Donald Trump the 45th President of the United States gave his first State of the Union Address this week. As a public speaking coach with far more of a passion for what we can all learn from the rhetoric of world leaders than their politics I find myself called to tune into them. I believe[…]
Posts by:
Maurice Decastro
Donald Trump’s State of the Union: Public speaking progress?
Communication Skills, Leadership, Public Speaking Feb 03, 2018
What You Reveal About Your Leadership Every Time You Speak
Communication Skills, Leadership, Presentation Skills, Public Speaking Jan 28, 2018
Leadership isn’t something you turn on when you enter a meeting room or when someone gives you a title. Instead, it is revealed consistently, quietly, and often unintentionally through the way you communicate. Every conversation shows something about who you are, what you value, and how you influence the world around you. In a[…]
Every Presentation Is a Conversation — And Kindness Is the Most Powerful Tool You Have
Presentation Skills, Public Speaking Jan 22, 2018
Every presentation starts long before you speak. It begins with the intention you bring into the room, and when that intention is kindness, kindness towards yourself and towards the people you’re speaking with, everything about the experience changes. Imagine the impact you could have on your audience, and on yourself, if kindness was the foundation[…]
Your Audience Isn’t Listening for Information — They’re Waiting for a Journey
Presentation Skills, Public Speaking Jan 15, 2018
When you walk into the office on a Monday morning, and your boss says, “Don’t take your coat off, we’re going straight out,” your mind immediately searches for clarity. Where are we going? Why are we going there? How are we getting there? Your audience feels exactly the same way the moment they sit down[…]
Oprah Winfrey: Public Speaking at its Finest: I – Inspire
Leadership, Presentation Skills, Public Speaking, Storytelling Jan 08, 2018
Oprah Winfrey delivered a stunning speech whilst accepting the Cecil B. DeMille Award for lifetime achievement at the Golden Globes. It was a speech which touched the hearts and minds of her entire audience, bringing them all to their feet in unified applause. There is so much to learn from Oprah Winfrey during this extraordinary[…]
Why Presenters Develop Bad Habits — And What They’re Really Trying to Tell Us
Anxiety, Mindfulness, Presentation Skills, Public Speaking Dec 28, 2017
Most presenters assume their bad habits are technical flaws: speaking too fast, fidgeting, pacing, saying “um”, hiding their hands, and reading slides. These behaviours aren’t signs of poor skill or lack of discipline. They are often unconscious self-protection responses, the nervous system’s way of creating safety when we feel exposed. Presenting doesn’t just reveal[…]
The Secret to Confident Presenting: Meet Your Audience’s Human Needs
Leadership, Mindfulness, Presentation Skills, Public Speaking Dec 19, 2017
If public speaking or even the thought of presenting your ideas at work fills you with dread, you are not alone. Some of the most intelligent, creative, and capable professionals lose sleep over presentations. We feel exposed when we present. Even when we know our topic, our minds often flood with paralysing what-ifs, but[…]
Presenting With Focus: The Key to Presentation Success
Mindfulness, Presentation Skills Dec 10, 2017
Presenting with focus is the foundation of every memorable presentation. At Mindful Presenter, we believe the most important thing to focus on is simple but often overlooked: how you want your audience to feel. We’ve been communicating with each other since the dawn of time. Many believe it’s a complex skill reserved for the[…]
A presentation, meeting or training session that fails to meet audience expectations is more than disappointing; it’s disheartening. In a world that moves at extraordinary speed, where many people feel overwhelmed by information, people guard their time carefully because they already feel stretched, rushed, and overloaded. When someone chooses to spend that time listening[…]
Presenting data effectively remains one of the biggest challenges faced by professionals today. Every presentation includes data, numbers, facts, ideas, insights, updates, stories, and information. Whether you realise it or not, everything is data. Many presenters think data only exists in spreadsheets, charts, graphs, and complicated diagrams. At Mindful Presenter, we see it differently;[…]
It’s Time to Stop Presenting. Start Connecting
Communication Skills, Presentation Skills, Public Speaking Nov 11, 2017
Before each presentation skills training or public speaking coaching session we lead at Mindful Presenter, we ask every client one deceptively simple question: “What do you want your audience to feel?” The most common responses are predictable: informed, engaged, interested, but at Mindful Presenter, we believe that’s far from enough. No presenter, regardless of[…]
The Power of Presentation Brevity: Why Less Will Always Be More
Presentation Skills, Public Speaking Nov 04, 2017
Conciseness in presentations is no longer just a stylistic choice; it is a vital discipline for anyone aiming to maintain an audience’s attention, interest, and respect. A few years ago, I wrote an article titled ‘Why Most Business Presentations Are Twice as Long as They Need to Be’. That message is even more urgent[…]
Acres of diamonds is a powerful story for presenters
Mindfulness, Presentation Skills, Public Speaking Oct 28, 2017
Acres of diamonds ‘Acres of Diamonds’ is a story by Russell Conwell about an African farmer who heard tales of other farmers who had made fortunes discovering diamond mines on their own land. The story explains that the farmer sold his farm and spent the rest of his life searching unsuccessfully for diamonds across Africa.[…]
How to Present Financial Information Without Losing Your Audience — or Your Credibility
Advice, Communication Skills, Presentation Skills Oct 15, 2017
Presenting financial data or complex information has always been difficult. The human brain can manage complexity, but it was never meant to process dense data quickly while also listening, understanding, and making sense of it. The key to success isn’t in impressing people with spreadsheets or bombarding them with details, but in approaching the[…]
‘Theresa May offers the ‘British dream’ but speech turns into a nightmare’ The Guardian ‘Theresa May’s keynote speech at Tory conference descended into chaotic scenes’ The Telegraph ‘It is likely to go down as one of the most painfully agonising political speeches to watch in recent history.’ Independent As a public speaking coach I believe[…]
The Hidden Source of Presentation Anxiety That Most Professionals Never See
Communication Skills, Presentation Skills, Public Speaking Sep 23, 2017
Presentation anxiety is arguably the most discussed challenge in the world of public speaking. People may accept awkward storytelling, weak structure or an unpolished style, but the moment nerves take hold, everything else becomes insignificant. At Mindful Presenter, we observe this every week: professionals who are articulate, intelligent and capable, yet deeply troubled by[…]
DRIVE is a series of direct interviews with Rebels : Presentation Lessons from a solicitor
Leadership Sep 16, 2017
DRIVE is a series of direct interviews with Rebels : Presentation Lessons from a solicitor Shainul Kassam, who is the founder of Fortune Law a corporate and commercial law firm in London, spoke at the launch of DRIVE, a brilliantly conceived initiative to bring founders and entrepreneurs together. Most presentation skills and public speaking[…]
The Pre‑Mortem: The Most Overlooked Solution to Presentation Anxiety
Anxiety, Communication Skills, Presentation Tips Sep 10, 2017
Presentation anxiety is one of the most common sources of workplace stress. For some, the symptoms appear days before they speak; for others, the dread begins weeks or even months in advance. Many professionals will go to great lengths to avoid presenting altogether, quietly reshaping their careers around the fear of being seen. The[…]
Honouring Louise Hay: The Voice Who Taught the World How to Heal
Communication Skills, Leadership, Public Speaking Sep 02, 2017
A Life That Shifted the Inner World of Millions Louise Hay, the American author, speaker, and founder of Hay House, passed away earlier this week at the age of 90. Loved by millions, she will always be remembered as one of the pioneers of the modern self-help movement, a woman whose work helped people[…]
The Art of Presenting Data: How to Make Numbers Meaningful
Advice, Presentation Skills, Presentation Tips Aug 05, 2017
Presenting data doesn’t have to be as difficult as many presenters make it out to be. We’ve all been victims of the dreaded data dump, the slide crammed with charts, tables, tiny text, and the inevitable line: “You probably won’t be able to read this, so I’ll read it for you.” There’s a persistent[…]
Do You Have a Presenter’s Inner Critic? – The Voice That Arrives When We Stand to Speak
Anxiety, Presentation Skills, Presentation Tips, Public Speaking Jul 29, 2017
A story about the voice that tries to stop us and the mindfulness that sets us free. The Voice That Arrives When We Stand to Speak Many presenters, no matter how seasoned or self-assured, carry a quiet companion into the room. It waits patiently until the moment we stand to speak and then, as if[…]
The Story Behind Mindful Presenter
Anxiety, Communication Skills, Leadership, Mindfulness, Presentation Skills, Public Speaking Jul 22, 2017
How a single moment exposed a global issue and ignited a movement. A Journey Begins in the Sun Two weeks in the Cypriot sun have a way of softening the noise of life. Warm sea, quiet mornings, and the kind of stillness that lets your mind wander to places you’ve been too busy to[…]
Many people believe public speaking is a matter of confidence and that if they simply “speak from the heart,” everything else will fall into place. It’s a comforting idea, and there’s truth in it, but it’s also the reason so many presentations fall flat. Speaking from the heart is powerful only when it’s supported[…]
Most ideas don’t perish because they’re wrong; they perish because they’re presented in a manner that never allows them to flourish. In every workplace, the true differentiator isn’t intelligence, experience, or even creativity. It’s whether you can make another person feel the importance of what you’re saying, at the moment you’re saying it. We[…]
Why Presenting Is the Most Human and Most Misunderstood Skill at Work
Advice, Presentating training, Presentation Skills Jul 04, 2017
There is a moment in every working day when something far more significant than we admit takes place: someone steps forward and tries to make their thinking land in someone else’s mind. Someone presents in the doorway before a meeting starts, in a rushed Teams call between tasks, in a high‑stakes boardroom, or in a[…]
Do You Have the Leadership Presentation Skills Your Team Truly Needs?
Communication Skills, Leadership, Presentation Skills Jun 24, 2017
For years, organisations have dismissed presentation skills as a “soft skill.” At Mindful Presenter, we believe that the label is not only misleading but also dangerous. There is nothing soft about communication; it is the hardest, most consequential skill a leader uses every single day. Whether you look to Maslow’s hierarchy or Tony Robbins’[…]
Would You Like to Be a Better Public Speaker?
Communication Skills, Presentation Skills, Public Speaking Jun 18, 2017
Have you ever felt that flicker inside, the quiet belief that you could be a far more confident, compelling, and influential speaker than you are today? Many people feel it. They sense there’s another version of themselves waiting to step forward… but something keeps it just out of reach. At Mindful Presenter, we believe[…]
Mindful Presenting: The Skill That Separates Ordinary Communicators from Extraordinary Leaders
Communication Skills, Mindfulness, Public Speaking Jun 11, 2017
Imagine the scene. It’s Friday morning. It’s been a long, relentless week, the kind that drains your energy in slow, invisible increments. The only thing keeping you going is the thought of sinking into your sofa in a few hours, away from the noise, the pressure, the sameness. You’re halfway through that soothing image when[…]
How Do You Really Feel When You’re Asked to Speak in Public?
Image Advice, Presentation Skills, Presentation Tips, Public Speaking May 12, 2017
For most people, public speaking doesn’t sit neatly at the top of their personal or professional development list. In fact, many would genuinely rather learn to tame a lion than stand in front of a room and speak for five minutes. For some, even the thought of speaking in public is enough to trigger a[…]
Millennials. Centennials. Generation Z. Call them what you like, but let’s be honest about one thing: they are the future, and the future will rise or fall on the quality of leadership they receive today. Last night, I had the pleasure of hearing Simon Sinek in conversation with Reggie Yates at Union Chapel in London.[…]
