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Improving Your Presentations Podcast Professional Speaker Public Speaking Tips Speaker Burnout

Episode 18: The A-Ha! Method Public Speaking Podcast

Ending Burnout Culture and Speaker Burnout with Cait Donovan

Cait Donovan — burnout expert, speaker, author, and host of “Fried – The Burnout Podcast,” — joins Dayna and Gabe to discuss burnout, boundaries, speaker burnout (yes, it’s a thing!), and how you can take better care of yourself right now. 

As a speaker, you may find that you’re overexerting yourself and saying “Yes!” to every speaking gig you get asked to do because you don’t want to miss out on anything or decrease momentum. However, you have to know when is the right time to say yes to a speaking gig and when to say no. Cait talks in this episode about how resentment is your superpower, and if you’re feeling resentful about a situation or a request, then it may be better for your well-being not to take it.

We also discuss evaluations and how to deal with those negative comments that may hit us so hard and get us down or in our heads. The key is knowing yourself and recognizing what you need to bounce back from the negative feedback, especially if you have another speech or presentation to give soon!

Burnout is not new, but it’s a big buzzword these days because it’s affecting so many people, especially as we navigate through COVID-19. We hope this episode encourages everyone who is dealing with burnout or feeling the effects of burnout to talk to someone and get the help they need. Cait is so real and vulnerable, and we appreciate her sharing tips for how we can better take care of ourselves right now – as speakers and as human beings.   

Please take care of yourself and your well-being, listeners and friends!

Picture of papers clipped together that say Show Notes on front.

Video Snippets:

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 to learn more about burnout and speaker burnout! Or if watching on a different platform, watch the YouTube snippets in the show notes.

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

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

Cait Donovan, burnout expert, speaker, author, and host of “Fried – The Burnout Podcast”

More About Our Guest Cait Donovan:

Caitlin Donovan is one of New York City’s leading burnout experts. She is the host of “Fried – The Burnout Podcast,” and author of the book “The Bouncebackability Factor: End Burnout, Gain Resilience, and Change the World.” Her master’s degree is in Traditional Chinese Medicine and she is currently studying Biobehavioral Health at Penn State. After treating more than 25,000 acupuncture patients, Caitlin added 1:1 coaching, corporate workshops, and keynotes for companies – all with a focus on burnout. She is on a mission to end burnout culture!

For more in-depth information and resources, please check out Cait’s website – https://caitdonovan.com

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Breathing Improving Your Presentations Public Speaking Nerves Public Speaking Tips Talking about uncomfortable topics

Episode 16: The A-Ha! Method Public Speaking Podcast

Pelvic Healing for Better Public Speaking with Dr. Mariesa Barbara

Mariesa Barbara, DPT, joins Dayna and Gabe to talk about pelvic health and pelvic healing and how these issues can affect our public speaking. Mariesa helps us understand the connection that our pelvic health can have on all aspects of our health and well-being. She also demonstrates a helpful breathing exercise that speakers can do before they give their talks and presentations to relax their muscles and allow for better diaphragmatic breathing. 

Not going to lie, this is not Dayna’s most professional episode as she gets very uncomfortable, tense, and even silly about the topic of pelvic health and the pelvic floor region. Mariesa handles it like the professional she is though, and she shows us that it’s important to talk about the tough and uncomfortable topics because not many people are talking about them right now. Acknowledging that it may be uncomfortable, using the correct terms instead of calling them “weird” terms, and normalizing the subject matter can make your audience (whether one-on-one or a large group) feel more at ease with the topic and more willing to engage with you. At the end of the episode, Mariesa even helps Dayna say the correct terms and feel much more comfortable with the subject matter, and she can help you feel more comfortable about it too! 

Check this episode out for helpful breathing tips, how to speak about tough/uncomfortable topics, and quality information about your pelvic floor health! We use our pelvic floor muscles everyday, and it’s important to be aware of our pelvic health and get help and healing when needed.

Dr. Mariesa Barbara – Owner and Founder of My Pelvic Healing and Island Movement Yoga Studio in St. Croix, US Virgin Islands.

Find out more about Dr. Mariesa Barbara:

  1. Website: https://mypelvichealing.com/
  2. Check out her Meet Your Pelvic Floor Course: https://courses.mypelvichealing.com/meet-your-pelvic-floor
  3. Book a one-on-one session with Dr. Barbara (via virtual consult) for any pelvic floor issues you may be experiencing – open for all genders! 
  4. Follow Mariesa on Instagram or Facebook

Speakers Alliance Announcement:

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/

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

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

Dr. Mariesa Barbara – Owner and Founder of My Pelvic Healing and Island Movement Yoga Studio in St. Croix, US Virgin Islands

More About Our Guest Dr. Mariesa Barbara:

She received her Doctorate from The University of St. Augustine in Physical Therapy. After PT school, she began treating outpatient orthopedics in Phoenix, AZ where she began to specialize in Women’s Health. She was always interested in the intricacies of the female body and how it adapts to child birth, trauma, and injury.

In 2016, she received her 200 hr Yoga Teacher Training and started teaching yoga. The impact and connection between the mind, body, and spirit is empowering. Her journey has shifted to helping women with chronic pelvic pain and childbirth injuries.

She moved from her hometown of New Orleans to St. Croix, US Virgin Islands in 2018. She loves scuba diving, free diving, and feeling connected with nature.

She is so excited and honored for this opportunity to create content to help guide women through healing. ❤️

For more in-depth information and resources, please check out Dr. Barbara’s website – https://mypelvichealing.com/

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

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

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:

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

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Practice Sessions Public Speaking Practice Virtual Presentations Work Presentations

Last Public Speaking Practice Sessions of 2021

Two more practice sessions left before the end of the year!

The holidays are coming up, but there are still speeches and presentations to give before the end of the year! The Speakers Alliance is offering two more FREE Public Speaking Practice Sessions for participants to practice their upcoming speeches and presentations. Anyone who wants to practice a presentation, speech, sales pitch, social occasion speech, etc. is welcome to join and participate! If you do not have a speech or pitch prepared, you can still attend and listen to others practice and ask questions during the Q&A period.

Talks can be up to 5-6 minutes long. If you have a longer speech, just pick a portion you want to practice. The panel will provide feedback after your talk.

Here are our remaining 2021 public speaking practice sessions:

Wednesday, November 10 from 4-5pm PT

Wednesday, December 8 from 4-5pm PT


We will add more public speaking practice sessions in 2022. Follow us on social media for announcements and updates.

Categories
Distracted Audience Podcast Public Speaking Course

Episode 10: The A-Ha! Method Podcast

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:

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Big presentation at work Boosting Your Confidence Building Confidence Fear of Public Speaking Improving Your Presentations Practice Sessions Public Speaking Practice Virtual Presentations Work Presentations

October Public Speaking Practice Sessions

Practice your speech before the big day or event. Speakers Alliance can be your test audience and give you unbiased, helpful feedback before you get in front of your real audience!

Each month the Speakers Alliance runs two FREE Public Speaking Practice Sessions for participants looking to improve their public speaking skills. Anyone who wants to practice a presentation, speech, sales pitch, social occasion speech, etc. is welcome to join and participate! If you do not have a speech or pitch prepared, you can still attend and listen to others practice and ask questions during the Q&A period.

Talks can be up to 5-6 minutes long. If you have a longer speech, just pick a portion you want to practice. The panel will provide feedback after your talk.

Here are our scheduled October public speaking practice sessions:

Wednesday, October 13 from 3-4pm PT

Wednesday, October 27 from 3-4pm PT


We will be adding more public speaking practice sessions in November. Follow us on social media for the most up to date announcements.

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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

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:

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/.

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Big presentation at work Practice Sessions Public Speaking Practice Virtual Presentations Work Presentations

September Public Speaking Practice Sessions

It’s important to practice your speech before the big day or event. Speakers Alliance can be your test audience and give you crucial feedback before you get in front of your real audience!

Each month the Speakers Alliance runs two FREE Public Speaking Practice Sessions for participants looking to improve their public speaking skills. Anyone who wants to practice a presentation, speech, sales pitch, social occasion speech, etc. is welcome to join and participate! If you do not have a speech or pitch prepared, you can still attend and listen to others practice and ask questions during the Q&A period.

Talks can be up to 5-6 minutes long. If you have a longer speech, just pick a portion you want to practice. The panel will provide up to 3-5 minutes of feedback after your talk.

Here are our scheduled September public speaking practice sessions:

Tuesday, September 14 from 2-3pm PT

Thursday, September 30 from 3-4pm PT


We will be adding more public speaking practice sessions in October. Follow us on social media for the most up to date announcements.

Categories
Building Confidence Improving Your Presentations Practice Sessions Public Speaking Practice

August Public Speaking Practice Sessions

Practice your next speech at our August practice sessions!

Each week the Speakers Alliance runs a FREE Public Speaking and Pitching Practice Sessions for people looking to improve their public speaking skills. Anyone who wants to practice a presentation, speech, sales pitch, social occasion speech, etc. is welcome to join and participate! If you do not have a speech or pitch prepared, you can still attend and listen to others practice and ask questions during the Q&A period.

Talks can be 5-6 minutes long. The panel will provide up to 3-5 minutes of feedback after your talk.

Here are our scheduled August practice sessions:

Wednesday, August 4 from 3-4pm PT

Tuesday, August 17 from 3-4pm PT


We will be adding more public speaking practice sessions in September. Follow us on social media for the most up to date announcements.

Categories
Building Confidence Improving Your Presentations Professional Speaker Public Speaking Course Public Speaking Tips Virtual Presentations

What I learned from The A-Ha! Method Public Speaking Course

I completed The A-Ha! Method: Public Speaking in a Time of Distraction course on Udemy in April. It took me about 6 weeks to get through the course at a leisurely pace, and I was very happy and excited about what I learned. 

Full transparency: Gabe sent me this public speaking course to review before I started working with Speakers Alliance. I was a bit skeptical, thinking I already know a lot about general public speaking tips after 7 years in Toastmasters (Overconfident much?). What I learned from taking the course is: I still have so much to learn if I want to take my speaking game to the next level! 

I’ve asked Gabe why he calls it the A-Ha! Method. Is the A-Ha! Method mostly about the way to organize presentations with the different A-Ha! moments per talk, or is it about his public speaking techniques and advice? He said it refers to BOTH. The A-Ha! Method was developed with the A-Ha! moments per talk in mind, but it is also refers to what he has learned in his career as a speaker—the many A-Ha! lightbulb moments he has experienced throughout his professional public speaking journey.

His advice and lessons learned can help us as speakers too, no matter where we are on our own speaking journeys. I appreciate the tips and lessons learned, so that I don’t have to make all those mistakes on my own. While I will certainly make plenty of mistakes, I can limit my “newbie” mistakes at least by listening to and learning from professionals who have done this plenty of times before me.

Here are some of the key tips and lessons I learned from this public speaking course: 

Most Helpful Tips: Organizing and Editing

  • Organizing your speech using the A-Ha! moments
    • One way to organize your speech is think about your speech in Acts 1, 2, and 3 and then organize each act effectively with an A-Ha! moment, if applicable.  
    • The A-Ha! moments are strategically placed in your speech and have a recovery period afterwards. The A-Ha! moments are those parts in your speech that make your audience get chills or the hairs rise up on their necks and/or they are 100% focused on what you are saying. 
    • You have to be strategic about your A-Ha! moments though. If you place them one after the other in a bulleted list, they will get lost. You have to place them perfectly in your speech so the audience feels the effect. Then you can have a recovery period— not where you stop talking but where you keep reinforcing that idea without letting them lose focus on that idea. Then, you will ramp up to the next A-Ha! moment. 
    • I have probably done something similar to this without even thinking about it, however I probably did not do it well or effectively by using the recovery periods. Lots of improvement to be made there! 
  • The Speaking Event Checklist Resource
    • This was very helpful in understanding the amount of information you need to collect when scheduling your speeches with the event organizers. This is a great way to keep everything organized and make sure you have all the details needed before, during and after the event.
    • This checklist can be used for both paid and unpaid speaking events that you schedule and also for online and on-site presentations.
    • I plan to use this spreadsheet as I start booking more presentations! 😃

Most Relevant Tips: Slides and Virtual Talk Resources

  • Slides, Tech and Tactics Section 
    • There are over 2 hours of content about slides, tech and tactics that Gabe uses to take his presentations and pitches to the next level. 
    • Gabe suggests a general rule of 1 slide per minute and 1 idea per slide and explains this more in depth. I have worked on implementing this rule in my corporate presentations recently, and it has helped! 
    • Watching this section, I realized how much work my slides need. I like to do a long list of bullets sometimes, and the main thing to remember with slides is to keep it simple. 
    • I don’t put a ton of effort or thought into my slides. I know there is quite a debate about Powerpoint vs other presentation software. I feel comfortable using Powerpoint, but Gabe makes a good case to look into other presentation software and improve your slides with better images/graphics and less words and text. 
  • Virtual Talk Supplements 
    • There are 30 minutes of bonus content on this subject, which is very relevant right now of course.
    • Gabe has an excellent tip of restarting your computer and having a presentations user on your computer and using that for when you have presentations. This is such a simple yet powerful suggestion to help decrease the chances of computer freezes or hiccups. I have implemented this for my big presentations, and it has helped me feel more at ease!
    • Also, I always need a reminder about the eyelines and focus. I have a tendency to look at the gallery view. I know better, but that doesn’t mean I am always perfect at this.  

Biggest A-Ha! moment when taking the course: The editing process!

  • Iterative and editing process
    • Learning about Gabe’s editing and iterative process blew my mind! Good speakers make it look so effortless that I forget how much time and effort they put into each talk. I know speakers spend a ton of time practicing their content, but this course made me realize I have some major improvements to make in this area.
    • Gabe recommends his iterative process over straight memorizing because it will make you come off more natural and authentic. However, just because it’s not memorized, doesn’t mean he is just winging it. He practices over and over and over again until he knows his material so well that he could do it with his prepared slides or without them. That’s impressive! 
    • Recognizing the amount of organization and preparation it takes to do this job was very influential and helpful to me as I continue to grow in my career as a professional speaker. Even if you don’t want to be a professional speaker though, these tips are still helpful as you may have to give big presentations at work and conferences. 

There are so many tips and tricks in the course, and it would be a really long article to write up everything I liked about it. I found the course so helpful in thinking about my professional career, and I realized I have so much to learn, which is a good thing! There are always ways you can improve your speeches and grow your craft, and that is very exciting to me! 


Next Steps

I plan to go through the class again and take better notes and go through all the resources. The good part about the course is that it never expires or goes away once you purchase it. 

The course is great for being able to organize your speeches better and effectively. However, you need to also practice these new lessons learned. Each month the Speakers Alliance runs a few FREE Public Speaking Practice Clinics for people looking to improve their public speaking skills and practice their material. We will discuss different public speaking topics, answer questions, and provide feedback for as many 5-6 minute presentations and pitches as possible. Your speech or pitch doesn’t have to be fully prepped or memorized. The practice sessions are a safe place for you to practice, get your ideas out there and learn.

We will be adding practice sessions each month. Follow us on social media for the most up to date announcements.

Check out the public speaking course on Udemy and join us for a practice session or two or three (as many as you would like!). Practice makes great progress, and Speakers Alliance is here to help you with all your public speaking needs and practice resources.