In honour of this weeks Air New Zealand Cup final, held tomorrow in the AMI Stadium at Lancaster Park, here is the first in a series of tips on why tackling a speech successfully is like tackling in rugby.

If a player is running at you, normal human instinct is to either freeze or run away.   Many people, faced with the thought of standing on a stage in front of the audience want to do the same thing.

Successful speakers learn to feel comfortable in the spotlight, and successful rugby players overcome the self-preservation instinct and go in for the tackle.

Success in both requires three things, and they form the acronym T + A + P

T stands for Technique
A stands for Attitude
P stands for Practice

In coming weeks I'll cover a few more techniques for successful speaking, talk about the Attitudes you need to succeed (and they may not be what you think) and share some suggestions of ways to practice (more than just repeating your speach over and over the same way.)

Stay tuned!  And in the meantime....Go Canterbury for the Air New Zealand Cup!

Remember the FREE Help for Speakers Q and A session every Wednesday from 1.00-1.30pm NZT (that's 11.00-11.30).   Ring in if you have a question, need inspiration or ideas for an upcoming presentation.   Note from next week it will begin at the slightly later time of 1.15! Instructions below.

I'm trying something new too especially for people who have to speak at a wedding.  Whether you're a Father of the Bride, BestMan, Bridesmaid, Bride or Groom, you'll get something out of the "Making a Wedding Speech Seem Easy " teleclasses series.   It will run over four weeks, for half an hour at a time, and will help you plan, write and practice a great speech for an upcoming wedding.  If you're interested (or know someone who is), then let me know.  The time will be arranged to suit participants - probably a Monday evening or Saturday  morning.  Cost for the first series is $50, including GST for four sessions and a written tip-sheet.  E-mail me at rachel@helpforspeakers.com or phone or text 021 0275 9023 for more information.

How to join the Q and A
Ring the freephone line for your country (below)
Enter the guest code 5405 2101#
From New Zealand call at 1pm Wednesday- 0800 449 288.
From Australia call at 11am Australian EST on 1800 036 0901,
From the US call in Tuesdays at 6pm Pacific/9pm Eastern  on 1866 814 5210.

For more speaker tips and ideas visit www.HelpforSpeakers.com or the Archive of Speaking Tips

E-mail Rachel@HelpforSpeakers.com  or phone +64 ((0)21 0275 9023