Halloween Meets the Fear of Public Speaking
Imagine getting this event invitation:"Come to our Halloween party. Dress as your worst fear."I received just such an event invitation a number of years ago. Delighted, I set my mind to the task of what I would wear."Worst fear. Let's see. I'll bet people will come as ghosts, werewolves, monsters, and such. But I'm not really scared of those things... what am I really afraid of?"

Two Tips for Curing the "Trailing So..."
Americans find the word "whatever" annoying.They find it way more annoying than the phrase "you know" and "it is what it is."This factoid comes courtesy of USA Today, as quoted in a recent Marist Poll.Really?As for me, I have trouble with another pervasive verbal tic.I call it "The Trailing So."

Two Ways to Let Your Audience Co-Create Presentation Content
Your audience has the technology. They're carrying smart phones. They have net books or note books.So why not let them use their snazzy tech tools to co-create presentations? Here are two tech-driven ways to let your audience co-create presentation content.PollEverywhere. Audience interactivity is a big part of the draw of PollEverywhere. You ask your audience a question; they can answer using Twitter, text messages, or the web. The PollEverywhere online service instantly tabulates audience survey result

How do you EARN attention when presenting?
"No computers or handhelds during my presentation," barks a presenter. "I don't know whether you're playing games or paying attention. For the next hour, all eyes up here, on me!"