Virtual Meetings and Beyond: Being Present – Staying Present – Growing Presence
"Staying" present implies "being" present, so it feels important to start by understanding what being present is. If you're a Boomer like myself, you may remember classroom roll-call when your name was called and you raised your hand calling out "here" or...
Diverse Client Reactions about Working from Home
Week #2 of Isolation With clients working from home, few corporate emails are being returned and undoubtedly this is not the best time to get a decision-maker’s ear and introduce “services.” I am aware of feeling shut-in and too silent and decide to make a few calls....
What’s Your Story? The Business of Connecting Your Story to Your Message!
Yes, this might sound like a pick-up line, but telling a story is also a great way to engage an audience for your next business presentation. People think and talk in stories all the time, but rarely realize it. For example, Why are you 5 hours late? (Were you at...
Bridge Communication Gaps within a Diverse Workforce
While most multicultural employees are fully competent in their jobs, there are times when pronunciation, language and listening gaps impair effective communication. The inability to fully understand communication nuances and speech differences hinders productivity...
Imperfect Presentations Can Be “Enough”
Have you ever gone to a networking event because you felt you “should”? Perhaps the speaker’s topic wasn’t high on your list, or maybe getting to the venue required an hour of sitting in traffic. You might have even felt obligated to make an appearance, to...
Technical Presentations are not Boring!
Many technical presenters find it challenging to explain their subject expertise in a simple and succinct way that is easy to understand. Some technical speakers talk too formally and lose their audience in the technical jargon, while others speak too broadly and risk...
Between Listening and Speaking is Understanding
The Story A few years ago, I piloted a public speaking and storytelling event with a culturally-diverse audience. I screened and coached my strongest American speakers to share a personal anecdote about navigating adversity, including their “lessons learned.” Each...
What Olympians and Public Speakers have in Common
Though I am not an Olympian by any stretch of the imagination, I admire those who work hard at achieving a goal no matter what the obstacles. People who try but fail, falter and return, win or lose, are heroes in my mind. When I see athletes performing with bandaged...
Storytelling: A Growing Corporate Trend
For the last several years, my corporate clients have asked me to integrate storytelling into the presentation excellence programs I customize for them or to enhance individual presentation objectives. One marketing department requested a storytelling workshop to...
Networking at its Best!
About a year and a half ago, I accepted a speaking engagement that put me in front of 60 unemployed professionals from the Princeton regional area. I had spoken to this group several times before and wasn’t sure about another speaking engagement with no fee. ...
Six Guidelines for Writers to Become Effective Speakers
Of course, writers can become effective speakers! But it usually requires some brief training and a shift in perspective. I became a writer after being a speaker. Just as I had to find my written voice, writers need to find their spoken voice. You would think it would...
Mirrors and Masks in Business
Each month a select group of professionals from a wide range of small business disciplines get together to share their pearls of wisdom around a specific theme at the Speaking that Connects Business Breakfast Forum. I thought you might enjoy the ideas shared during...
Expanding on Verbal White Space
When I was in the third grade, I participated in a competition where the student who demonstrated the best handwriting would have the honor of writing our class letter to the Governor. This was a really big deal for me as an eight year old. I wanted to win! I knew I...
Multicultural Workforce: 8 Skills to Close Communication Gaps
Globalization creates tremendous opportunities for international business, along with the need to communicate with multicultural professionals. While diversity of thought and culture significantly contribute to innovation and productivity, there are often...
A Sound Idea
Sounds, other than the human voice, can facilitate or hinder communication. They’re often used to create a mood that evokes a specific emotion. Have you ever watched a movie or television show, and noticed how the background music changes, depending on the emotion...
Strike a Pose for a More Confident You!
Non-verbal cues are an integral factor in effective communication. For example, when we coach presenters, we recommend they begin by standing perfectly still. Not only do speakers look more professional and in control, but the pause helps to calm them and get their...
Make Your First Impression Count
It’s no secret that first impressions often set the tone for future social interactions. That’s why they’re so important. This holds true for both personal meetings, like a first date, and professional meetings, like a job interview. In the professional world, the...
The Science of Public Speaking
One of my business's taglines is "the art and science" of presentation excellence. Recently someone challenged the "science" aspect. Thinking "performance", "stage presence", "microphones", "PowerPoint", they felt speaking was more the "art." But speaking is a complex...