by Steven Maddocks | 14 April, 2022 | Body Language, Building Confidence, Nerves, Public Speaking, Voice
To Speak Well, First Breathe Well Talking: most of us spend many waking hours (and even some sleeping hours!) pouring torrents of language out of our mouths. Have you ever stopped to wonder how your body manages this amazing feat? Unless you have some vocal training –...
by Steven Maddocks | 3 February, 2022 | Online Meetings, Public Speaking, Voice
A Great Teacher Without saying a word, the woman siting in front of me clenched her fists, arched her back, opened her mouth as wide as it would go and yawned luxuriantly. As the seconds ticked by, I and my fellow students watched in amazement as she twisted and...
by Steven Maddocks | 16 December, 2021 | Communication, Pitching, Public Speaking, Storytelling
3 Minutes of Embarrassment There’s a hilarious home video of a Nativity play in an English village church. It usually goes viral at this time of year. A four-year-old girl doesn’t so much sing as bellow her way through ‘The Virgin Mary had a Baby Boy’. The girl, now...
by Steven Maddocks | 17 June, 2021 | Performance, Presentation Skills, Public Speaking
Though we cover a range of disciplines at MSB Executive, a few core themes cut across all our specialist areas. Stress is one. The subject arises wherever we work, from executive coaching sessions to communication workshops. So when Martyn, our founder, told us...
by Steven Maddocks | 26 May, 2021 | Body Language, Communication, Nerves, Performance, Presentation Skills, Public Speaking
Lisa’s heart is racing. Her breathing is rapid and shallow. Her armpits are sweating, her hands are clammy, and her neck and face are red. Her legs are jittery, her mouth is dry and her teeth are clenched. Her brain is alternately racing, then going blank. She has...
by Steven Maddocks | 6 May, 2021 | Communication, Nerves, Presentation Skills, Public Speaking
Public speaking gets a bad rap. One well-known poll places glossophobia, the fear of public speaking, at the top – making it a more terrifying prospect than spiders, enclosed spaces and even dying. (As Jerry Seinfeld wryly observed, at a funeral, most people would...
