Rob’s blog
Leaving so soon?
I’ve never actually physically grabbed a speaker. But I’ve been tempted. Not because I disagreed with them and wanted them off the stage. The exact opposite, actually: I wanted to keep them from leaving, at least for a few more seconds. Those moments come at the end…
Your audience doesn’t know what you know. You know?
The curse of knowledge takes work to overcome. But you don’t just need your audience to know about your topic — you need them to care, too.
When does making people cross the U.S. border become an unconscionable risk?
Crossing the U.S. border can now mean disappearing into a lawless, secretive detention system. Event organizers must face the implications.
We’re not here to be your electoral fantasy, America
Most Canadians have taken it as read that Donald Trump’s raving about our country becoming the 51st state is just limited to him. We’ve assured each other that, apart from the fanboy retinue that echoes everything he says, the vast majority of Americans support…
Ep. 75. Getting back on track
Off on a tangent in an interview or Q&A? Here’s how you get back on track — quickly, honesty and graciously.
Ep. 74 Why you need to rehearse — and how
If you want to make the most of your speech, you need to rehearse. And to make that rehearsal count, behold: The Ten Commandments of Rehearsal!
Ep. 73 No more boring speaker introductions!
Let’s kill off long, tedious speaker introductions once and for all — and start making them work better for you and your audience.
Ep. 72 Dana Rubin is Speaking While Female
Pick up a collection of speeches or quotations from history, and chances are most of those voices belong to men. But it turns out the oratory of the past was a lot more female than many of its curators would have us think. One woman in particular, Dana Rubin, is working…
Ep. 71 Get out of your lane
You’ve probably heard the expression “stay in your lane.” And sometimes that’s good advice — but right now, we’re facing global emergencies on an unprecedented scale, and we need voices speaking out for truth, democracy, science and our very survival. If you have a pl…
Ep. 70 Find Your Red Thread with Tamsen Webster
Tamsen Webster, author of Find Your Red Thread, joins me to talk about the five steps of an effective Red Thread — your key to moving your audience to take action and create change.
Ep. 69 Seven deadly sins of online presentation (part two)
Over a year into online presentations as the norm, and some folks are still committing these seven deadly sins. Here’s how to stop… and how to find redemption.
Ep. 68 Seven deadly sins of online presentations (part one)
Over a year into online presentations as the norm, and some folks are still committing these seven deadly sins. In part one of this two-episode series, we look at sins one through four.
