One of the questions I get asked by clients is: should I read my speech or presentation from notes or a script? There is no wrong answer here. It depends on the situation. Of course, there are a few occasions when I would recommend reading from your script or notes. But there are also many situations where public speakers don’t …
6 Common Mistakes When Doing Virtual Presentations by Peter Dhu
We all know that Virtual Presentations (Zoom, Teams, Webex etc) can be difficult as a presenter. Audiences can be easily distracted, zone out, keep working on other projects, and basically disengage from the Virtual Presentation. As a professional speaking coach, I often get asked how I can better manage my Virtual Presentations so that my audience is involved, engaged, and …
What Do You Do If Your Mind Goes Blank When Public Speaking by Peter Dhu
One of the worst nightmares associated with public speaking is the fear of going blank during your presentation. We call this phenomenon various names including mind drains, brain freeze, going blank, losing it and in my case, a senior’s moment. We have all seen people who have struggled when trying to remember some detail or some facts. Michael Grinder talks …
Honour Those Before You and Pave The Way For Those Who Follow You by Peter Dhu
Always be respectful when public speaking. I was at a conference a few years ago and I heard a young diabetic educator talk about the importance of self-esteem and mental wellbeing in women living with diabetes. Her research had found that many women living with diabetes were stressed and worried about their families and children, should they become unable to …
6 Habits to Improve Your Public Speaking Skills by Peter Dhu
“If you are going to achieve excellence in big things, you develop the habit in little matters. Excellence is not an exception, it is a prevailing attitude.” – Colin Powell Like many other skills, public speaking is a continuous learning cycle. It is not something that you can learn and master overnight and then you’re good to go for the …
Are You A Noisy Speaker by Peter Dhu
Ralph Waldo Emmerson said, “your body speaks so loudly; I cannot hear what you are saying.” A noisy speaker is someone who unintentionally creates or exhibits behaviour that may distract or catch their audience’s attention, thus reducing their spoken message and their ability to have an impact and be influential. Noise can be in the form of a sound or …

