Gift guide for the speaker in your life
Public speaking is a life skill… a skill you need if you ever utter words aloud when another person is in the room. It’s particularly vital to one’s career—so much so that it’s been dubbed a power skill. Help someone you love to improve that skill with a gift of any of the following resources from my toolkit. You’ll put a smile on their face and equip them to better communicate themselves: win-win!
Logitech Spotlight Presentation Remote
Every speaker should have a wireless remote with which to advance their slides. Even in virtual presentations. This is my go-to remote. The gold version has that extra “bling” that makes it really feel like a fun gift.
Laptop stand by Rain Design
Despite the shift to virtual communication, I still advise most clients to stand up when presenting (it’s so much better for energy and gesturing!) but if they’re going to sit, this clean-lined, stable stand gets the camera up to eye level.
RODE external microphone
Another tool for the virtual presenter: Skip the internal mic, earbuds or the headset; a wired microphone provides a much better sound experience for the people on the other side of the screen. This microphone gets rave reviews from all my audiences.
TED Talks: The Official TED Guide to Public Speaking
Many of my TEDx speakers read this book as prep for our work together. Even if you don’t aspire to the TEDx stage, this is an excellent tool for learning the principles employed by TED’s captivating style.
Public Speaking for Success by Dale Carnegie
This is a classic. The first version of the book was published in 1926. There’s a reason it’s stood the test of time for so many years.
slide:ology: The Art and Science of Creating Great Presentations by Nancy Duarte
We’ve all seen slides that confused us. Or worse, frustrated us. No speaker wants to be guilty of doing this to their audience. This book is an outstanding resource for understanding how to build slides that actually help—instead of hinder—our audiences. Just think how different (all) your Zoom meetings would be if every slide deck had some design skill applied to it. (Ahhhh….)
Coaching sessions
Empower your loved one with the skills to better communicate by purchasing virtual, 50-minute, one-on-one coaching sessions for him or her. Includes a printable gift certificate to deliver to your recipient. Discounted 20% for the month of December (price shown reflects discount).