by Bob Conrad ACG President World Renowned Grand Prairie Toastmasters

Let me start off by saying this was the best $25 I’ve ever spent in Toastmasters.

I’ve physically attended two International Conventions and found the presenters excellent. This was my first hybrid TMI conference and it was well worth the money. I was able to do something virtually that I could never do in a live presentation – HIT REWIND! Did I miss a key phrase? HIT REWIND!!.

There were 16 educational presentations (some in panel mode), but the one session that caught my attention the most was by Cathey Armillas, International Speaker, author and TED coach. Why this presenter and her subject? Mainly it was her subject and title gained my attention; “Stage Presence: Top 10 Presentation DON’Ts: Avoid Them and Rock It.”

Why this presentation for me? I plan on giving a keynote speech in the near future, and when I present it, I definitely want to ROCK IT.

I won’t give all 10 tips here, but for $40 you can sign up with TMI and replay the convention and all sessions to your blessed little hearts’ content. And that is something you simply can not do at a live conference.

Of Cathey’s 10 tips, I’ll discuss three.

The first and easiest for me is “grab their attention early.” I think I’m usually good at this but can continue to improve. Two things I try to do; 1) create an interesting speech title, and 2) work on the speech opening so that within the first 30 seconds I’ve done my attention getting step.

Another key tip was do a Q & A near the end but DO NOT end the speech with a Q & A.  Take a few questions, wrap up the Q & A and then give a powerful short story/summary to end the speech.

The last tip that, for me, will be the hardest to work on is “end with a Call to Action.” Avoid the weak finish. This is one I definitely need to work on. I usually present information and, being a libertarian at heart, I leave it up to the audience to decide what action they will take. But perhaps I should follow Darren LaCroix’s coach Mark Brown and make the audience UNCOMFORTABLE.

I hope you enjoyed this article. My call to action for anyone who reads this is to spend the $40 to replay one of the best TMI conventions I have ever attended.

If you want to ROCK your Presentations watch Cathey Armillas, Stage Presence: Top 10 Presentation DON”Ts: Avoid Them and Rock It.