speech

On 17th March at 9pm, like many other Irish families we sat, with more than a touch of trepidation as we waited for a speech from our Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar.
As the Taoiseach himself noted, this was a St Patrick’s Day we would all remember, with no parties and no parades. However, his speech was also a part of this St Patrick’s Day that we shall always remember.
So, what made this speech so memorable?

1.  Opening and immediately connecting
Being St Patrick’s Day – it was appropriate to open with a greeting in Irish to wish everyone a Happy St Patrick’s Day –  Lá Fhéile Pádraig shona daoibh.
However, he immediately connected by moving swiftly on to what was on all of our minds. Namely, it is St Patrick’s Day, and here we were sitting in front of the TV watching him, as opposed to either partying ourselves, or watching highlights of the parades and other people partying.
So, from the start, he had us hooked in to what he had to say.
Takeaway: When we have to de...

USA today described last night’s Oscars as a “relatively tame and predictable night”. Is that a fair description?
Maybe it was.
Maybe it wasn’t.
For me, I am always curious about the speeches.
Interestingly, in his monologue, Jimmy Kimmel referred to said upcoming speeches. He tried to encourage the winners to keep their speeches short, by promising a prize of a jet ski to the shortest speech.
So, I am sure Mark Bridges, who won the Costume Design Oscar for Phantom Thread, is whizzing in his brand new jet ski, somewhere off the coast of LA! He managed to get through his thank you’s in a mere 32 seconds.
But, the good thing about the lure of the jet ski prize, was that it gave several of the winners an opportunity to throw in a bit of humour early on in their speeches, by making throw back references to the infamous prize.
Overall, from what I can glean, the 2018 Oscars were nothing particularly special. In 2017, at least we had something to talk about, with the excitement...

Recently I was approached by 2 people with the same need but for completely different reasons. One of these was a man whose daughter was getting married. The other, also a man, had 3 people he knew with terminal illnesses. Both of them knew they would have to speak in emotional circumstances.
While shedding a tear or 2 is of course acceptable (and healthy) both of these clients felt they needed some help to ensure that they would not lose control.
As with all things, there isn’t a “one size fits all” solution. Below is a random sample of techniques that may help you if you are in a similar situation:
 
Breathing
Both before and during the speaking event it can be helpful to engage some deep breathing techniques.
There is a simple breathing exercise that can help hugely when feeling nervous or anxious.  When I do this breathing exercise (even when I am not feeling anxious) my heart rate consistently falls by 10%.
So, here it is – breathe in slowly for a cou...