Editorial Policy

Who writes here

Every guide on this site is written by Daniel Reyes. Nothing is ghostwritten, syndicated, bought, or published under a byline that did not write it. There is one author, so "I" is the correct pronoun on this site and you will see it used throughout.

What gets a citation and what does not

Public speaking advice is unusually full of confidently repeated folklore. To keep this site on the right side of that, every factual claim falls into one of three buckets, and each is handled differently.

The third category is the one most speaking sites get wrong. A number like "most people halve their filler rate in two weeks" reads like research and is not. Where a claim of that kind appears here, it is explicitly framed as an observation from practice, because pretending otherwise is the thing that erodes trust fastest.

Popular claims this site contradicts

Where a widely repeated claim does not survive scrutiny, the guide says so rather than repeating it for convenience. Current examples:

• The 7 percent communication statistic. Corrected in body language for speakers, with the original 1967 Mehrabian studies described accurately.
• Power poses changing your hormones. The hormonal findings failed to replicate and one of the original authors has said publicly that she no longer believes them. Noted in the same guide.
• Practicing in front of a mirror. Widely recommended, and past a single posture check it splits your attention. Explained in the practice routine.

How a guide is built

1. Start from the problem, not the keyword. Every guide exists because it is something people actually get stuck on in coaching.
2. Draft from practice. The spine of each guide is what works with real people in a real room.
3. Check against research. Where published work exists, it is read and cited. Where it contradicts the practice, the research wins and the guide says so.
4. Make it specific. Every piece of advice has to survive the test: could a reader do this tomorrow without asking a follow-up question?
5. Cut. Length is not a quality signal. Anything that does not help a reader get through their next talk comes out.

Review and dating

Each guide carries a published date and an updated date. The updated date changes only when the content genuinely changes; it is never touched to fake freshness. Guides are reviewed when advice shifts, when a cited figure moves, or when a reader points out a problem.

Corrections

If something here is wrong, out of date, or contradicted by better evidence, tell me through the contact page. Corrections are made openly, the updated date changes, and where a correction is substantive it is noted on the page rather than made quietly.

Corrections are the messages acted on fastest. A link to the better source makes it faster still.

Independence and money

• No paid placements. Sponsored links, paid guest posts and link exchanges are declined without exception.
• No affiliate links currently anywhere on the site. If that ever changes, it will be disclosed on the page carrying them, not buried here.
• No sponsored coverage. Toastmasters is recommended in several guides, with its downsides stated. There is no relationship between this site and Toastmasters International, paid or otherwise.
• Nothing gated. No newsletter wall, no email-for-PDF, no course funnel.

Use of AI tools

Guides are written and edited by a person. AI tools may be used the way a spellchecker or a thesaurus is used, for drafting assistance and copy editing, but the substance, the structure, the claims and the judgment on this site are human and are the author's responsibility. Nothing here is published without being read and edited by the person whose name is on it.

Scope limits

This site covers speaking skills. It does not give medical or psychological advice, and where speaking anxiety crosses into clinical territory the guides say so and point to a doctor or therapist instead. See the disclaimer for the full statement.