Month: September 2017

At a recent networking event, I walked up to woman who, like me, was trying to balance a plastic tumbler of wine, a plate of cheese, and a handful of business cards. We laughed at our shared predicament, put down our plates and introduced ourselves.

Anyone who has ever seen the movie “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” will remember that, while Matthew Broderick played the lead, the show was (almost) stolen by Ben Stein’s portrayal of a boring, monotonous, soul-sucking Economics teacher. He delivered his lines (“Bueller? Bueller? Bueller?”) as if he had been lobotomized,

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.

Planning your next big presentation can be as simple as A. B. C. D. E. What do I mean by that? In this video, I explain the five things that you need to keep in mind (scroll down for the transcript):

“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.

Author and presidential speechwriter James Humes once commented, “Every time you have to speak, you are auditioning for leadership.”

Talk about pressure! Let’s face it: if every single time you get ready to share your proposal, pitch, or project with your colleagues, clients or boss you think to yourself, “This is an audition for my professional future, so don’t blow it, dammit!” you’re likely to buckle under the pressure

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:

How can you take the America’s number one fear— public speaking —and make it even scarier? Oh I know! By adding in almost no time to prepare.

Goldilocks would have a field day with my 11-year-old twins. Their chairs, their beds, and their oatmeal are just right, but their communication styles can be extreme. My daughter Sophie tends to be very straightforward and direct, employing a miser’s economy of words. “How was your day?” is answered with “Fine”—full stop. If I want more, I’m going to have to work for it.

One of my favorite cartoons from the New Yorker shows a speaker at a podium with the caption, “I will now fend off questions from the audience.” Why does that make me chuckle? Because most of us, when making a presentation, regard the Q&A portion as a war zone.