Here’s where you’ll find insight into how we think and work, how we look and sound, and the tools we deploy to bring your goals to life. Our blog stretches way back, so you might want to peruse the list to see what strikes your interests or needs. Our videos offer a glimpse of several of our coaches — as well as insights into our methods. And when you do work with us, you’ll want to familiarize yourself with our Resource Toolbox to make working with us that much easier.
Blog
Our blog posts offer a rich gathering of insights, tips and suggestions designed to help you become more polished, more influential and more impactful in how you communicate with others. Skim to a title that strikes your interests or needs. And come back often because we are serious keeping it fresh and useful for storytellers everywhere.
How to Give a Killer Presentation: 10 Questions from UXDX
For the UXDX Conference in Ireland in 2019, I was invited to answer 10 questions about how to begin to get prepared to give a
How do you choose the one idea worth sharing in your speech?
Three public speaking tips from executive communication coach Acacia Duncan that can help you hone in on your one idea for a successful TED-style talk.
Coaching Speech Clients to Crank a Reluctant Wheel
Our speech coaching practice rests on iterating: Helping clients crank a reluctant wheel from event invite to idea to proof to story to imagery to delivery to reflection – and then starting all over again.
TED-style Talk Success: Leadership Matters
You could call it the TED talk effect. We have come to expect people to share complicated, technical, even scientific and medical concepts in an
One Lesson from 10 years of TEDxColumbus
As TEDxColumbus marks its 10th anniversary, let’s memorialize the culture of support that TEDxColumbus has created for the speakers to deliver such consequential and memorable talks.
TEDxColumbus: 10 Years of Ideas
To celebrate 10 years of TEDxColumbus, I present to you the ideas we’ve hosted on the stage. Curating and coaching most of these talks has
Four Stages of Learning for Public Speaking Mastery
When working on any skill, especially one that has to do with public speaking, it helps to remember the four stages of learning that can lead to public speaking mastery.
Talk Like Someone’s Listening: Series Recap
Time flies when you’re having fun. It’s hard to believe our Talk Like Someone’s Listening video series has already come to a close. The series
The One Imperative for an Effective Communication Culture
To shape a culture where the complex messages truly resonate in clear and concise ways, it hinges on one thing: feedback.
[Video] Start with Why
Don’t bog down your message. To present a compelling presentation, public speakers should start with “why” the audience should care, and simply get to the point.
Make It About the Green, Not Red
I remember back in elementary school, lining up in gym, tensing all my muscles, just waiting for the teacher to yell, “GREEN LIGHT!” I’d take
[Video] They Want Answers, Not Questions
Ah, rhetorical questions. They are a favorite tool of public speakers. But are they useful? (Don’t answer that!) Rhetorical questions are asked not for the
This is One Time to Think Small
Your talk is only as good as someone’s ability to receive and understand it. When choosing words for your presentation, think small.
[Video] Death by Bullet Point
More is NOT always better. For years (and years, and years) one of the most common complaints about presentations has been bullet-ridden and text heavy
That’s all the time we have.
If audiences want short talks, why is it still so hard for speakers to oblige them? Here are three strategies we use when helping speakers to be more (much much more) concise.
[Video] Watch the Clock
While we admire the endurance of marathon runners and other long-distance athletes, the same can’t be said for speakers and presenters. When it’s time to
The Power of Breath
I am passionate about the power of breath. It not only makes for good public speaking, but it also helps a person feel grounded and confident in any area of life. Allow me to share a three quick tips to harness the power of your own breath.
They Want the Teddy Bear, Not the Stuffing
Are you trying to sell the teddy bear… or the stuffing? See Ruth Milligan’s presentation to Columbus’ Web Analytics Wednesdays group to appreciate the relevant metaphor shared with her by an analytics client and her top list of components to assure a complicated, complex topic gets understood by their audience.
Videos
Our videos offer a glimpse of several of our coaches — as well as insights into our methods. And you can find more of our videos on our YouTube channel.
Ruth's Tips
FEATURED CLIENT TALKS:
The Ohio State University, Wexner Medical Center, WexMed Live
The Ohio State University, Masterminds
Nationwide Children’s Hospital, DiscoveryX
TEDxChicago
Talks not publicly posted: Articulation has additionally coached talks at the following institutions and corporations: UnitedHealthcare, Ford, EcoLab, NetJets, Designers Brands/DSW, Miami University and University of Virginia.
Resource Toolbox
We go through lots of Magic Markers, Post-it Notes and handouts during our classes and coaching sessions. Aside from these basics, we rely on a set of readily available resources designed to be platform agnostic, intuitive and easy to work with. Take a moment to review the tools we’ll be using together.
Voice Memos
This voice recording app comes standard on all iPhones and is available for free for Android devices at the Google Play store. We use this app more than anything else to record practice sessions. We ask speakers to use it to share recorded versions of their talks. All files can be shared via text or email.
We use this tool to record all of our coaching calls. By using it, you’ll be able to listen to your call history and measure your progress over time.
This is our first choice for remote coaching sessions. If you’re used to working with Webex, that’s okay because we are, too. However, we find Zoom better suited to remote coaching and simplifying interaction online.
Power Point and Keynote
Speakers often use support slides in their presentations. But the slides — whether built in PowerPoint or Keynote — are less important than being able to record over them for practice, timing and sharing. That’s why we encourage clients to familiarize themselves with their preferred slide presentation software and its voice recording features. For more on recording with PowerPoint, visit Microsoft support. For Keynote recording help, go to Apple support.
Undoubtedly, this is the Cadillac presenter on the market. But once you understand its capabilities to help with timing and spotlighting, you’ll want one too.
Our most valuable tool is our Mac to HDMI adapter. Regardless of which computer you use, you’ll need the right HDMI cable to connect to our projector. You’ll find the one right for your computer on Amazon.
At-Home Recording Equipment List
Equipment suggestions for at-home video recordings. Download it now.
