The Blog / Archive

For several years, I sent out a blog to readers a few times a week. These posts gave pointers about how to practice, shared relevant stories, and provided a way for people to connect with my coaching approach.

In 2022, I wrote my book, Before You Say Anything, which brought many of these ideas together in one place. The blog posts have continued to resonate with clients and readers, and they're useful as a quick reminder, so I'm including them here!

Don’t Start at the Very Beginning (and other tips for putting a presentation together)

In our coaching approach, we are really high on practice. My standard instruction is, “You should have your content complete at least a week before you are going to present, so that you don’t have to adjust at the last minute.” But let’s have some real talk.  It’s rare that we’re working that far ahead. In order to have our talking points solid a week ahead of time, we have to have been working on them for a couple of weeks already. And while there are those unicorns out there who do this, it’s uncommon. And sometimes we’re asked to … Read more

A Reminder About Memorizing

When we commit to memorizing all or part of our talk, we also have to make another commitment. It’s this: we must commit to rehearsing in a way that ensures that our intention isn’t “to say the words in the right order.” This came to mind for me recently when a client told me he had memorized the first few sentences of his talk. In general, I think this is a good idea. If you’re using notes or a prompter, you should still know your introduction cold. It allows you to be present and not look away to check your next … Read more

Audiences Are Selfish

This is one of the most important things to know when you are preparing a speech or a presentation. Audiences are selfish. Many people fear that the audience is judging them—that is usually misplaced. Most audiences are willing, and even excited, to see what you have to offer. But we’re not there for you. We want to know what’s in it for us. What value are you going to bring? When you’re preparing, answer this question. What’s in it for them? What can I say that will bring value to this audience? How can I deliver this material in a … Read more

How Giving Your Speech is like Touring Emily Dickinson’s House

I got to tour Emily Dickinson’s house recently. It’s a museum now, in Amherst, Massachusetts. Our tour guide had worked at the museum for seven years, and let me tell you, she LOVES what she does. I had the idea for this blog post about 20 minutes into the tour, when we were in the “poetry room.” The guide was telling us a bit about what makes Dickinson’s poetry unique, and she recited a poem as an example. Her passion, enthusiasm, and knowledge about the poetry and the writer were all evident, and very moving. I thought, “That is how … Read more

That Dirty Little Secret

I’ve noticed an interesting tendency among many of the high-achieving, smart people I coach. When they’re telling me what they would like to get out of our coaching relationship, they drop their volume, avert their eyes, and confess, “Sometimes I get really nervous when I have to speak in public. I know it’s stupid, but—“ These incredible people have been carrying this around like it’s a dirty little secret, like they should be ashamed. They say it to me like I won’t have heard anything like this before, and they’re sorry to disappoint me. If you’re one of these people, … Read more

Why Your Feedback May Not Be Worthwhile (part one)

I recently saw a short video featuring the actor, director, and writer Bill Hader (Saturday Night Live, Barry). In it, he is talking about the process of writing, and how to make what you write better. But what he says has application to many areas where we receive feedback. Here’s what he says: “When people give you notes on something, when they tell you what’s wrong, they’re usually right. When they tell you how to fix it, they’re wrong.” This really resonates with me. Sometimes when I am working with a client on a high-stakes presentation or keynote, they are … Read more

I Can’t Hear You When I’m Looking at My Phone

It was a busy morning in our house, and I needed to leave early. I asked my kids to do several things before they left for school.  The first thing I asked my daughter to do involved looking up information on her phone. While she was doing that, I said, “Please make sure to get the recycling out to the street, and close the garage door.” I headed out to my car. As I started the engine, I was looking straight into the open garage, with the recycling sitting inside it. In my rearview mirror, my daughter was getting into … Read more

Fitting It in Around the Edges

I have coached a lot of people who are preparing for big presentations: to get promotions, interview for jobs, or speak in front of high-stakes audiences. Recently, for the first time, a client asked me: “When you’ve coached people before who have been successful at this, what is the common thread? Is there something they all do that you think helps them succeed?” Yes! I love this question. Here’s the common thread: if you’re working on something that’s important to you, that requires preparation and focus, you can’t fit it in around the edges of everything else you’re doing. Somehow, … Read more

Projectors Are LOUD

Quick tip: If you’re speaking in a meeting, facilitating, or presenting in the same room with a projector, remember that projectors are loud. Projectors have built-in fans, and those create white noise. We acclimate to the white noise, and then we don’t quite realize that we need to project over the projector. Make it easy for people in the room to hear you, and bump up that volume!

What Do I Really Want to Say?

Here is something that frequently happens when I’m working with a client on a speech, talk, or presentation: We rehearse what they’ve written, which is fine, but almost always takes a while to get to the point. I ask, “What are you hoping the audience will take away from what you say?” They tell me, directly and in just a few sentences, what’s important. I point out that they could say to the audience what they just said to me, and it would be more compelling, more direct, and more personal. They rewrite their talk. I am mentioning this not … Read more

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Angie Flynn-McIver coaches senior leaders and keynote speakers to communicate with clarity, impact, and self-awareness. Her background in professional theatre directing gives her work a distinctive edge: she understands performance and what it takes to hold a room. She is the author of Before You Say Anything, co-founder of the award-winning North Carolina Stage Company, and holds both a PCC credential from the International Coaching Federation and an M.S. in Organizational Development and Leadership.

AFM Leadership Communication

Angie Flynn-McIver Leadership Communication

Located in Asheville, North Carolina
Serving clients worldwide

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