Secrets of success: Passion, persistence, pushy mothers?

Get your secrets of success here.
Watch closely especially the one about pushy mothers!

Enhancing your presentation skills

View the following presentation tips techniques from Douglas Jefferys.

Public speaking is the # 1 human fear. Catch some great tips for overcoming that fear and becoming a much better speaker.

Poking Fun at Public Speaking

Speaking in public can sometimes be 'earth shattering', have fun watching video.

Public Speaking Videos - The Beast and the Beauty

Get a taste of speaker in action below:

Toastmasters District 51 International Speech Champion
Stephen Fernando
Speech Title: "The Beast and The Beauty"

4 good reasons why you need to add pauses in Public Speaking

Ever heard a person talking non-stop? The one that don't know recognize that there should be full stop in a sentence.

Yes... the 'machine-gun' talkers! Well, you can't really blame them for talking non-stop especially if you are hyper-excited about what you are talking.

If you got a chance to hear from great orators; people like Winston Churchill, Martin Luther King, John F Kennedy (to name a few). You'll notice a difference in their speeches. A difference called 'pauses'.

I'll bet you my very last bottom dollar, that you'll see some outstanding results and feedback when you start using pauses in your speeches.


Here are some 4 good reasons why you need to add pauses in Public Speaking.

1. When you pause; you give breathing space to your audience. Giving them time to recollect and absorb what you have presented. This is important if you want the audience to understand what you are presenting.

2. When you pause; you leave your audience in suspense. An element of suspense will create curiousity. When your audience is curious, it gets them to sit-up and listen attentively to you. The last thing you want is a member of the audience snoring loudly when you're talking!

3. When you pause; you are giving the audience an impression that you're temporary 'suspended' in a moment of time. And what follows next, will be new and fresh information. This creates a new 'fresh breath of air' in your speech.

4. And lastly, when you pause; you are gently and lovingly leading the audience to the climax in your speeches! Instead of forcing and rushing through your speeches, have 'pauses'. Your audience will certainly love you for it!

The Master Key to Achieving Anything You Want

Anybody can easily achieve what they want if they have this key.

This key may look 'ordinary' but to the person who holds it, will unlock and open doors to acheive whatever they want.

Whether it's a better paying job, better relationship, more energy, better communication skills anything is possible if you have this Master Key.

So what is this Master Key?

....it's FOCUS.
and it needs to be LASER FOCUSED.

Though it sound's 'ordinary' but it really works.

Do you still remember when was the last time, that you were committed and focused in achieving your goals.

- Remember the preparation you did for your important speech presentation.
- Remember the calls you make to get the best travel holiday offer for your family.
- Remember the checks you made to get the best deal for buying your car.
- And the list of commitments and focus goes on...

If it's a long term goal (more than 6 months goals), you need to be focused on it for at least 90 days.

And Why 90 days?

This is because research has shown that if you keep doing something for at least 90 days it becomes a habit. And you'll be more inclined to do it to reach your goal or goals rather than stopping half way.

For example, if you want to lose 10 kilos... what would you do?If you go to the gym and workout 6 hours a day every week, later stop for one month, then not sure whether to continue doing it everyday, I would consider this as not laser focused

Rather, you need to go the gym at least 3 times a week for one hour each and keep doing it for at least 90 days.

Achieving what you want is like 'eating' an elephant.
How do you eat an elephant? Simply One bite at a time.

If you want to run a marathon for the very first time, don't try running the full 26 miles in a single day. You might just collapse in total exhaustion or land yourself in intensive care!

Instead, start conditioning your body to run maybe one mile in a day, increasing another mile, in the following week till you feel comfortable running the full 26 miles.

Therefore plan out your goals, get them down in writing, develop your action plan and do it. Don't you sway your attention away from your plan.

There may hiccups or changes along the way, but nevertheless always be LASER FOCUSED in the end result. Know what the results you want (eg. losing 10 kilos).

When you start doing the above, you will be pleased on being able to achieve what you want.

Common Crucial Mistake when YOU begin Speech Presentation

A BIG "Selamat Datang" (means "Welcome" in the Malay language) to YOU!

Thanks for dropping by Speecom's Blog. Speecom short for "Speech and Communication" is a place of sharing tips and methods in improving your communication and leadership skills.

As the very first posting to this blog, let's look at "Common Crucial Mistake when YOU begin a Speech Presentation".

What do you think is the "Common" little but often overlook yet crucial mistake when you start a speech.

From my countless observations during public speaking and speech presentations, many people often make this mistake. Though it may appear subtle but nevertheless it proves damaging in presenting the speaker in the "right frame of listening" to the audience.

The "right frame of listening" refers to providing the right conditions that makes the audience wants to listen to you. You always want to start of the right note so that audience will be receptive to what you have to say.

So what is this Common Crucial Mistake which many people make (without realizing) when starting a speech.

The answer is .......... APOLOGIZING!

Yes, you hear me right, it's APOLOGIZING.

So often you hear of people saying "Sorry...I did not prepare... I did not really know... I wasn't sure or...Please excuse me for.." and variety of million different apologies whenever they start a speech.

STOP! Stop doing this. You don't need to apologize.

Apologizing is BAD.

You don't need to apologize. In fact when you apologize you are indirectly sending "waves" to the audience saying that you are going to present a "horribly bad" speech. (even though you may be a good speaker)

When you apologize, you're simply putting "invisible handbrakes" to an otherwise smooth and beautiful speech. You're also shooting down your own self-confidence and self-esteem when you apologize.

Why do you want to do that?

Let the audience be the judge after you have presented the speech and not before. If you have watched the show American Idol on TV -- during the singing audition, did you ever notice anybody saying "Hey I'm a terribly bad singer, so hear me out OK".

Bear in mind, the audience don't care less about your speech you say until you start saying it. They don't need to know whether you are 3 percent, 10 percent or even 101 percent prepared.

As long as start you telling the audience what you suppose to present, people don't need to know how 'bad' you are.

And if ever you want to do an introduction about yourself, do it by presenting the positive part of yourself.

Example: "Being a Toastmaster member since 1998, I noticed many speakers including veteran speakers making this mistake....".

Always position and highlight yourself in the positive light to the audience and not otherwise.

So the next time, you have the urge to "Apologize" when you start a speech -- just put A BIG FULL S.T.O.P to it!

(...unless of course you arrive late for your scheduled speech presentation)