It's often a good idea to send your draft material to someone you trust for honest, constructive feedback.

Practice it in front of someone with a good eye and ear for impeccable delivery. Whatever you do, don't become defensive. Throw your ego out the door and apply what you learn.

Effective communication is an attainable and deliberately acquired skill set, one that can be learned and practiced over time.

While it’s true that individual attributes can make these abilities easier to acquire, there is nothing that the world’s best communicators have that you can’t ...

... involves purposeful exchanges between all interested parties. 

If you’re doing all the talking, you’re not maximizing opportunities to create reciprocal understanding or expand the reach of your thought leadership. 

To become a more effective communicator, you must 'smoke out' original thought. Rather than conforming to the status quo, make a conscious decision to abandon overdone and clichéd material/

Citing tired platitudes might win you a few "cool points" in social media circles, but they will only...

Once you’ve developed a fresh idea, work on organizing your message and polishing your delivery. Think about:

• How  you will launch a stunning opening and closing line
• How you will organize your material succinctly so that it is both moving and memorable (perhaps t...

Check in with your audience to make sure that they "got" what you intended to give:

• Emphasize the main points of the presentation by strategically reintroducing them at the end.
• Elicit feedback and answer audience questions, especially when a live Q&A session is p...

Develop rapport by engaging in real dialogue.

People who engage in dynamic, interactive dialogues, rather than defaulting to stale monologues, establish trust, develop rapport and experience greater empathy from their audiences.