When you’re speaking in public, are you more likely to wing it or fully prepare?
I’ve seen several speakers come unstuck due, as they admitted, to lack of preparation.

Even if you’re usually able to wing it successfully, when sometimes extra nerves caused by a different situation, a change of circumstances or whatever kick in their usual style of winging it, speaking off the cuff or from the heart – however you like to describe it – failed them.

There’s no need to fully script your talk – unless you want to - and I would never advocate learning by heart, but having a plan and a simple structure gives you something to fall back on.

Know your key message, your key points, your opening and closing lines. It can be that simple.

Know those 4 things, keep to time and go for it – if that’s your preferred style.

For help with a simple structure, check out my 10 Top Tips

Rachel Maunder is a communication skills and...

What was your favourite game or pastime as a child? Or even now?

How does it relate to what you do now?

Does it call on some of the same skills?

Does it create the same excitement?

Does it require team work?

If stories themselves continue to elude you, bringing a personal theme to your presentations is another way of making your message unique to you.

Perhaps some of the skills you need for your game or pastime are similar to ones you use in your work, or perhaps there are parallels in being part of a team, tactics or decision making.

Sharing something about you helps your prospective clients see the person behind the presentation and behind the business and adds a human element to your talk.

Bringing your presentation to life in this way helps your audience understand your key messages and more importantly helps them remember them.

Why not a book a call with me now to see how I can help? 

https://calendly.com/storycoach/30min 

Rachel Maunder is a...

Have you ever been given advice that you’ve never forgotten?

I was 18 but felt my life was in bits. Having fallen short of the mark in my A level grades, I’d lost my place at uni and it felt as if the pathway in front of me had fallen into a big black hole.

What on earth was I going to do next?

‘Why don’t you phone them up? At the moment you have a no. The worst that’s going to happen is that you’ll still have a no, but they might be impressed with your initiative and change that no to a yes.’

At the time I was too lacking in confidence to make that call, so I still had my no, but it’s been advice I’ve acted on many times since – and have passed on to others.

What bit of advice could you share, from your story?

For more ideas of how and where to find your stories, 

download my free Pdf now 

‘7 Simple Story Prompts’ 

Rachel Maunder is a communication skills and speaker coach...

What’s your warm-up routine before you deliver your talk?

Do you even have a routine?

If the idea is new to you, here are just some of the things you might want to include:

1. Make sure your voice and facial muscles are warmed up and working well. It’s surprising how they can let you down if you don’t look after them. Making faces at yourself in the mirror and slide up and down the musical scale will help.
2. Move! As close to the start of the event as possible, make sure you move in some way, to get your blood flowing and your mind awake.
3. And breathe! As the time for your presentation approaches, keep focused on your breathing. Take some deep breaths to clear your mind of any anxiety and to calm any symptoms of nerves

For help with putting together your warm-up routine, do get in touch to arrange a chat.

You can book direct with the link below.

https://calendly.com/storycoach/30min 

Rachel Maunder is a communication skills and speaker coach...

I completed a course of Alexander Technique sessions. In case you’ve not come across it before, it’s a technique aimed at releasing muscular tension particularly in your back, neck and shoulders – a bit of a issue that became more apparent for many of us during lockdown.

Instead of focusing on areas of tension, the concept is that by focusing on areas in your body where you feel at ease, the areas of tension will gradually self-correct.

How might we apply that to our business world?

What tends to be easeful for you? Try focusing on that this week instead of areas of stress or tension and see what happens.

Just try it – and do let me know how you get on.

Rachel Maunder is a communication skills and speaker coach and professional speaker.

She has been in the world of competent communication, in different guises, for more than 30 years so has a wealth of knowledge, experience and expertise to pass on to her clients, both through her signature...

What memories does the sound of church bells trigger for you?

For me, it’s a mix of freedom and longing.

In my hometown of Sherborne, Abbey bell practice night was a Tuesday.

The freedom goes back to those heady summer evenings, old enough to be out with friends, but not old enough to have too many responsibilities. We’d head up to the Terrace Playing Fields, with a view of the town and the Abbey, listening to music with no particular purpose than to hang out together and belong, with that feeling of remote infinity.

The longing came from those evenings of study, leading up to end of term or public exams, wanting the windows open for the air but finding the bells a distraction, and wanting to be outside, for the exams to be over and to be rediscovering the freedom.

What does their sound evoke for you?

For more ideas of how and where to find your stories,

download my free Pdf now

‘7 Simple Story Prompts’ 

Rachel Maunder is a...

As a child, as much as playing with the other children I also loved sitting listening to the grown-ups talking. I found the back stories of the other children fascinating. Maybe the issues they were having at school, health concerns or any of that other stuff that parents tend to share with each other.

Until someone noticed me and sent me back outside.

I was never mean about what I heard but sometimes it would change my view of someone, in a good way. When I knew what some of their vulnerabilities were it could warm me more to them.

Fast forward too many years, and here I am still listening to people’s back stories, their stories of achievement, vulnerability and passion and helping them shape those stories so that their audience warms to them.

Was there something about you from your childhood that links to what you’re doing now?

Why not a book a call with me now to see how I can help you find those links? 

https://calendly.com/storycoach/30min 

...

If you’re stuck for stories, try going through some old photos to trigger some memories.

Here’s mine:

It’s Boxing Day in Sydney Harbour, which means just 1 thing – the start of the Sydney-Hobart Yacht race.

The harbour is full of boats with ticketed places sold at a premium.

And there am I, literally a few hours off my flight, my brain still fuzzy from flying.

I can hardly believe the amazing spectacle in front of me and for me, no ticket necessary.

My friend had secured me a day-job on the boat he worked on. I collected dirty glasses, sworn not to mention I wasn’t regular staff, giving upbeat replies to people showing concern that I was expected to work so soon after arriving in town.

Funnily enough, I didn’t mind at all!

Why not look out some of your photos and share the stories behind them?

For more ideas of how and where to find your stories,

download my free Pdf now

‘7 Simple Story Prompts’

Rachel Maunder is a...

What do you do when you’re asked to give a presentation and the one you’ve already prepared doesn’t quite match the brief?

I used to spend unnecessary time starting again from scratch, or even worse, turned down opportunities due to lack of time to prepare a new talk.

But not anymore. With a bit of creative crafting, it’s usually possible to adapt the piece you’ve already prepared.

Different angle? Spotlight the part of your content that touches on the new angle and bring that to the fore. Include another story to illustrate the angle.

Ask a reflective question inviting the audience to consider your content from the angle you’ve been asked to address.

Different audience? Include different stories more relevant to them. Include something to let them hear you know who they are and what they do.

Sometimes an added sentence, question or short story is all that’s needed.

For more help with creating and crafting your content, hop...

Tennis is one of my favourite games and I’ve been playing it for longer than I care to remember.

I’ve recently been playing against someone 20 years younger than me, is much fitter and faster, and hits the ball much harder.

And yet we’re always evenly matched and have a great game.

So what’s my secret ingredient?

Firstly, I’m reasonably fit and fast around the court. But my real hidden tool is the consistency that comes from years of experience, all those hours of hitting a ball against a wall, imagining myself as Virginia Wade or Billy Jean King before my opponent was even born.

Somewhere in the mix of winning shots and less errors I manage to hold my own.

Are there some parallels here you could draw in your business?

How does your experience keep you afloat among competition that’s fresher, bolder and seemingly brighter? Never underestimate the value of experience.

Would you like to investigate this further?

Why not a book a call...