"Tell a story - make a point", from the World Champion Public Speaking 2004, Dr Randy Harvey. I was absolutely privileged to attend a workshop with Dr Randy Harvey at the Toastmasters International District 70 Annual Conference in Wollongong in 2006. I was, along with about thirty others, in the presence of the World Champion of Public Speaking, as he delivered a brilliant workshop on how he structured his world championship winning speech “Fat Dad”. (You can access it on You

​​Open with a Bang! Not a Whimper! The opening of your speech is designed to do one thing: Get the audience’s attention so that they will want to hear more. You can do this by incorporating the following options: 1. Go straight into a story from your very first word. I almost always go straight into my story because it connects with the audience. 2. Ask a powerful question. Questions make your audience think. When they are thinking about your question, they are with you and t

After many years of teaching and coaching speech and drama, public speaking and youth leadership workshops in the private school system, I took for granted that students would be able to stand up and speak with confidence, clarity and success. In the schools that I had the privilege of teaching in, students were consistently provided with many rich and diverse opportunities to stand up and speak – this speaking experience was ingrained in the culture of learning. From Kinderg

Know it! Write it! Sell it! World Class Speaking coaches suggest that you start your speech with your Foundational Phrase. What is the Foundational Phrase? It is your overall message. It is the phrase or group of words that you want your audience to take away with them. If you start with your Foundational Phrase it helps you to clarify your main message, select the right content and deliver your speech so that your message will stick. Obama's "YES WE CAN" was his main message

WHY? 1.To Breathe: we pause to breathe. The deeper the breath, the more power in your vocal projection and the more control you will have over your nerves. So respect the action of effective breathing – intercostal diaphragmatic breathing. 2. For Emphasis: we pause for emphasis. This helps to make the word or words stand out in a sentence. We create emphasis by speaking louder or softer; by lengthening the initial vowel or consonant in the word or by pausing before the word a

There are 4 essential elements which will help you to tell fantastic stories: 1. Characters: who are they? 2. Conflict: what happens to them? 3. Climax: what is their turning point? 4. Conclusion: what is the result? For now however, let's focus on the character's dialogue, movement, gestures and facial expression. If you want to bring your stories to life in your presentations, you need to bring your main characters to life. So, how do you do that? 1. Character's dialogue: