If you want to see the Bride and Groom kiss at a Wedding, rather than tapping your glasses, try to impress the crowd with a jokey pun. Go up to the front of the [...]]]> Cora Legg & Tom Danielson recently got married in Santa Barbara, CA. Their Wedding took place Saturday, March 26, 2011

Public Speaking Expert Scott Topper with the Bride and Groom

If you want to see the Bride and Groom kiss at a Wedding, rather than tapping your glasses, try to impress the crowd with a jokey pun. Go up to the front of the room and tell a joke by using the formula, “185 Doctors walk into a bar, The Bartender says we don’t serve Doctors here. The Doctors say, Aw, C’Mon, just one shot!” The blanks include doctors, bicycles, and monkeys. You pick a blank and give a punch line. If the Bride and Groom think your joke is an exceptionally good pun, they will kiss. Bad joke pun, no kiss by the Bride and Groom. Try it, it’s FUN!

185 Blanks by the Aunts

Public Speaking Expert Scott Topper came up with An Interactive Way to Toast the Bride & Groom with 185 Joke/Puns.

185 Bicycles walk into a bar. The bartender says we don’t serve your kind here. The bicycles say but we’re so tired! 185 Doctors walk into the bar and the bartender says we don’t serve Doctors here and the Doctor says Why and the bartender says you’ve been X’d, Ray. 185 Watermelons walk into a bar, bartender says we don’t serve watermelons here, the watermelons say why that’s not very rind of you.

Two students are seated in their own chairs facing each other and exchange information. Communicating with other people is the key to your personal and professional development. This is an active, student-centered learning and team building improvisational exercise. One of the first rules of improv is called, “Yes, and.” In order to advance [...]]]>

Two students are seated in their own chairs facing each other and exchange information. Communicating with other people is the key to your personal and professional development. This is an active, student-centered learning and team building improvisational exercise. One of the first rules of improv is called, “Yes, and.” In order to advance a scene or a conversation, it’s important to never deny the offered information from your partner, but rather, to accept that information as being true and build on your partner’s suggested phrase. In other words, always repeat what your partner says to you, then say, “Yes, and that means,” and then state what that means to you! Never deny or say No to your partner. This exercise enhances the development of critical thinking and multiple intelligences. Always accept, yes and, and add new information to keep the story interesting. Through a series of interactive improvisational based games and exercises, IMproSolutions teaches effective communication skills to help with creative problem solving, collaboration, and listening. The goal is to not think about your response until it is your time to add information and stay truthful by listening and remaining in the moment. This encourages spontaneity and creativity for better communication in both the workplace and at home.

1. Practice your speech in front of an audience. Before [...]]]> While the exact content or tone of public speeches may vary, many of the top communication skills and techniques are the same.

Students that take courses in public speaking tend to learn the following ten tips and techniques, to help improve their confidence and delivery.

1. Practice your speech in front of an audience. Before the big day, it can be helpful to practice your speaking and presentation skills in front of friends or family members for support and feedback.

2. Test your audio and visual equipment ahead of time. A common reason why presentations can go wrong is with faulty equipment. This will help you focus solely on your speech, without worrying about the visual aids.

3. Make your speech fun for the audience. Presentation skills courses will help you to try to connect with the audience, using humor when necessary or relaying facts that are relevant to their lives. This will help keep them interested in your message.

4. Focus on a strong opener. Courses in public speaking will help you learn how to begin your speech with a way to capture your audience’s attention. A startling fact, a personal story, or amusing anecdotes are all good ways to achieve this.

5. Practice your delivery. A good speaking skill is the ability to deliver your speech with a confident, yet conversational tone. You don’t want to sound like you are preaching to your audience.

6. Don’t forget about body language. Well-placed gestures can draw the audience into your message and help emphasize a point.

7. Slow down. A major factor that you will notice through your courses in public speaking is the tendency for amateur speakers to rush their speech, usually due to nervousness.

8. Don’t apologize to your audience. If you make a mistake, just keep speaking. Chances are that no one will even have noticed your flub, and if they do, it will make you appear more confident if you keep going.

9. Anticipate your audience. Any information that you can gather ahead of time on your audience will help you tailor your speech to their needs.

10. Videotape or record your presentation. It’s remarkable how much you can learn from courses in public speaking and when watching your own speech later. This will help you make adjustments if you are speaking too fast, using pauses inappropriately, or making other mistakes that you might not be aware of at the time.

The best courses in public speaking allow students to work at their own pace. This is why those that are downloadable can be so helpful, such as the courses, tips, and techniques available from the speaking experts at http://www.IMproSolutions.com.

1. Jump right in. A common mistake that beginners make is thinking that the best way to overcome public speaking [...]]]> It’s natural to feel intimidated by the prospect of getting up in front of strangers to deliver a speech.

However, with the following methods, you can start to overcome this and reach a positive outcome.

1. Jump right in. A common mistake that beginners make is thinking that the best way to overcome public speaking fear is to wait until you feel ready. It’s actually better to dive in and just start speaking. Once you have done it a few times and built confidence, it gets easier.

2. Mingle with your audience. One of the most intimidating factors that many people list as one of their public speaking fears is the fact that they are speaking in front of strangers. If you take the time to speak to a few audience members before your speech, you may feel more relaxed.

3. Join a public speaking group. There are support groups with others who also want to learn how to overcome public speaking fear. Speaking to like-minded individuals can boost your confidence.

4. Practice in front of people you trust. Before you take the plunge to giving a speech in front of strangers or your class, you can go about overcoming public speaking fear by practicing in front of your family or friends.

5. Find the right balance between preparation and relaxation. Practicing your speech several times is highly recommended to build confidence, but you should take the time to relax before your public speaking presentations as well.

6. Practice breathing exercises. With the help of a speech coach or other courses, learn how deep breaths can improve vocal tone and concentration.

7. Speak about subjects you feel passionate about. If you choose topics that you already know something about, you will be better able to overcome public speaking fear. Imagine that you are simply holding a conversation, rather than a debate.

8. Embrace criticism. One of the biggest fears that many have about public speaking is that they will do it wrong. However, everyone makes mistakes on their road to becoming a great speaker, and this is your time to learn from your critics while you overcome public speaking fear.

9. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes. It’s natural to want to be a perfectionist when speaking in front of people, but if you relax and roll with the punches your delivery will be far more natural.

10. Have fun with your speech. If you are able to laugh at your mistakes, tell a few jokes during your presentation, and feel like you are holding a conversation with your audience, they will respond better to your speech.

For more top tips about how to overcome public speaking fear, it’s a good idea to take a look at the speech courses and books offered by the speaking professionals at http://www.IMproSolutions.com.

1. Know the purpose and objective of your speech. If you don’t know what the purpose of your [...]]]> Public speaking, like spiders, is just one of those things that tend to inspire fear in many people.

However, it’s possible to go about overcoming public speaking fear with a few simple exercises, techniques, and proper preparation.

1. Know the purpose and objective of your speech. If you don’t know what the purpose of your own speech is, neither will your audience. It’s essential to define this as your first order of business, to start overcoming public speaking fear.

2. Get in touch with your inner public voice. By creating harmony between your inner self and your outer voice that is giving the speech in front of people, you will gain confidence and be better able to overcome public speaking fear.

3. Select and organize your speech content carefully. With the time it takes for you to prepare the layout of your speech, you will also be able to get over your public speaking fears. A well-organized speech is easier to practice, and easier for the audience to understand.

4. Know your facts, but speak to your audience. One common mistake that speakers make is focusing too much on the sheet of paper in front of them, merely reciting a list of facts. For a successful speech, you should instead consciously speak to your audience.

5. Engage your audience. Speaking courses emphasize that along with speaking to your audience comes the idea of engaging them. You could use humor, participation, or body language that draws them in.

6. Dedicate time in your schedule for speech preparation. A few minutes every night will help you gain control of your pitch, tone, body language, and other factors of your speech.

7. Practice in front of trusted colleagues. Before going up in front of your final audience, you can start overcoming public speaking fear by practicing in front of friends or colleagues.

8. Use a sense of humor. A few amusing anecdotes will make you feel more relaxed, and better capture your audience’s attention.

9. Criticism can be used in your favor. When you are given tips to improve your speech, don’t take these as a sign that you did something wrong. Instead, learn from your mistakes to improve your speech next time.

10. Boost your confidence with mental visualizations. A good way to start overcoming public speaking fear is to visualize your speech going well. This will also improve the overall presentation.

For more tips and tricks that not only help in overcoming public speaking fear, but also can help improve the outcome of your speech capabilities, websites like http://www.IMproSolutions.com offer ideal solutions. Downloadable courses help you improve your speech from the comfort of your own home.

1. Learn to think on your [...]]]> Whether you are charged with the task of delivering a presentation at work, school, or for social purposes, there are a few factors to keep in mind.

The best presentation skills courses will teach you the following rules for improvisation, which is extremely important when speaking to the public.

1. Learn to think on your feet. This is one of the most important speaking and presentation skills to work on in general, whether you are improvising your speech or reading from prepared notes.

2. Establish rapport with your audience. You can draw in your audience by giving them facts that may relate to them personally, starting your presentation with a personal anecdote, or using humor. In presentation skills courses, students learn more about how to maintain this important line of contact and rapport.

3. Anticipate tough questions. Your biggest tool during improvisational presentations is the research that you conducted in advance. When you are researching an issue, be sure not to focus only on your own viewpoint, but read all you can about the opposing side as well.

4. Work on your timing. A good presentation will involve speaking skill combined with the right timing and delivery to inspire confidence in the audience.

5. Stand up straight to deliver your message with confidence. Imagine a string holding you up from the top of your head to the ceiling. This is taught in presentation skills courses to help speakers stand up straight, improving posture as well as vocal tone.

6. Maintain a positive attitude. Even when it seems like your views are under fire, if you stay positive, your point will come across much more palatably to your audience. Techniques to stay positive are taught in many courses in public speaking.

7. Listen to and accept other viewpoints. Show your audience that you are willing to take their views on board, and they will be more likely to listen to you in return.

8. Go in to the presentation with a clear goal in mind. Don’t forget what your main aim is with your presentation. All of your statements, visual aids, and supporting facts should help support this main message.

9. Use your body language to support your message. As shown in presentation skills courses, a well-place gesture or movement can help bring your audience in closer to you.

10. Maintain a sense of immediacy. If your audience feels that your message is relevant to their lives now, it will help them stay interested.

These methods and more are covered in the presentation skills courses that are covered at http://www.IMproSolutions.com. By learning more about how to improvise in the real world, you can make your communication more effective not only in the workplace, but also in your day to day life.

The following improvisation [...]]]> Public speaking skill is almost a perquisite of some career paths.  Political careers and sales careers especially require a unique public speaking skill set to communicate an idea or a cause to an audience.

When going through presentation skills training courses, many instructors will emphasize the need to be able to improvise.

The following improvisation skills will help you communicate more effectively on the job, and are useful for a variety of applications.

1. Approach improvisation with confidence. The first step to becoming a great speaker is to approach everything you say and do with confidence. Half of improvisation is being able to make statements without wavering.

2. Build speaking and presentation skills including non-verbal cues. The best presentation skills training courses will teach you more about how gestures, facial expressions, and body language can significantly alter your message.

3. Prepare to be spontaneous. Before you go into a presentation, take your time to learn everything you can about all sides of the topic. With the more facts and figures that you have in the back of your head, the more convincing you will be able to make your arguments.

4. Take presentation skills courses that focus on improvisation. Some presentation skills training courses will only teach you what you need to know about formal speech giving. However, improvisation is an extremely useful skill in the workplace.

5. Learn to anticipate arguments. Prepare yourself with facts not only for your own side of the argument, but to help counter any arguments that other people make against you.

6. Handle questions on your feet. When you are asked a difficult question, don’t be afraid to pause for a moment. Yet it’s important not to make this pause too long, or you will weaken your stance.

7. Maintain a positive attitude. Even when you are coming under fire in a presentation, if you keep smiling and sticking to your point, you will come out ahead.

8. Use breathing and exercise to build poise. In presentation skills training courses, students are taught how physical factors can impact their confidence.

9. Don’t be afraid of creativity. Thinking outside the box can lead to very real rewards on the job, and brand you as a forward thinker. Use visual aids or non-traditional viewpoints when giving a presentation.

10. Open lines of communication with peers. You want to keep your presentation a dialog, rather than you simply preaching facts to your colleagues. This will hold their interest more effectively.

For more tips and advice from the top presentation skills training courses on the web, the experts at http://www.IMproSolutions.com have been helping people excel in the workplace since 1999. Their courses are available for download, making it possible to get ahead from the comfort of your own home.