Connection | Michael Davis

Do You Feel Like Going AWOL

Posted on May 19, 2013 by Michael Davis | 0 Comments

For years, I thought I knew why people are afraid to speak in public. I was sure that it was because of one of two reasons; either, 1) a bad experience , or, 2) simply because society consistently tells you that you should be afraid of it. My opinion changed when I read the book ‘Confessions of a Public Speaker’,…

How to Use the Cutting Room Floor to Eliminate Audience Confusion

Posted on February 17, 2013 by Michael Davis | 2 Comments

Since the Academy Awards are nearly upon us again, this is an excellent time to discuss one of the most difficult tasks for a movie director. How to take hours of scenes, and cut them down to a 2-hour movie. Many times, there are several hours of great material. The challenge is to determine what stays in, and what end…

Are You Ready When the Lights Go Out?

Posted on February 10, 2013 by Michael Davis | 4 Comments

If you watched the Super Bowl last week, you may have noticed a slight twist to the game…the lights went out in the Superdome for 34 minutes. Although highly embarrassing for the NFL, it didn’t cause fans to leave the game, or people to rush home from their Super Bowl get-togethers. It’s the Super Bowl, after all, our greatest unofficial…

Don’t Sweat Your Subject Matter, Just Look Inside

Posted on January 27, 2013 by Michael Davis | 0 Comments

What’s trapped inside you is eating you alive- Charles Henderson Many times, speaking coaches are asked “what are good subjects to talk about; what is popular today?” On the surface, this sounds like a good question, but it’s not. Why? Imagine if you asked this question, and the answer you received was “The impending death of the personal computer in…

Time to throw away the crutches?

Posted on January 20, 2013 by Michael Davis | 5 Comments

During a recent lunch with my associate Pam, she said, “I finally stopped using my crutches. We realized that I was depending on them too much and it was slowing down my rehab.” I had a thought, “Too many speakers are being held back by crutches. Ya gotta help them, Mike. It’s your duty to kick those crutches out from…