Tip Thursday - Public Speaking

Whenever possible avoid using a Lectern when speaking in public. I know that it's a great place to hold your notes but it also serves as a barrier between you and your audience, which can make you appear more distanced and separate from them.

Additionally, since it blocks the view of much of your body, your audience is unable to 'read' much of your body language, making it far more difficult for them to determine your credibility and, therefore, the believability of your message.

The more open you appear the more they will come to trust the message you are delivering. This is a lesson Nixon learned (belatedly) in his first on-air debate with Kennedy, but one you can begin using immediately to up your presence whenever you speak in public.

Tip Thursday - Learning

The very best way to learn new information is using a technique called 'Distributed Practice', also known as Spaced Repetition. Rather than trying to learn all you can in one big session it is far more effective to segment your learning into smaller sessions or chunks.

This is not necessarily how our school systems are designed, but all research supports this as being the far most effective way to learn. This outstrips the more popular methods of learning like cramming, highlighting, re-reading, or summarising.

So, the next time you have a lot of new information to learn, consider switching things up and studying more frequently over a larger period of time rather than intense study the night before. You will learn the material better and retain it far longer if you do!