Know the magic word that cuts through the noise. Franklin Delano Roosevelt once gave this pithy advice for making a good presentation: "Be sincere. Be brief. Be seated." As a professional speaker and presentation coach for the past two decades, I agree with this public speaking wisdom, and I would add one more tip: "Be memorable."
As a coach and international business school instructor, I have worked with hundreds of current and future leaders who are accomplished, bright, and capable — and who quickly lose their confidence and competence when making business presentations. For a subset of these leaders — those who need to present in English when it isn’t their
In my role as a leadership coach, I consistently hear my clients say that they crave negative feedback from their managers in order to improve in their jobs, grow their careers, and achieve better business results. However, when it comes to soliciting negative feedback, they find that their managers would rather dismiss, deny, or delay
You have a big presentation to make to your client, your funders, or your boss. You've spent hours developing a deck that's concise, crisp, and visually stunning. You've practiced the delivery so that you speak with clarity, calm, and confidence. You've tested to make sure your tech is glitch-free, proofread the printed materials, and developed an
When someone violates your needs, you need to know how to push back with confidence We all have to work with difficult people. That's a fact of life -- and work. And one person's difficult person isn't necessarily another's. You might experience Analytical Amy as challenging to work with because she slows every single process
When someone is fighting fair, call it out and say "thank you" Have you ever had a conflict with a co-worker? Of course you have. If your company employs more than one person, workplace conflict is inevitable. And even if you're a sole proprietor, you're going to have challenges with clients, vendors, industry colleagues and others.
You only get one chance to make a favorable impression for yourself, and for your colleagues and clients. Whether you're hosting a conference, mingling at a networking event, or leading your team through a presentation to a new client, there's one step that's inevitable: introducing people to one another. If you're like most busy professionals,
Here's how to grow your influence, boost your impression and make a powerful impact. Leading business schools, from Stanford to Wharton, teach storytelling as a business communication strategy. The ability to tell an engaging, compelling, and persuasive story is a hallmark of effective leadership and executive presence. Stories are a powerful way for leaders to
If you don't know who your presentation is really about, you're missing the point. When people think of public speaking mistakes, they usually imagine disaster scenarios - their minds go blank in front of the boss, or the A/V equipment stops working, or the client asks a question that stumps them. And of course, these
It doesn't matter how compelling your presentation is if you haven't grabbed your audience's attention in the first few seconds. Every presentation is an opportunity to make an impression. You can either use your pitch to build credibility, engagement and buy-in, or blow the chance to share your story in a way that sells. No
A challenging question won't undermine your confidence if you have a plan. Making a presentation under the best of circumstances can be nerve-wracking. From worrying about whether the rest of your team is as prepared (or unprepared) as you are, and making sure that the technology works, to confirming that your stories resonate, and that
Being a memorable, persuasive speaker requires building connection, being current and boosting credibility. When it comes to making a persuasive presentation, there are several elements that are core to making it a success. As Aristotle said eons ago, persuasion requires appealing to ethos (trust), logos (intellect), and pathos (emotions), no matter who your audience is.
Presenting to your boss can be terrifying. Here's how to calm down and step up your game. Even under the best of circumstances, it can be intimidating to make a presentation. Public speaking is a major source of anxiety for many professionals, whose worries may range from feeling underprepared, anticipating difficult questions, or assuming that
When your meetings go online, people check out--but it doesn't have to be like that. Here's how to make your virtual meetings engaging. As humorist Dave Barry once remarked, “If you had to identify, in one word, the reason why the human race has not achieved, and never will achieve, its full potential, that word
Learn to communicate your needs with more firmness and less fear You don’t have to be a leader to wrestle with saying no. Regardless of role, responsibility, title, or position, many of us find ourselves wanting to decline a request for our time, but we don’t know how to say no assertively. Read the rest
