Author: Daniel Midson-Short
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16 Lessons from 16 World Championship of Public Speaking Winners (1999–2014)
A speaker’s breakdown of every World Championship of Public Speaking winner from 1999 to 2014, with the one technique you can steal from each champion.
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11 Lessons from 11 World Championship of Public Speaking Winners (2015–2025)
A speaker’s breakdown of every World Championship of Public Speaking winner from 2015 to 2025, with the one technique you can steal from each speech.
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7 Public Speaking Books That Actually Deliver (Updated for 2026)
If you’re an aspiring public speaker, not every book on the topic is worth your time. Here are the seven public speaking books that actually helped me, updated for 2026.
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5 Habits That Build Actual Speaking Confidence
Confidence when speaking is not a personality trait. It is the by-product of a handful of boring habits. Here is how I built mine, and how you can build yours.
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7 Public Speaking Tips That Actually Work (From 14 Years On Stage)
The seven public speaking tips I actually use before every talk, refined over 14+ years on stage. No listicles. No fluff. Just the things that work.
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Five Ways to Improve Your Speaking Voice
Some studies have shown that body language can account for up to 55% of the message you convey, and voice tone can be another 38%. Very often, we overlook voice tone and focus on gestures or posture. Yet, the way you speak has a profound impact.
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How to Use Eye Contact in Public Speaking
As a speaker, eye contact is perhaps the easiest way for you to connect to your audience without saying a word. If your audience is engaged with you, they will reward you with good eye contact as well.
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How to NOT Freak Out While Giving a Speech
There’s no way around it: public speaking anxiety sucks. No matter how much you try to say it doesn’t matter, or that your nervousness is just imaginary, it takes over without your control. You’ve probably tried to use positive thinking. You’ve told yourself that each audience member is your friend. You’ve forced yourself to put…
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The Rise of ‘You Guys’
For the past year as I have been speaking at events, I have noticed a new trend emerging. Like a lot of public speaking behaviors, this one seems to be learned from observing others doing it. Despite this trend becoming more common, nobody ever seems to mention it. But, as an emerging speaker trying to…
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The True Value of the Speech Contest
Every time you ‘lose’ a contest, people will say they are ‘sorry’ you didn’t win. They don’t often tell you that you have changed and grown as a speaker. But if you listen to yourself, you can feel that you are growing.