Congratulations! You've given the longest speech in history. But did you engage the audience?

Sept. 25, 2012 - PRLog -- What do Hugo Chavez, Fidel Castro and Dr. Donald Thomas of Pahoa, Hawaii have in common? They've given three of the longest speeches in history. In 2007, Chavez spoke for 8 hours on his TV show "Aló Presidente." Castro spoke for 4 hours and 29 minutes at the United Nations in 1960. And Dr. Thomas holds the Guinness Book World Record for the longest sermon, which ran 93 consecutive hours.

We know these guys have staying power... but did they engage the audience? Without audience engagement, your presentation is just a bunch of words, and you're probably wasting your audience's time and your own. You can learn public speaking techniques on practically every corner, but where do you go to learn audience engagement techniques?

Now you don't have to go anywhere; this training is coming to you!

"Speak to Engage: 7-Step Shortcut to Public Speaking Success" is a 7-week teleseminar series starting October 4. You can access this program by phone or Skype from the comfort of your home or convenience of your office.

Facilitated by public speaking coach and trainer Lisa Braithwaite, the Speak to Engage program emphasizes tools and techniques to engage, involve and connect with your audience. The program includes a workbook with exercises and activities to complete between sessions, helpful online resources such as videos and articles, examples of questionnaires and evaluations to use with your audiences, a recording of each live teleseminar (so you don't even have to be available at the time of the call), and a private online forum for discussion and questions.

Public speaking is a critical skill for anyone seeking to build credibility as an authority in their field, gain visibility for their business, and grow their client or customer base. It's one of the best personal and professional development tools for building confidence, through speaking practice and experience.

For more information and to register, visit http://www.coachlisab.com/speak2engage.html.

ABOUT LISA BRAITHWAITE:

Lisa Braithwaite is a public speaking coach and trainer based in Santa Barbara, California, who mentors entrepreneurs and professionals to grow their businesses through public speaking.

Before launching her coaching, speaking and training business, she worked in the nonprofit sector in Santa Barbara for sixteen years as an advocate, educator and trainer, creating and implementing programs, curricula, and training materials for nonprofit organizations. Lisa has been quoted in the Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, Men's Health Magazine, Santa Barbara News-Press, and on Inc.com. Her blog, Speak Schmeak, is recognized by Alltop.com as one of the top public speaking blogs on the Web.

For more information and public speaking tips, visit http://www.coachlisab.com or the Speak Schmeak blog: http://www.speakschmeak.com.