Yorgos Lanthimos' film The Favourite is getting great buzz. Lanthimos wanted immediacy and authentic vulnerability from actors Rachel Weisz, Emma Stone and Olivia Colman. He achieved this outcome with three weeks of rehearsal, having the actors do seemingly goofy exercises like jumping from floor tile...
Last Monday night, one game broke records, wowed fans, and forged its place in football history. For fans of the LA Rams or the Kansas City Chiefs (both with 9-1 records this season), it was a nail-biter all the way. With continuous well-executed plays and...
Earlier this week we were training in New York for NPD, a market research firm. While in discussion with a group president, Tim directed us to prepare his leaders for their "bus moment." We were stumped. We'd never heard the term. Tim explained. "In leadership roles,...
Melissa McCarthy, while touting her new film Can You Ever Forgive Me? called herself a "dinosaur" because she doesn't text, email or tweet. Instead, she observes human behavior and incorporates those insights into her characters. All well-trained actors, sketch artists, and scientists have highly developed...
It’s not just you. Most people suffer from speaker anxiety. In my years of coaching and training clients, I’ve found that speaker anxiety can be greatly diminished simply by speaking on a regular basis and having the right tools in place when anxiety rears its...
Rehearse your presentation in front of a trusted colleague, friend, or family member. Poll them for specific feedback. If you simply ask “How did I do?” most people will say, “Great!” which tells you nothing. Ask for specifics like the goal of your presentation, what...
To be a successful speaker or communicator, the most important thing you can do is put your full attention on the audience and what would serve them best. If you want to deliver value or drive others to take an action, trust your intuition and...
The pressure we put on ourselves to be perfect and deliver presentations that no one can criticize becomes a metaphorical straight jacket. The nagging voice that resides inside our heads is loud, obnoxious, and demoralizing. Moreover, it kills our creativity. No speaker can simultaneously monitor...
Audiences don’t trust presenters who are too polished or perfect. They prefer speakers who are a bit rough around the edges, speak in a genuine voice, and are doing their best to engage an audience. There may be another principle at play. Women can be overly...
There’s nothing like humor to warm up an audience. I don’t mean telling a joke. Comedy is best left to professionals. Besides, if you’re like me, you can never remember the punch line—it’s embarrassing to set up a joke and then screw up the ending....