I’m in the Charles Pearson Theatre at the University of Melbourne, watching 12 short speeches. It’s a 3 minute speech competition called the 3 minute Thesis. These annual, 3 minute speech competitions challenge Ph.D and Masters students to effectively communicate 3-1/2 years’ of technical research into a short speech. Their task is to convey only the most important More…
Drugs for public speaking fear: Should I take Beta Blockers?
Beta blockers are a class of drugs for anxiety that block the action of adrenaline in the body. Therefore the physical symptoms of the stress response are reduced. I’m often asked if they should they used for public speaking fear? Firstly, beta blockers are not officially drugs for anxiety, but cardiac medications. However, by reducing some of the More…
From sportsperson to sports media
The sports media industry is growing rapidly and sports jobs are increasing in this area. Are you ready to transition from the field to the microphone? Picture the scene for the sportsperson… Microphone in hand, you stand… waiting. The sound guy and cameraperson is milling around while another guy fiddles with cables and lighting. What do you More…
The 4 communication barriers & how to overcome them
If we fail to overcome the inherent communication barriers, our experience and intelligence are wasted. Genius has no value if it can’t be communicated clearly. Objective thinking is needed to vanquish these communication barriers. Understanding them is the first step. Communication barrier 1: All words are vague Vague is everywhere. Without an agreed context More…
‘We can face the confidence with future’: A media lesson from Julia Gillard
Slips of the tongue happen all the time. They’re not a problem. What matters is how we handle them. When speaking in public (or televised from Parliament), the best way to handle them is to pause, smile, and correct yourself. A minor blip. The worst way to handle them is to ‘power on’ and pretend it More…
Why a Great Explanation is the best cure for addiction
I’ve never been a smoker, but some family and friends have. Most have stopped (or want to). No ‘quit’ method seems to work for everyone, however, the most successful method stands out for an interesting reason. Not only is ‘The EasyWay to stop smoking’ considered the most successful; in a world of gum, patches and More…
The trend to better quality explanations
February 24th, 2011 was a significant day. Until then, much of the content found via a Google search was low quality fluff produced by ‘Content Farms’, purely to get higher rankings and expose users to ads. A high percentage of info junk means users waste time on rubbish sites, while good information is obscured. This pollution makes More…
PowerPoint blows up Space Shuttle
Space Shuttle Atlantis lifted off July 8 on the final flight of the shuttle program. A video of the launch here. Seeing a Space Shuttle in the news reminds me of the TWO Space Shuttle explosions (Challenger and Columbia) and the conclusion that poor communication via PowerPoint contributed to both disasters. Some of the blame for the Columbia disaster More…
Get a method! Public speaking rules stop you thinking
There is a big focus on public speaking rules. The ‘Dos and Don’ts’ – a list of things you should always do to be successful. And a (typically long) list of thing you should never do. The core idea behind the Rules approach to public speaking is that by simply following the rules you will be a great More…
Distorted message: “It’s not about winning”
There is a big difference between a distorted message and true message. I recently went to a school sports day for 6 to 10 year olds. The teacher introducing the event made a short speech and finished with the message ‘It’s not about winning, it’s about having fun’. Unfortunately it’s a lie. It’s just not accurate. Every kid More…
