During the last few months, I spoke both in-person and virtually at hybrid meetings attracting a global audience. A few of these meetings were great, some were poor, and the vast majority were plain average. What made these few great meetings stand out? They were designed with a virtual first approach, an inclusive approach that aims … Read more
Looking back over the past few years, I likely attended over a thousand meetings in the organisations I belonged to and worked for. Some of these meetings were dull and unproductive, and most were simply average. However, I also attended and organised meetings that were engaging, impactful and received very good feedback. Let’s look at … Read more
Over the last few weeks, I have heard from many people and quarters – “the future of Toastmasters is hybrid” or “the post-pandemic new normal will be one of hybrid meetings and events.” Yet just like the assertion that the future of public speaking is online. I believe that the actual mechanics of and what … Read more
I spent a couple of hours during the Christmas break to watch the recording of my recent speeches. It is an exercise that I had somewhat neglected in the past as I discovered that I hadn’t done a self-evaluation of many speeches, some even stretching back to 2018! It was time well spent and reminded … Read more
The way a speaker is introduced can help establish the speaker’s credibility and get the audience engaged even before the speaker begins his or her speech. However, introducing a speaker with aplomb is another speaking skill in itself and one that a lot of people get wrong. Let’s learn how you too can introduce a … Read more
Over the past few months, I’ve increasingly started using Zoom for conference calls and online meetings in my senior leadership role for Toastmasters International. Yesterday, I facilitated an online meeting followed by a series of virtual workshops. Online meetings are a powerful tool to add to your leadership and communication arsenal. Here are some of … Read more