This month, our blog blooms with new resources, tips and advice for speakers, including ways to reduce your verbal and visual "ums," new research on how gesturing began--and contributes to--eloquence, and going beyond gestures to use props and visuals other than PowerPoint in your presentations. We also look at what speakers can do with an audience plugged into laptops and PDAs.

Timing is everything--so the savvy communicator consults three essential online calendars that can help you foresee major political events, holidays and anniversaries, and forthcoming national news announcements. You'll find them on our blog, along with inspirations and cautions about using calendars for creative, careful announcements.

At our recent Eloquent Woman focus groups, a participant asked "What should I ask a prospective media trainer?" We've posted 13 questions to help you get the most out of your media training, along with an answer to one request we typically turn down: training groups of non-peers.  These posts join our previous tips on what to ask reporters and, for writers, what to ask editors when seeking feedback.  Let us know your ideas for future "what to ask" items!