Category: Distracted Audience

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Episode 17: The A-Ha! Method Public Speaking Podcast

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Infusing Connection, Interactivity, and Fun into your Virtual Meetings with Melissa Dinwiddie

This episode is a MUST LISTEN for anyone who leads or facilitates virtual meetings!

Melissa Dinwiddie – Founder, CEO, Lead Curriculum Designer & Facilitator at Creative Sandbox Solutions – joins Dayna and Gabe to discuss ways to make virtual meetings, trainings, and events more fun and engaging, which is so needed right now! 

We have been doing the virtual meeting thing for over 2 years now, and they aren’t going away any time soon! Melissa is a pro at creating excitement and engagement in every event, and she shows us how to sprinkle in connection, interactivity, and fun into your virtual meetings so that you don’t lose your attendees to their emails, social media, or many other distractions! 

We highly recommend watching this podcast on Spotify, because Melissa shows some cool slides on her video as she provides her awesome tips and tricks to better meetings. If watching on a different platform, please check out the YouTube videos in the show notes so you can see what she is displaying during the episode. 

Don’t lose your audience to distraction, and don’t be a talking head in virtual meetings. Allow your meeting attendees a chance to engage and participate, and you will see much better outcomes and productivity in your meetings and trainings! 

Picture of papers clipped together that say Show Notes on front.
  1. Check out Dayna and Melissa playing Powerpoint Karaoke here: https://youtu.be/F89_fYokQOM
  2. Video from podcast – 8 Unofficial Start Ideas For Your Virtual Meeting – https://youtu.be/kUxHWO3pqqc
  3. Video from podcast – Micro-Engagement Ideas for Better Virtual Meetings – https://youtu.be/MoUynFIswdY
  4. Melissa’s website: https://creativesandbox.solutions/
  5. Melissa’s Free Guide – 7 Mistakes to Avoid When Planning Your Next Virtual Event, Training or Conference – https://creativesandbox.solutions/resources/
  6. Melissa’s Virtual Learning Lab every month – https://creativesandbox.solutions/learning-lab/
  7. Follow Melissa on LinkedIn – she posts some helpful tips and tricks for better meeting engagement! 
  8. Follow Melissa on Instagram for her creative pursuits.
  9. Check out Melissa’s personal website for all her creative and fun endeavors – https://melissadinwiddie.com/

Reminder: You can now sign up for Private Speaker Coaching on our Speakers Alliance Website. If you have an upcoming pitch, presentation, or speech that you are working on, you can practice it with both Dayna and Gabe and get feedback and suggestions for improvement. For more details, go to https://speakersalliance.org/speaker-coaching/

You can watch the full video of the episode on Spotify! Or if watching on a different platform, watch the YouTube videos in the Show Notes to see when Melissa shares her screen images.

Check out this episode and our other episodes of The A-Ha! Method Podcast here:

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listen here on pocketcast

Follow us on social media for the most up to date announcements and so you never miss when a new episode is released. 😍

Melissa Dinwiddie Photo - Melissa is the queen of leading fun and engaging virtual meetings
Melissa Dinwiddie, Founder, CEO, Lead Curriculum Designer & Facilitator at Creative Sandbox Solutions

More About Our Guest Melissa Dinwiddie:

Melissa specializes in working with innovative, people-first organizations grappling with boring (or nonexistent) virtual trainings and events. She helps them engage and delight attendees, who acquire new skills and behaviors while building connections and having fun.

Melissa’s the author of The Creative Sandbox Way™: Your Path to a Full-Color Life, an interactive playbook that countless readers have sworn freed them from creative block virtually overnight.

Melissa has a reputation for creating impactful, memorable experiences that teach key skills while being fun at the same time. She loves collaborating, and is great at encouraging, cheerleading, and creating a positive vibe.

Melissa’s front-of-room experience ranges from traveling the country teaching calligraphy, to speaking on stages from Connecticut to California, to performing as a singer for audiences as big as 6,500, and presenting at professional conferences internationally. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, she’s become sought after for her expertise in play-based techniques for leading engaging, interactive virtual meetings. When there isn’t a global pandemic going on, she performs improv with a number of different groups in the San Francisco Bay Area.

A graduate of UC Berkeley with a Bachelors in Social Science, and the University of Birmingham, England, with a Masters in Cultural Studies, Melissa lives with her husband in Silicon Valley and spends her free time making art, playing ukulele, or chasing around her rescue kitties, Vinnie and Jack Jack.

For more in-depth information and resources, please check out Melissa’s website – https://creativesandbox.solutions/

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Distracted Audience Improving Your Presentations Podcast Public Speaking Course Public Speaking Tips Work Presentations

Episode 11: The A-Ha! Method Public Speaking Podcast

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Part 2 – The Discussion Continues: Behind the Scenes about The A-Ha! Method Public Speaking Course

In this episode, Gabe tells a funny story in the beginning about a mariachi band playing during one of his recent speeches at a conference, and then Dayna and Gabe try to make call back jokes about mariachi bands as many times as they can throughout the episode. 

With her long list of questions, Dayna continues part 2 of her interview with Gabe about The A-Ha! Method Public Speaking Course on Udemy. They discuss how to make your slides look and flow better, and Gabe also shares his method for learning his slides and material without having to memorize all of it word for word. There are some excellent tips and tricks provided throughout this episode to help you improve your presentations. The most important tip to remember when preparing for your next speech or presentation – Less is more when it comes to public speaking! More is not always more! (So true and yet we…aka Dayna…forgets that all the time!)

Show notes:

Check out Part 1 of this discussion and other episodes of The A-Ha! Method Podcast here:

listen here on apple podcasts
Listen here on spotify
listen here on google podcasts
listen here on pocketcast

Follow us on social media for the most up to date announcements.

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Distracted Audience Podcast Public Speaking Course

Episode 10: The A-Ha! Method Podcast

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Behind the Scenes about The A-Ha! Method Course

In this episode, Dayna talks in the beginning about her first in-person presentation since March 2020 and how it felt to be in front of an audience again (spoiler alert: she got very sweaty!). 

Also, Dayna interviews Gabe about The A-Ha! Method Course on Udemy, and Gabe tells us all about why he developed the course and what his process was for creating the course. Gabe explains more about The A-Ha! Method and how to use it to organize your speeches and fight short attention spans. This is a great introduction to the course and a more in-depth discussion about how the course can help you achieve your public speaking goals and become a better presenter and communicator. 

Show notes: 

Ways to listen to The A-Ha! Method Podcast:

listen here on apple podcasts
Listen here on spotify
listen here on google podcasts
listen here on pocketcast
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Distracted Audience Improving Your Presentations Podcast Professional Speaker Public Speaking Goals Public Speaking Tips Speaking at Conferences Virtual Presentations

Episode 9: The A-Ha! Method Podcast

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Fighting Distractions and Giving Quality Presentations with Robert Tercek

Robert Tercek, an experienced and innovative keynote speaker, shares his advice and tips for fighting off distractions and giving quality presentations that public speakers of all levels can apply during their own presentations. Audience members are very distracted these days, and it can be difficult to look out into a room and see all of your audience looking down at their phones or computers. The key is to frame your talk in a unique way so that it keeps their attention and also not be phased if it seems your audience is not looking at you anymore — just assume they are tweeting and making notes of all the great points you are saying! 

Robert is a dynamic and engaging presenter, and his passion for public speaking shines in this episode when he talks about needing to practice and know your material to make your presentation worth the audience’s time. He even had Dayna clapping and applauding at one point because he was so compelling and in his element! It was a privilege and a pleasure to speak with Robert. He left us feeling motivated and inspired to be better speakers and give quality presentations for our audience, and we hope you will feel that way as well after listening!

Find out more about Robert Tercek: 

Ways to listen to The A-Ha! Method Podcast:

listen here on apple podcasts
Listen here on spotify
listen here on google podcasts
listen here on pocketcast

More About Our Guest Robert Tercek:

Robert Tercek is an award-winning author, entrepreneur, and educator focused on the process of dematerialization and innovation.

In his professional capacity, Mr. Tercek is a seasoned business executive with deep expertise in digital media and internet services. He is a prolific creator of interactive programs and products. He has designed and launched successful consumer experiences on every digital platform, including digital television, game consoles, broadband Internet, and mobile networks.

In 2021, Mr. Tercek was recognized as the Humanitarian of the Year by the Media Excellence Awards for his leadership in designing and launching COVID SMART™, an interactive training program designed to keep workers safe on the job during the pandemic.

Tercek’s book “VAPORIZED: Solid Strategies for Success in a Dematerialized World” was selected as the 2016 International Book of the Year at the Frankfurt Book Fair by the editors of GetAbstract from a field of 10,000 business books.

As a keynote speaker, Robert shares his vision of collaborative innovation at conferences, private corporate retreats, university symposia, and workshops around the world. 

He has participated as a featured speaker at many industry events including the CMPA PrimeTime, GSMA Mobile World Congress, E3 Expo, The Game Developer Conference, Billboard’s Digital Media and Entertainment Expo, the Consumer Electronics Show, the National Association of Broadcasters NAB Show, National Association of Television Producers, MIPTV, Tokyo Game Fair, Digital Hollywood and many more.   He served as  Chairman of the Future of Television Summit and the Mobile Game Symposium at GDC.

He has lived and worked throughout Europe, Asia and the Americas.  He currently lives in Los Angeles.

For more in-depth biography and information, please check out Robert’s website – https://roberttercek.com/.