Yes you can!
Back in olden times, when gyms were open and we could sweat together in person, I was a regular at my local Y, showing up most days of the week for some kind of group fitness class. As much as...
View ArticleIs it cheating to manufacture Q&A?
Dear Corporate Poet & Cutter of C.R.A.P.: After all these months of practice, we’re finally pretty comfortable with virtual meetings. Everyone has figured out how to join a call on almost any...
View ArticleHow a teeter-totter can help you craft a persuasive message
As a kid on the playground, one of my favorite attractions was the teeter-totter. Maybe you called it a seesaw. A teeter-totter is a dangerous apparatus, not to be shared with anyone but a friend you...
View ArticleAre Unspoken Loudspeakers interfering with your message?
“What you do speaks so loudly I cannot hear what you are saying.” Ralph Waldo Emerson Shhhh! I’m trying to hear you. I really am. I know you’ve put serious thought into those words you’re trying to...
View ArticlePreparing to present? Pick up these pointers, pronto!
‘Tis the season for high-stakes presentations. Nearing year-end, many of us are preparing to report on results, launch new programs, and invite colleagues and clients to embrace the new. ‘Tis also the...
View ArticleReady to record your meeting? Not so fast …
“Hold on … let me start recording.” In the past few weeks, I’ve heard this phrase even more than the dreaded: “You’re on mute.” As someone who loves to work from the comfort of home and stretchy pants,...
View ArticleAre you boring? Stop that.
When Jill and I started our Story Mode program, we easily landed on our motto/tagline/hashtag: Refuse To Be Boring. This phrase is our “way.” It’s our constant reminder and also an apt description of...
View ArticleUm, yes, you ARE creative
When people ask me what I do for a living, I say I’m a creativity consultant. The obvious comeback is, “Huh?” And for that, I have an answer: “I show business people how to use creativity and...
View ArticleYour presentation headlines suck. Do better.
As the holidays approach, I’m refining a new party trick. Let me try it on you, right now. “I bet I can guess the slide headlines on your most recent presentation.” “No way,” you say. “You don’t even...
View ArticleWhat NOT to say if you want your point to have power
Lucky you! You get to speak at an industry event, corporate conference, or team meeting. No doubt, your presentation will include a set of slides. Slides are a de facto requirement for most business...
View ArticleYour slides suck. Let’s fix that.
I hate PowerPoint. More accurately, I hate the materials so many people produce with PowerPoint. Most slide decks are dumping grounds for all that’s known on a subject. They’re encyclopedias of facts,...
View ArticleAdvice for anxious presenters: don’t present
Over the past few weeks, my coaching calendar has been full of anxious presenters. Every single one of them is an intelligent, successful business person who’s earned the right to speak about their...
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