I recently had the wonderful opportunity to speak at TEDxEmory. The overall theme was: What makes your heart beat? And my topic was Owning Your Confidence: How to Overcome Nervousness and Exude Confidence in High-Stakes Situations. I discussed several practical techniques to help you excel in even the most stressful of situations. They are practices I’ve developed over many years of being on television and speaking professionally around the world.
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Category: Media
I Can See You Naked! Nixing Your Nerves
Given the choice of having a root canal or giving a speech, many opt for the former. Indeed, few tasks are more intimidating for many than giving a public speech or presentation.
One of the more popular suggestions for combatting nerves and feeling less intimidated is to visualize your audience naked. The idea is that if you could visualize your audience without their clothes they would appear more human, and therefore you would feel less vulnerable.
The Greater Impact of Your Presentation Skills
When striving to make a more significant impact on your audience, whether you’re speaking in front of a large audience or simply speaking up in a meeting, either virtually or in person, having a solid grasp of presentation skills is extremely important.
Who is the audience?
Understanding your audience is critical to if you’re going to have the maximum impact and master your presentation skills. The first thing you determine is who you audience is —
WIP Conference in Atlanta
This year’s WIP conference in Atlanta was a don’t miss event that provided the perfect blend of networking, personal development, recognition of key people and companies as well as Fun! With 176 attendees and several dynamic speakers, including keynote speaker, Nadia Bilchik, CNN anchor and Editorial Producer. The information exchanged was invaluable. Nadia’s message showed us how to Light the Fire when you present and engage with your audience using Energy, Enthusiasm and Excitement.
The cocktail networking session was a hit with conference goers having opportunities to connect in an informal setting.
The Greater Impact of Becky Blalock
Becky Blalock is a consultant, speaker, former CIO at Southern Company, and author of Dare: Straight Talk on Confidence, Courage, and Career for Women in Charge. I recently had the opportunity to chat with her about what it takes for women to own their space and step forward confidently. Here are some of her powerful insights.
What are the qualities that have helped you succeed?
The Greater Impact of Holiday Networking
“I hate going to holiday parties,” my friend Miri complained.
“What don’t you like?” I asked.
“I’m not great at mingling, and I don’t like making small talk.”
“Anything else?”
“I get tired of telling people my life history and what I do for a living,” Miri replied.
Do you ever feel like this?
The Greater Impact of Your Christmas Presence
As is typical for this time of the year, a recent conversation in the 
CNN newsroom centered around the stress of shopping for Christmas gifts.
Needless to say, my colleagues and I discussed a wide range of possibilities, from trying to find the latest video game to the perfect Coach purse.
Our control room director has a young child, and when it came to choosing a gift for his wife,
The Greater Impact of Googling Yourself
I wanted to share the following blog with you that I wrote with Lori Milner about the importance of googling yourself, and understanding the digital brand you’re projecting.
Forget what people say about ‘vanity searching’ or ‘ego surfing’, to google yourself is neither about vanity nor ego. If you’re serious about your professional presence, about owning your space in the virtual world as much as you are about owning it in the physical world,