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About a month ago, a Toastmaster I’d competed against reached out to me and asked if I’d like to deliver a 20-30 minute keynote speech. For me, this was a no-brainer. Yes, yes I would like to! Only one problem. I didn’t have a speech that long. I said yes, then immediately got to work building […]

As a competitive person, second place is pain. If I’m second, I might as well be last. That’s why taking second place at the Division level of the International Speech Contest in Toastmasters knocked something out of me. My goal had been Semifinals: and I was stopped two steps short of it. Worse, it was […]

In this sixth video of the series, I talk about how you can overcome a stale speech—one that you’ve been working on for a while and is difficult to improve. Give it a watch—a summary wouldn’t do it justice.

In this video, I take an in-depth look at Ramona’s winning speech in the World Championship of Public Speaking held by Toastmasters in 2018. I give over 20 praises and critiques, showing you how you can achieve the same amount of success by following the principles that she does. If you’re interested in this topic, […]

One of the most common pieces of advice you’ll hear for public speaking is: just practice, practice, practice. You’ll get better! This advice is spread so much because it kind of works. Yes, by simply going out and speaking in public, you can get better at public speaking. But there are several problems with that. You can […]

Fifth video of the series where I document my attempt to make it to the Semifinals of the World Championship of Public Speaking. Summary I’m back after a long break after getting married! In this video, I talk about the 5-step plan for how to recover your passion for an old speech: To summarize the […]

“Practice makes perfect”, goes the old saying, quite unhelpfully. The truth is, not all types of practice are made equal. So blindly practicing will not make you perfect, and you’re likely to hit a plateau if you practice the way most people do. I want you to understand the critical difference between regular practice, and deliberate […]

Catchphrases are powerful tools in the hand of a public speaker—they can help cement an idea for years to come. We all remember phrases such as “I have a dream” or “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind”. You can use catchphrases for important speeches, product slogans, advertisements, campaign mottos, and […]

Many people experience public speaking anxiety, but most people are not aware that there are actually multiple different types of public speaking anxiety. The types of public speaking anxiety can be sorted into contexts and causes. There are two anxiety contexts Some people get nervous before the speech, while others get nervous during the speech. If you’re someone […]

Fourth video of the series where I document my attempt to make it to the Semifinals of the World Championship of Public Speaking. Summary I finished selecting two topics: Being unique Be more adventurous Both are cliche topics, but high level speeches in Toastmasters commonly are. It’s not really about whether the audience has never […]

Third video of the series where I document my attempt to make it to the Semifinals of the World Championship of Public Speaking.   Summary I finished the research that I’ve been doing for a few weeks. In this video, I give 4 major insights from my research. However, I wrote an article with 16 […]

Armed with a large spreadsheet, videos of Toastmasters International Finalists, and an overwhelming sense of curiosity, I set out to learn what sets the champions apart. I watched 10 champion speeches and 5 speeches that placed second or third. I manually recorded everything about them in a spreadsheet: aspects like how many laughs they received, […]

Second video of the series where I document my attempt to make it to the Semifinals of the World Championship of Public Speaking.   Summary Research video is coming out next. I’m preparing two speeches for the competition because you need two in order to win (one all the way through semifinals, then a different […]

I’m starting a new video series where I’ll document my attempt to make it to the Semifinals of the World Championship of Public Speaking. Throughout this series I will be giving you tips and tricks that you can use to write your own speech for the Toastmasters International Speech Contest. Here is the first video: […]

This post was originally a guest post on www.presentation-guru.com. Lately, I have been preparing to deliver a TEDx talk at a local university. As I’ve crafted this speech, I’ve been reminded that it is all too easy for me to write very dry speeches even though one of my trademarks is humor. What do I […]

Humor is one of the simplest ways to go from being a boring speaker to an engaging one. If you’re able to successfully add humor to your speech, you’ll be able to connect better with your audience. I’m about to give you over 10 ways to add humor to your speech—and there’s even more helpful […]

Division champion humorous speech analysis I won the Toastmasters division contest with this speech! This video will go over how I managed to keep it together after forgetting a critical word (and substituting it for basically an oxymoron), as well as several other valuable lessons you can learn from the speech. Posted by Potent Speaking […]

Transcript:  Hey everyone, I recently competed in a Toastmasters humorous speech contest and I actually was fortunate enough to win the club level contest so I’m moving on to the area level and representing my club there soon. And what I wanted to do is take the video of my speech and do an analysis […]

I interviewed Nathan Swan, a public speaking coach for Magnetic Speaking (based in San Francisco). In this interview, we discuss the most important things you can do to become a better speaker. In addition, we talk about how to become more comfortable with public speaking in the United States when English is not your first […]

I always have my eye out for news related to public speaking, and the other day something truly unique came to my attention. It’s called Orai, and it’s a mobile app designed to help you be a better speaker. Currently, it’s only available for iOS. I was instantly both curious and skeptical. What could an […]

What you can learn from Otto Warmbier's graduation speech Learn some good principles of public speaking from this video of Otto Warmbier's high school graduation speech. This video is not only a public speaking analysis, but also a tribute to Otto. I recommend you watch it all the way through. Posted by Potent Speaking on […]

Approximate transcript: Some of my favorite speeches to listen to are ones that effectively combine sad emotions with humor. This can be very difficult to pull off, but there’s nothing quite like taking your audience through an emotional rollercoaster. Jimmy Kimmel nailed it last month when he spent a segment of his show on an […]

One of the most common problems new public speakers have is the use of filler words. Words like “um”, “uh”, “alright”, “you know” and “so” are commonly used when the speaker is trying to think of the next thing to say. If you fix this problem, you’ll instantly look smarter. Film yourself giving a speech, […]

After watching over 100 class presentations in my time in college, I’m officially convinced that no one knows how to use PowerPoint properly. Slides are like salt: some can be good, but too much is gross and leaves your audience thirsty for an actual public speaker. Yes, I’m salty about this. In this post, I’d like […]

Transcript: Trump just gave another speech so, it’s time to do this again. His latest speech in front of Congress got an unusual amount of positive media attention this time, so let’s look at what he did right and what he could still improve on. The first thing that I think trump did right is that he […]

Like it or not, people can and do subconsciously judge you for your voice. It can be used to emphasize points and make you seem confident, but it can also work against you if you use it incorrectly. Don’t believe me? Watch this video of Donald Trump dubbed over with a sophisticated accent: Suddenly it […]

Video Transcript JOHN: And those of us who work in this business have the privilege of shaping how the world perceives this country we love. GIO: If celebrities represent our country we’re in a really bad situation. John Legend gave a quick two-minute speech on Donald Trump and his policies at a recent awards ceremony, […]

Here is a video that summarizes this article, if you’d prefer to watch. Donald Trump’s inauguration speech is an excellent example of how poor delivery can make even a good script sound mediocre. While Trump’s inauguration speechwriters did not write as well as Obama’s farewell speechwriters did, much of the blame falls on Donald for […]

Whether or not you’re a fan of former President Obama, there are aspects of his speaking style and content that you can learn from. Especially considering that the content of Presidential speeches are almost always produced by professional speechwriters. They know what they’re doing. I’m going to approach this post from an Obama supporter’s angle—how a […]

In 1984, Robert Cialdini published an extremely influential book on behavioral psychology called Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion. It was one of the first books to expose the persuasion tactics of salespeople to the general public. Since that time, plenty of new studies have been conducted, and we now know more about persuasion than we […]

You’ve no doubt heard it before: people rate fear of public speaking as their number one fear. Despite some validity issues with that statistic, it’s clear that public speaking anxiety is strong for a lot of people. There are plenty of articles on how to overcome this fear, but very few of them are worth your time. […]

The curse of knowledge is a psychological bias that makes it impossible for you to imagine not knowing something you already know. For example, it’s difficult for you to empathize with a new driver if you’re an experienced driver. If you’re writing a speech, the curse of knowledge is likely to affect how simply you […]

Every once in a while, it’s good to be reminded just how much persuasion lies in the delivery of a speech. That is, after all, the point of this website. This TED talk does just that. A good speaker can talk about any topic and make it interesting to the audience. The effective use of […]

It’s easy for your audience to forget parts of your speech, especially if it’s a lengthy one. Sometimes the main point gets lost in the details. Getting your audience to remember and care about all of your points is usually impossible (unless there are few, like 3 points with no subpoints). So you need to […]

It is a common cliche that it is impossible to over-prepared. I can see an argument for it, but do not be deceived into believing that all forms of preparation are good. It is possible to prepare with the wrong goal in mind, resulting in a disorganized speech. The kid in the picture is probably […]

In 2014, Matthew McConaughey won the Best Actor award for his role in Dallas Buyers Club. The speech he gave is considered by many to be one of the top acceptance speeches ever given by an actor/actress. Let’s break down, in detail, what exactly made this speech so good. Most people can identify that it was powerful, […]

One of the best ways to be a better speaker, besides practicing, is to watch other good speakers. Some of the best speakers I know enjoy watching presidential candidates give speeches, or finding other sources of good speakers. (Hint: not all presidential candidates are good at it, and in fact most are pretty bad, but […]

http://www.tylervigen.com/spurious-correlations http://www.newyorker.com/science/maria-konnikova/politics-and-personality-most-of-what-you-read-is-malarkey A common persuasive tool for speeches is to use statistics. Here’s a quick overview of statistics and some helpful thoughts on how you can do the math, making your speech more powerful. Statistics is the practice of using sample data to figure out population data. The “population” is the entire group of people […]

Book gleaning is a series of posts that highlight specific books and what we can take from them to apply to public speaking. In this post, we’ll be discussing the book Made to Stick, by Chip and Dan Heath. Why do some ideas thrive while others die? And how do we improve the chances of […]

Many public speakers will find themselves continually dwelling in mediocrity because they’re not willing to practice public speaking enough. Or, when they do practice, they don’t do it right. One of the best ways to get better at speaking is to video yourself giving a speech. You tend to like yourself just fine until you […]

On October 7, 1984, Ronald Reagan obliterated the main opposition to his presidency. Rumors had been circulating that he was too old for the job, and that he was getting Alzheimer’s. During a debate with his opponent, Walter Mondale, he quipped “I will not make age an issue of this campaign. I am not going […]

The style of speaking that I advocate on this website is very conversational and personal. It avoids aloofness, it prioritizes making sure your audience likes you and understands exactly what you’re saying. In short, I advocate that you connect with your audience. You not only want the audience to like you, you want to like them. How […]

I noticed that some speakers, especially in impromptu situations, seem to be saying a lot of words, but not a lot of coherent thoughts. And if you were to really concentrate on what they’re saying, you’d see there’s no connection between one sentence and the next one. If you have this problem, you are probably rambling. If you’re […]

When you need to speak to an audience that doesn’t completely agree with your position to start with, it can be difficult to win them to your side. People tend to stick with their current beliefs. One of the most important tools for a public speaker is knowledge of possible audience objections to their message. If, […]

One of the primary challenges of any public speaker is keeping the audience engaged with their speech. If you’re able to invoke curiosity continuously throughout your speech, then you are miles ahead of most speakers. If you’ve ever seen a video by the popular YouTube science guy Vsauce, you know how powerful curiosity can be. (Also, […]

I’ve written many articles on the art and science of public speaking. They all contain highly practical tips that will dramatically improve your public speaking. However, if I had to guess, I’d say 85% of people who read this website don’t actively try to apply the tips. This is due to a variety of factors, […]

It’s difficult for the audience to remember everything you have to say. For that reason, as discussed before, you should pick 3 main points to emphasize and stick with them. But how do you help people to remember these three points? And how do you get people to pay attention once they’ve started to get […]

It is with great pleasure that I post this interview for y’all to hear. Susan Weinschenk, also known as “The Brain Lady”, has a Ph.D. in Psychology and has over 30 years of experience in the field. She is passionate about figuring out how people tick, and how to persuade and encourage people. Her clients […]

They say first impressions are solidified within 5 seconds of interacting with someone. In the same way, the audience’s first impression of what you are as a speaker is solidified after a few seconds of your speech. That’s why your introduction is one of the most important parts of your speech. Because introductions to speeches are […]

One of the first challenges for a new public speaker is to find more to say. They’re not sure what to write down and how to fill their speaking time productively. However, over time, people become more competent at speech writing. They’re able to come up with 3, 4, 5, and even more points that […]

Have you ever been in a conversation where you’re nodding quickly because the person is saying something obvious, but they just keep on talking? This is what it feels like for people to listen to a speaker talk about stuff they already know. It makes the speech boring and even infuriating to listen to. So […]

Imagine if someone would refuse to talk to you unless they had notes and something to put in between you during the conversation. That would probably make you feel uncomfortable. Yet, so many speakers do the exact same thing: hide behind their notes and a lectern. Let’s talk about why you should move aside from the lectern […]

Analogies are well-known as an excellent way to connect with your audience and explain difficult concepts. But not every analogy is made equal. In 2010, a Geometry teacher in Warrior, Alabama was interrogated by the Secret Service. The reason? While teaching about angles, he used an analogy of shooting the President in order to explain the […]

There was a group of people in the late 1800s who believed that crowds could be manipulated by a very specific set of hand motions. The “elocutionists”, as they were called, had books that they would study carefully, full of specific formulas for various speeches. If they wanted to convey certain concepts or emotions, they had specific […]

Golfer Jack Nicklaus said that he never hit a shot, even during practice, without visualizing it first. He won 18 major championships. For decades, professional athletes have considered visualization an essential tool, often spending hours visualizing their victory. Public speakers can use this same technique to improve their speaking. “So you’re saying that by daydreaming […]