When you are dealing with communication in general and public speaking in particular, words are an important tool. The ones you choose to use carry weight and power. Yet in many ways, perhaps because words seem so transitory, people often are careless with expressing thoughts to support what they want to have happen. Perhaps because we utter so many words every day, we lose sight of how important and impactful any one of them can be. Words have great power, and the thoughts t

Just before my recent trip to Italy I directed a stage production of a Neil Simon play called “Come Blow Your Horn” (the first Broadway hit of his illustrious career). I’ve been directing plays for over twenty years and doing that became a major reason I created Speak Louder Than Words and became a public speaking coach. I was seeing many entrepreneurs struggle with their presentations and knew that theatre skills could help them become more successful. Theatre has been a

Public speaking is the fastest way to connect with and gain new clients. The level of trust that you can develop with someone during a live presentation trumps any number of other ways we try to communicate in business. Yes, there are some advantages to videos, blogs and social media posts in terms of reaching more people in distant places. However those electronic means of communications don't capture the authenticity of having someone standing in front of you and address

They seem to be taking over. Our surrounding, our lives, the way we stay in touch. It's those gadgets, smartphones, apps. Things have changed quickly and opened up many new streams of communication. And if you wait just a little while, there are bound to be new ones being released and embraced. With all this impacting our lives and those of just about every one around us. Does public speaking matter any more? After all, when Socrates or Plato addressed the crowds in Ancient G