Last night I competed in a Toastmasters International speech contest, and am excited to share with you that I placed FIRST!! I had taken a three-year break from competing, so it felt especially GREAT to take home the top honor at the club contest! I will move on to compete at the area level in […]

It’s a new year and you may be thinking about what resources you need that will help you accomplish your goals. If you’ve been telling yourself year after year that you need to improve your public speaking and presentation skills, and this year has to be different – you may consider working with a public […]

I can’t believe we are winding down the last month of 2022 already! It seems like we just started the year. I pray you are taking time to enjoy yourself and not getting overwhelmed with all the hustle and bustle that often comes in December. Below is a great article from Black Speakers Network that […]

If professional speaking is a goal of yours, your Speaker One Sheet is one of your most important marketing tools to have. However, there are still some lingering misconceptions about them! Let’s clear up some of the biggest ones… 1. IT NEEDS TO BE ONE SHEET It does NOT need to be one sheet! Many […]

I want to speak, but I don’t know what to talk about… I don’t have any interesting stories to use… I really don’t have any experiences others would be that interested in hearing about… All LIES!! Listen, you have SO much speech content inside of you that you’d be AMAZED. You don’t think you have […]

Yesterday I had the opportunity to record a PSA (public service announcement) at WLRH radio station. It’s located on the beautiful campus of the University of Alabama in Huntsville. I’ve done radio interviews before, but never did a PSA – til now! I love being able to cross off “firsts”! 😉 Here are a few […]

  Even though in-person events have returned (thank God!), virtual events are here to stay. Virtual events are a different animal from in-person events, and that includes audience engagement. You have to be intentional about HOW you engage them, WHEN to engage them, and the WHY behind your engagement tactic. Yes it’s that deep. After […]

A situation many speakers find frustrating is looking out into the audience and seeing faces glued to cell phones. You’ve taken the time to prepare this talk, and their attention is on a device instead of you. Like it or not, mobile phones are everywhere now and you can pretty much expect at least one person to look […]

“Is it ok to use notes?” “What’s the right way to use notes when speaking?” These are the two most common questions I hear when it comes to speech notes. First, let me make it clear that it IS OK to bring your trusty notes with you. I have been to conferences where I was […]

If you’ve ever looked out into your audience and noticed confusing looks on their faces – it can feel unsettling to you as a speaker! You’re wondering why they look that way. There are a host of reasons, but here are three major ones:  Your speech has no real structure and is going all over […]