then an explanation.

Many presenters are reluctant to gesture. And when they do, they are reluctant to gesture broadly – even if they are in front of a larger group in a larger room. Many glue their elbows to their sides and look like a flailing T-rex. Or they cover their you-know and look weak and unsure.

To be sure, there is a lot to unpack about gestures, different kinds, how to use them, how to practice them, how to make them appropriate and how to discover your comfortable style.

Kelly’s admonition, “Go big and then go home” suggests using a broad, arms-stretched-out movement followed by letting your arms go down to your sides.

This accomplishes a number of things:

• At the right time, this can add a wide, inclusive emphasis to your words.
• Dropping your arms to your sides after makes the broad gesture more powerful by contrast.
• The combination avoids the elbows Velcroed to the speaker’s sides effect that is so common
• It makes your gestures look intentional, but casual. And it avoids the wild, arm waving that some presenters resort to in an attempt to put a gesture to every word or phrase.

There’s a bunch more about gestures and other “stage skills” as speaker people like to call them. How to practice and get comfortable. How to avoid that horrible thing you do with your nose.

All that in my new course. Find out more: https://ready2speak.com/course

Tom

p.s. There is no risk. If you watch the videos, use the worksheets and put in the practice you will get better. Much better. Now be honest, if it’s not for you, well heck, why would I want to keep your money? Just let me know in 30 days and you will get it all back. But I trust you. Be honest.

I was never a big football fan growing up. American football. That is until superfan Gloria Friedgen enlightened me that it was a sport where the smallest role was still critical to the team’s success. A star quarterback was of little use if the center couldn’t snap the ball to him.

I watched Matt Ryan of the Atlanta Falcons yesterday and I was marveling at his confidence. The team was having a bad season. This game was a struggle. It would have been frustrating for anyone. But Matty Ice was having none of that. He was as confident in his and his team’s ability to make it happen as ever.

Confidence. It is the magic elixir. The drop of oil that can make the whole machine run like a top.

Here’s the connection to Matt Ryan, the Falcons and your ability to present well:

Matt Ryan has a system, a playbook, a process, a team of 50 to 100 people who, when they do their job, form that well-oiled machine.

Now to be sure, everyone there is a consummate professional. They practice long hours. They have years of experience. These two items all add immensely to their confidence.

But the system. That is their reliable tool. It is polished and refined and ready to give them the best possible chance of winning any game.

The system.

Here comes the cheesy sports metaphor…

The system is big for you as a presenter too. It is a major component that will build your confidence. The system will offer you a reliable process you can count on to deliver a powerful, effective speech.

Sure, practice and experience, like in sports, are part of the formula as well. But when you have the system…

• You get a rock-solid presentation that you can put in your pocket and know it is the best tool possible to connect with your audience.
• You know you can modify and changeup for different groups, topics and points-of-view. The system will help you make it work.
• You have something, like that family of football teammates and coaches, that you can rely on to give you your best shot in any situation.

That’s confidence.

That’s what a system can do for you as a presenter.

When I began to assemble my course, I knew that my system – the Ready2Speak system — would be the key.

A step-by-step system to help you build and deliver a proven, powerful presentation.

And my system will go a long way to build confidence for any presenter – newbies and experienced alike.

My 6-week course will be available next Monday, January 6. I invite you to join. It will change the way you present. It is for anyone who wants to connect more, influence more and/or sell more.

You’ll have a chance to supercharge your confidence with a powerful system. A system that you can use over and over again to make presentations you’ll be proud of.

Until Monday. In the meantime, check out the details…

https://ready2speak.com/course

Tom

p.s. As a charter member (that’s you), there is a 2 for 1 deal. Next week only. Effectively giving you half-off. And making you a generous hero to your coworker, your friend, Aunt Ruby or that random person you see on the street. Check it out.

Patricia Fripp, Mark Scharenbroich, Ken Futch, Jeanne Robertson, Dan Thurmon, Connie Podesta, Neen James, Alan Weiss and, of course, Gene Griessman. And maybe a few hundred others.

I watched and learned from them all — either live, on audio or online. I was captivated by people who spoke. Who could weave ideas and stories and passion and theatrics together to create an experience that would beguile an audience. That would sell ideas. That would sell things.

Was there a method to their magic? Did they leave clues? Were there patterns and techniques and processes they used to create those amazing experiences?

It turns out, yes.

To be sure the folks mentioned above are the best in the world. They are the Michael Jordans of the speaking world. They operate at a different level then us mere mortals.

But they also worked hard with the raw materials we all have to get better and better and better.

Some of those above are introverts. They have faced their natural fear of failure, of looking foolish and decided they could conquer it. They have found that their place at the front of the room allows them to connect with the world in a way that suits them.

There are lessons and tools they use that we all can learn from.

• How to prepare
• How to understand your audience
• How to find the golden nugget to organize your presentation
• How to stir emotions
• How to sell
• And so many more.

These are the core of my upcoming course.

It is for entrepreneurs and small business people and subject matter experts and anyone who wants to create a pro-level presentation.

Lessons I’ve learned from the pros. Lessons I’ve modified or created from my experience working with raw beginners, big shot executives and even Hall of Fame speakers.

If you want to give better presentations at any level, for any reason, I invite you to take my course.

It will change the way you relate to your audience and connect with them. It will change the way you present.

Registration for our next session starts January 6th, 2020.

Sign up to find out more here: https://ready2speak.com/course

Tom

How many of you have had this experience…?

There is something you want to learn more about. It seems, from your initial examination, to be dense and unfathomable. It has many moving parts and there doesn’t appear to be a path or a logical route to take that will give you a good grip on this illusive topic.

It could be building a two-story doghouse or learning to juggle razor sharp knives or, as in my case years ago, public speaking.

When I began, I had the bug. I was enthralled with some of the great speakers I had seen. How did they appear so confident? How did they make complex subjects easy to grasp? How did they manage to get onstage without throwing up?

I wanted to be a really good speaker but there seemed to be so many random skills that I needed, and I didn’t know where to start.

I searched and searched on the mighty Interweb but it was a jumbled jigsaw of good, mediocre and horrible information from unknown “experts”.

What one person told you to always do – the next would tell you never, ever do.

Akkkkk! It was very frustrating.

But as I got better in my skills and confidence, I saw in real speakers, both live and online, what was working and what wasn’t.

I became a student of this speaking world as the only way I could figure out how to figure stuff out.

This all lead to my career as a speaker, as a presentation designer and finally as a coach.

I saw that the people I coached struggled with the same things I did. I could help them navigate this crazy world of presentations because I had been there and (trying to be modest here) done that.

Things like:

• How to begin a presentation that builds massive curiosity in your audience’s minds.
• How to get rid of the total information overload that ruins so much of our best efforts
• How to tie together a presentation so that you audience will “get” your core message.
• And perhaps most important, how to build the confidence muscles that are critical to delivering a top-notch talk.
• Plus, a gazillion other small and large techniques and understandings.

So, what is all this about you ask?

I have built a course. Actually, I have rebuilt a course I created last Spring. It is infinitely better. It is amazing.

Over 6 weeks my course will take you and your presentation from a jumbled jigsaw puzzle in a paper bag to a polished gem ready for you to make your star turn.

It has all the stuff, all the insights, all the ideas I learned and developed over the years.

And best of all, it is offered to you in a logical, step-by-step blueprint that will make your next presentation just about better that anything you have ever done.

Certainly, better than that pain-in-the-butt guy down the hall who is trying to get your job. This will smoke his ***.

So, (the gurus tell you never to say “so”) it will be ready for you to jump in and get lightyears better on January 6. That’s in just a few weeks.

In the meantime, as I finish everything up, I will be giving you some ideas of how cool it will be.

If you are on my email list, I will send you a special invite and a really cool offer as a Founding Member.

Send this to everyone you know so they can get on my list.

But not to that jerk down the hall.

Sign up to be notified first here. https://ready2speak.com/course

Tom

P.S. I must tell you that this is not for everyone. I created my course for people who are willing to put in the effort, step outside their comfort zone (just a little) and become better – much better — at presenting. This speaking thing is sometimes difficult (My goal is to make it as easy as I can for you to succeed). But the rewards, as they say, are priceless.

Ho, ho, ho!

Here is an idea you can use if you want to be loved by your audience the way little kids get all wiggly and excited when they see their big red-suited Christmas buddy at the mall.

Think “What do I have that I can give to my audience that will be most valuable?”

If you are an expert speaking to a group of humans, then you are presenting them with something. Make it something that will enrich their views, their pockets or their lives. Something really valuable.

Just like a present under the tree.

They will love you just like Santa. No red suit necessary.

Season’s best,

Tom