There’s nothing worse than staring at a blank screen and wondering how you’ll begin to write a speech. Oh wait, there is something worse: Staring at a blank screen and wondering how to start your speech—while your deadline is hanging over your head. Add some pressure to a confused mind and a dreaded task and,
When it comes to telling a powerful story that sells, you need to tap into how your listeners' brains are already working. Storytelling is a powerful communication tool. It’s a way to build a memorable brand, create customer engagement, sell products and raise growth capital. Companies from Nike and Google to SAP and Cargill have
I partnered with Harvard Business Review for a Live presentation on giving and receiving feedback effectively. Play the video to learn about: The benefits and challenges of giving feedback How to know when it’s the right time to give feedback Debunking the infamous “feedback sandwich” The 5 elements of a feedback conversation How to receive
Don't deny, defend, or dwell on negative feedback -- unless you never want to improve your skills or advance your career. When it comes to giving and receiving negative feedback, most of us would rather have a root canal. In fact, many of us are so uncomfortable with negative feedback that we’d rather not even
How many of us gain psychological safety while sacrificing credibility at work As I have learned over the years, unlike helping leaders to simplify their message, build rapport with the audience, or manage tricky questions, helping female leaders sound less like girls and more like women is complex. Read the rest of the article
There's a dignified way to handle it that will showcase your self-possession, professionalism, and poise. Mahatma Gandhi once said, “Freedom is not worth having if it does not include the freedom to make mistakes.” As any seasoned business person knows, making blunders, having missteps and being just plain wrong at times is part of the
Performance feedback helps, unless it makes things worse. Here are five times to skip giving feedback until you have a smarter strategy. Perhaps your company still engages in traditional annual performance reviews. Or maybe you have ditched the formalities for “just in time” feedback. Or possibly, you have come up with an innovative, novel way
5 practical strategies for managing public speaking anxiety. As someone who speaks internationally, I have a lot of experience working with professional interpreters. So when a LinkedIn connection recently asked his network to share their most important tips for working with interpreters, I was curious to see what responses he got. I was struck by
Presenting as a team can showcase your talent -- or make you look unprofessional and uncoordinated. Here's how to make a team presentation work for you. You might think that having two or three other colleagues to co-lead your presentation, pitch or proposal with can cut the preparation and practice down significantly for each of
Your business needs collaboration -- but not everyone's a team player. Here's how to get an uncooperative colleague on board. Henry Ford once said, “Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is success.” Nevertheless, not everyone in a company defines success as “working together,” nor is every team member interested in
How to use your next presentation to build personal and professional credibility If you’ve ever sat in the audience and listened to a speaker whom you didn’t trust, chances are you felt defensive, dismissive, or even insulted. You probably rolled your eyes, crossed your arms, bounced your leg and sent a range of body language
Most of us find ourselves in the intersection of wanting to win and wanting to get better. What I have found in my coaching work, my mom work, and my working on myself is that one way to get better is to compete against those in the field who are already better. When we can
“How many hours did you spend making these slides?” I asked my client Anika, a pharmaceuticals marketing director, two days before her big presentation. Her eyes glazed over as she took a sip of her (third) cup of coffee: “Too many to count,” she replied. “And how many times have you run through the delivery?”
As a professional speaker and facilitator for over 20 years, I’ve been introduced more than a thousand times, by countless meeting planners, conference organizers, and team leaders. Nevertheless, most of the introductions have fallen into one of four categories: Read the rest of the article
Aristotle once wrote: “The least deviation from the truth is multiplied later a thousandfold.” When it comes to presenting to an audience, he’s right - you never want to lie to your listeners. Where I beg to differ with one of the greatest philosophers of all time is that when it comes to managing your
