public speaking tips

elizabeth’s blogOur archive of articles to help you become better at speaking in public.
All Articles
Elizabeth Van Den Bergh and her tip to get rid of nervousness Last modified 05/09/23
Get rid of nervousness when speaking in public with my best tip to stay in your power

“It surely was not as good as they said it was. It didn’t feel that way.” A friend of mine was invited to speak at an event. Beforehand she was feeling nervous for speaking in public. And afterwards she felt she didn’t do too well. I reassured her she did very well. Then I realized this […]

Read more
Last modified 16/06/23
Bye bye imposter syndrome, hello solid confidence

Why I hate that there is so much talk about imposter syndrome and what I want you to focus on instead.  This is a LinkedIn post turned long read article jam-packed with great tips to build and maintain solid confidence. It also applies to men and other, of course. Wouldn’t want to exclude anyone. Dear […]

Read more
Last modified 05/09/23
Speaking with impact: a guide about stage presence

When it comes to speaking with impact, I usually show one of my favourite TED(x) talks. It’s one that you can view again and again.

The crazy thing is: absolutely nothing is said in it.

Play it for a minute; it only last six minutes:

Read more
Last modified 06/02/23
How Ester Perel wow-de her audience with her powerful presence

Seeing Esther Perel speak live in Ostend at the Generation WOW event… Wow, that is a gift for me as a speaker coach as well as a listener because she is a top speaker and I have been a fan of her work for years. Esther Perel is one of the most insightful and original […]

Read more
Last modified 06/02/23
How to shift from expert pitfalls to a powerful speaker mindset 

In this article, I talk about the three pitfalls of experts who take the stage and how to prepare to show up as a caring, inspiring, and engaging expert speaker instead. Reading this article will give you a deeper understanding of how to show up with a powerful mindset. Just like the great speakers you […]

Read more
Last modified 07/11/22
In the arena and on the stage is where the magic happens

There’s a speech passage that I love. It was delivered in Paris, on April 23, 1910, at 3 pm in the afternoon on a sunny Saturday at the Sorbonne (one of the most prestigious universities of Europe at the time), by Theodore Roosevelt. The speech is called “Citizenship in a Republic,” but would later become […]

Read more
Last modified 19/10/22
Keynote of missed impact and how to make sure it doesn’t happen to you

I recently attended an event with a keynote speech.  And the speaker is a celebrated entrepreneur, great! There were some great one-liners, even greater!  Furthermore… many missed opportunities in the delivery of the keynote. So many people in the room, so many opportunities to blow people away.  And she could have easily done that with […]

Read more
Last modified 08/04/22
Get out of your head

I recently had a session with a client in which he was practicing his speech.The final delivery. We had already worked hard on the story and on the content. In which, to my liking, the content tilted too often and too much toward information, interpretation and explanation. And I kept wanting more story: the people […]

Read more
Last modified 08/01/21
[The University Podcast] Aristide Giramahoro interviews Elizabeth on becoming a confident & impactful speaker

I met Daphne Wens, one of the initiators of the new podcast The University, through my online programme OutLoud. I was impressed by the quality of her podcast and was happy to be a guest and be interviewed by her colleague Aristide. In this episode you will hear tips about speaking with impact, but also […]

Read more
Last modified 01/12/20
Montis Public Speaking renamed to Elizabeth Van Den Bergh

1 December, 2020 – Montis Public Speaking, a growing company that focuses on public speaking coaching, changes its name to Elizabeth Van Den Bergh. The renaming puts founder Elizabeth front and center in its communication and is accompanied by a complete overhaul of the visual brand. Van Den Bergh came up with the name Montis […]

Read more
Last modified 04/11/20
Speaking in online meetings: My 21 top tips for more impact

“Speaking on video is like speaking under a magnifying glass.” — Elizabeth When the coronavirus came, online meetings became the new norm. As you’ll have experienced, speaking on video is a bit of a different game from speaking in a live environment. Here are my tips for speaking well in online meetings. Apply these tips […]

Read more
Last modified 05/06/23
7 steps to prepare a speech in a surprisingly short time

Most of my clients are entrepreneurs, CEOs or working in other leadership positions. I also meet many small business entrepreneurs. One common thread is that they’re very busy. Successful leaders are mindful about how they spend every single minute. It’s no surprise then, that when these leaders are asked to speak in public, the one […]

Read more
Last modified 24/01/20
The day a man joined my women-only training, or: what you can learn from being an outsider

Here’s an interesting take on what it feels like to be an outsider. This is a feeling that many women in the working world experience on a daily basis. Many men are not conscious of this — which makes for a very interesting situation when the roles are reversed for once. The feeling of being […]

Read more
Last modified 20/12/19
Writing A New Year’s Speech: Your Checklist (VIDEO)

Are you planning a New Year’s speech, but are you experiencing a writer’s block? Know that’s completely normal. Writing a memorable New Year’s speech is tough. Because it’s a milestone speech, it can seem like an overwhelming task. Still, it is the perfect occasion to look back and look forward together, and thank the members of […]

Read more
Last modified 03/03/20
🔥 NEWS FLASH! Montis updates tagline, changes web domain, and launches free online course

Here’s a quick summary: We’re updating our tagline to More Than Public Speaking — because 1) we ultimately coach clients to be better leaders and 2) we help clients with spoken communication in a broader sense. We’re moving our website from montisonline.be to speaker.coach. It’s clearer, international, and ambitious. We’ve released a public speaking email […]

Read more
Last modified 05/06/23
Speaking with Impact: 7 tips

Speaking to an audience creates stress for even the most seasoned speaker. By adequately preparing your message and empathising with your audience, you will have more impact on them. This is part of a longer article that was published on MT Magazine (Premium article for subscribers) Writer Mark Twain, who was never shy of a […]

Read more
Elizabeth van den bergh Last modified 03/03/20
Personal Branding: my takeaways looking back (and the role of public speaking)

First I was afraid I was petrified Kept thinking I could always live without you by my side But then I spent so many nights thinking how I did me wrong and I grew strong I learned how to do it right… (free adaptation of Gloria Gaynor’s famous song, reflects how I look back on […]

Read more
Last modified 11/06/20
‘My life after Nelson Mandela’: An interview with his former aide, Zelda la Grange

Today, 18 July is International Nelson Mandela day. A day that invites us to follow in the footsteps of Nelson Mandela who has fought for social justice for 67 years, to start with 67 minutes volunteering or community service to fight poverty and promote peace, reconciliation and cultural diversity. Zelda la Grange was raised as […]

Read more
Last modified 03/03/20
How to not get flustered while speaking in public

Have you experienced this? While you’re speaking, one of your listeners is clearly distracted. He’s playing with his phone, is daydreaming or starts chatting with his neighbour. Terrible! But does that mean that you are not performing at your best?

Read more
Last modified 16/02/20
Public speaking is a career booster. Here are 13 reasons why

Speaking in public whilst showing your personal strengths is a skill. Because in doing so, you’ll create a big impact on a crucial moment. In this article we’ll tell you which advantages speaking in public has in different environments.

Read more
ladies celebrating - how to structure a victory speech Last modified 03/03/20
How to structure a victory speech in three steps

Scroll down to the bottom to see our bonus video tip on writing victory speeches. Writing an effective victory speech is tough. You won something (hooray!), and you’re likely to be either in a state of euphoria or complete overwhelm. Now is the time to express gratitude and all you can do is stutter ‘Oh, […]

Read more
Elizabeth Van Den Bergh Last modified 05/06/23
Five common speaker mistakes made by (non-)experienced public speakers

We can all speak. We speak everyday to our colleagues, our teams, our partners and our friends. It feels natural and words come easy.

Here are five mistakes I see most speakers make during trainings and coachings. These five mistakes are all symptoms of a lack of confidence and a lack of experience. And therefore easy to tackle.

But, it’s very different when we have to speak in front of a group. We feel stress and it shows.

Read more
Last modified 03/03/20
The Speaking Power of Introverts

“How could I ever be good at public speaking, I am an introvert!” I hear this a lot and don’t agree. Introverts typically think their message and arguments well through. They think before they speak and that makes them well prepared speakers. With a bit of help for a more dynamic and engaging presence on stage they can […]

Read more
Last modified 28/08/18
Training Sessions on speaking, managing press and moderating with EU Panel Watch

I proudly and happily partnered with EU Panel Watch for a series of three training sessions. We are both tired about all-white, all-male panels.  So it was only logical we would join forces. We aimed to train Brussels practitioners to deliver better presentations and organise more diverse debates.   The sessions were: Powerful Public Speaking for Women […]

Read more
Last modified 28/08/18
Moderating at the Climate KIC’s Climate and Innovation Summit

The Climate Innovation Summit is Europe’s leading event connecting climate innovators and leaders — from city representatives to policymakers, businesses, entrepreneurs, scientists and academics — to share best practice and create the opportunities to scale-up the solutions that accelerate climate action. I was invited to moderate two panels with experts. The sessions were ‘A new Urban Food Culture’ and ‘Sharing, […]

Read more
Last modified 28/08/18
Presenting at the Climate KIC’s Climate and Innovation Summit

Presenting the Igniting Possibilities – start-up pitch session I presented the start-up pitch session at the Climate and Innovation Summit. The Climate Innovation Summit is Europe’s leading event connecting climate innovators and leaders — from city representatives to policymakers, businesses, entrepreneurs, scientists and academics — to share best practice and create the opportunities to scale-up the solutions that accelerate climate […]

Read more
Last modified 11/04/18
The know – like – trust – funnel to get invited on a panel

The funnel Are you familiar with the know-like-trust-funnel? The know-like-trust-funnel is a common term in the marketing business, but applicable in the speaker business as well. The know-like-trust-funnel means people will engage and do business with people they know, like and trust, in that order. People go through these three steps before doing business with […]

Read more
Last modified 03/03/20
How to speak naturally for more impact

‘How can I make sure I speak naturally?’ clients often ask me. I love that question. ‘What does it mean to you to speak naturally?’ I reply. Answers go from ‘not speaking to fast’, to ‘I don’t know why but I speak with another voice when I am in front of an audience’, to ‘speak […]

Read more
Last modified 03/04/19
Get rid of Public Speaking anxiety once and for all

An immense value and potential lies in the ability of being able to effectively communicate your ideas in front of a group of people. In my public speaking training there is a common thread among many participants: fear. Since I am a competent communicator at Toastmasters and I regularly speak for an audience for my […]

Read more
Last modified 11/10/19
Does your speech suffer from the Curse of Knowledge?

Have you ever experienced the following: You are having a conversation with someone, and you seemingly agree on a topic. You’re both nodding and saying “‘yes, yes” … only to find out a few minutes into the conversation that you were not talking about the same thing at all. Another example. Imagine that — without […]

Read more
Last modified 18/01/18
Get rid of online bias when you organise a webinar and perform like a pro

Avid fans among my newsletter readers remember that I am fascinated by cognitive biases. Today I am writing about a cognitive bias, which I call online bias. Online bias Online bias: online tasks, in reality not so different from their off line version, are mistakenly perceived as more difficult compared to their off line counterpart. […]

Read more
Last modified 28/08/18
Public Speaking and Media Training for Young Leaders @ European Development Days 2017

The European Development Days invite young people from around the world to join the debate about development policy and international cooperation. 16 Young Leaders aged 21 – 26 have been selected to share a panel with world leaders, talk about their experiences, present their ideas, and help shape the future of global development. Montis trained […]

Read more
Last modified 18/01/18
How to avoid the information paradox and enhance your productivity

Too much or too little information? We are bombarded with information of all kinds since the beginning of the digital revolution. We are overwhelmed with news, facts, data, infotainment, pictures, music, advertisement, and so on. Hence, the ability to select useful information has become a very important skill. What is the information paradox? There is a paradox […]

Read more
Last modified 28/08/18
Speaker Coach Food4Talk Conference – Celebration Nestlé 150 years

Challenge: coaching four experienced speakers to more impactful presentations and bringing forward the red thread between their stories. The occasion was the Food4Talk Conference celebrating 150 years of Nestlé with Eve Turow, Independent Consultant on Millennial Marketing, Peter Bakker, president van de World Business Council for Sustainable Development, Guy Poppy, Chief Scientific Adviser to the Food […]

Read more
Last modified 18/01/18
‘Yes and’ yourself towards more opportunities and creativity

Yes but ‘Yes but, yes but, yes but’, we hear this phrase so often it can stop us from pursuing our dreams. You probably recognize this. Often we want to do something, but we see the obstacles. We don’t do it because … it wouldn’t work anyway. If it weren’t our parents saying ‘yes but’, […]

Read more
Last modified 23/11/16
What everybody ought to know about life long learning

Life is short! Following the digital revolution (=explosion of information available) that is shaking up our workplace since the nineties, let’s look at how we can benefit from it to engage ourselves in lifelong learning. We must learn The workplace is changing at a phenomenal pace and skills become quickly out-dated.  Ongoing life and professional […]

Read more
Last modified 23/11/16
Wearing the same T-shirt everyday will not cure your decision fatigue.

You probably didn’t miss this one. When asked why he was wearing the same T-shirt everyday Mark Zuckerberg replied “I really want to clear my life to make it so that I have to make as few decisions as possible about anything except how to best serve the community”. The theory behind this is that […]

Read more
Last modified 11/12/14
Stop avoiding success in life, cure procrastination with productive mood repair

Procrastination is a serious and widespread problem. I suffer from it too sometimes. We know we have to finish that article, make that call and …we do something else instead because we feel anxious or insecure about the article or the call. Procrastination can be really problematic. Some random tweets on procrastination: “One of these […]

Read more
Last modified 30/10/14
Impostor Syndrome? Good, you’re a high achiever!

Apart from serial narcissists, super low achievers and outright crazies, no one is immune to the self-doubt that feeds Impostor Syndrome. Even celebrities like Kate Winslet, Maya Angelou and Don Cheadle experience it. To be honest, I hadn’t heard about Impostor Syndrome until I stumbled on a few articles recently. Reading about it, I figured […]

Read more
Last modified 03/10/14
A case study on how strategic storytelling is valuable for sustainable development

Stories help us learn, inspire us, unite us and make us take action. Storytelling really is the most powerful tool for communicating. Intrigued by the value of storytelling, I took things a step further and wrote a paper entitled: Strategy through storytelling; a strengthened identity for the Rupelstreek. I did this in the context of the […]

Read more
Last modified 21/08/14
Quality: desired by many, obtained by few. How to get it?

When we think of quality, many words come to mind: best, beautiful, efficient, shiny, solid, lasting,… It is a word so often used in communication and marketing. But what is it? And how can we make sure we get quality results at the end of our project? Meet requirements According to PM4SD® (Project Management for […]

Read more
Last modified 27/05/14
Hold on to today’s obvious, it will save you time later

How had we done that again? What was that solution again? If these questions sound familiar, keep on reading. It is tricky to remember the small solutions or the small problems that occur. You need to write them down. Seize the moment It is important to learn from the project when you are still working […]

Read more
Last modified 20/08/14
A plan for success

Luck happens when preparation meets opportunity. Also success happens when preparation meets opportunity. I leave it up to you to create the perfect opportunity, but I’ll help you out on the preparation part. If you want to achieve success, whether it be in your personal or your professional life, you must plan for it. How […]

Read more
Last modified 21/08/14
“Just do it”, and the French saying that tells you why

Just do it! We know this phrase as the slogan from a famous sportswear brand. But I want to take the words away from the brand for a moment and apply them to us. Just do it is about doing something for the first time, about getting out of your comfort zone.  Just doing it […]

Read more