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When Public Speaking Fear Gets the Best of You
October 7th, 2019
At the National Speakers Association “Influence 2019” conference for professional speakers this July, I discovered a t-shirt that read: “Your greatest fear is how I make a living.” I knew I had to buy one. I wore it the next time I flew and was amazed by what a conversation starter it was. Everyone wants…
How to Tell a Spine-Tingling Story
September 19th, 2019
Over the years, I’ve learned a lot about stories, and what makes a story great. I’ve listened, I’ve watched, I’ve told stories myself — and have figured out one or two things about what makes a story spine-tingling. It’s not (necessarily) about some big major traumatic event in your life.It’s not a string of events…
How to Make Your Big Vision a Reality
September 3rd, 2019
Last week in Speaker’s Playground, we shared what the big vision was for each of us. If you got that speaking thing totally dialed in, and the nerves or the fear or the heebie jeebies or the running & hiding was more like a little fly you got to flick off your shoulder rather than…
Four tips to Getting Unstuck During a Presentation
August 15th, 2019
Do you ever get STUCK in the process of creating a presentation or a talk? STUCK comes in all shapes and sizes. It comes in all times and places. It comes before you even begin your talk and shows up sounding something like “I’ll start speaking NEXT YEAR” and you just can’t quite get yourself…
When a Story isn’t Enough
July 29th, 2019
If you’ve been around these parts for a while, you’ve certainly heard me say that telling a story is the shortest distance between two people, right? It’s the best way to show your humanity and let your audience know you’re an actual human person who lives and breathes out there in the world. It’s the…
Life outside your comfort zone
July 16th, 2019
Ever feel like you’re planted right smack dab in the middle of your comfort zone and can’t move? Is there something you’ve done outside of your comfort zone that flared up the ole’ fear? If you’re anything like me, or anything like most of the people who hang out in these parts, you probably spend…
Epic Content: Here are the secrets
July 1st, 2019
I have often said that what it takes to become a sought-after speaker, or even a speaker who regularly speaks on stages, you need three things. You have to be a relentless networker (in other words, tell everyone you know you’re a speaker), pitch like crazy (in other words, make big, scary asks), and deliver…
What Do You Do When You Go Blank On Stage?
June 25th, 2019
A few weeks ago I wrote about different ways to use a pause when speaking. One of the best pauses to get friendly with is the “I’ve gone totally blank and can’t remember what the heck I was gonna say next” pause. In Tuesday’s Speaker’s Playground, we got talking about that exact moment… It goes something like this: You’re…
How to OWN THE ROOM from any Stage
June 18th, 2019
It was one of those warm days last week, where we were all saying “Spring! You’re back! Thank you for coming back!” and we went outside and strolled through the yard, and spotted the crocuses, and didn’t even get a chill after being outside for a bunch of hours. It was that kind of early…
Speaking for Yourself
May 10th, 2019
A client recently came to me with a big confession. She wrote in an email, “Johanna, I have to confess…my primary motivation for speaking is not to help people. I do want to help people. I do want to have an impact, but mostly I want to help myself. I want to be taken seriously. I want to feel…
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