12/15/2023

Avoid These Pitfalls in Presenting and Public Speaking

by OSAP friend, speaker Patrick Donadio, MBA, CSP, MCC

My first paid speaking engagement was a disaster!  

First, I was so nervous that I forgot my opening. Next, I had memorized my speech, and halfway through, I lost my place. So, I ended up reading the rest of the speech from my notes. This caused me to have poor eye contact with the audience, which in turn made me even more nervous and flustered. It got so bad that I abruptly ended my talk and forgot to close the speech. What a nightmare! 

Since then, I have given over a thousand presentations and helped hundreds of people improve the way they present or communicate with staff, clients, customers and/or the general public. Based on my experiences and those of my coaching clients, I have compiled a list of common pitfalls and mistakes.

Please select this link to read the complete blog post from The Ohio State University John Glenn College of Public Affairs.