Yesterday Ecolab (St Paul, MN) hosted their second extremely successful “StratChats” revealing insights and stories rolling up to their 2020 Global Strategy. We were proud to be their partner again, helping to prepare the speakers throughout the last 6 weeks.Continue Reading
In the The Greatest Showman , P.T. Barnum uses a well placed story to recruit his first circus actor. The scene starts with a knock on the front door. The actor’s mother answers. P.T. says, “I’m looking for your son.” The mom replies, “I don’t have a son.” He responds, with paper in hand, “I see...Continue Reading
One of our company values is transparency. We believe in it when working with clients, with speakers and when people give us feedback. We decided that it was time to be transparent in a “reporting” way about the work we’ve been doing. It’s in the spirit of if we don’t share it, you won’t...Continue Reading
The first annual Women in Analytics conference took place last week in Columbus. We think it’s the first conference of its kind. It had a pilot year a few years ago when its current co-organizer was still in college.This was the first full-blown organized, public access, kick-ass attendee, SOLD OUT event. While it was not...Continue Reading
When we coach cohorts (three to 10 speakers at a time for a specific event), we get a front row seat to the diverse emotions people experience in preparing a talk. I like to coach my clients (those that hire us to work with the speakers) that getting a speaker’s idea, content and story...Continue Reading
The sound of silence – I’m not comfortable with it. Frankly, I’m still struggling to find my “inside voice.” Silence, however, is a critical skill for public speaking. Understanding the importance of silence–what I call “oral punctuation”– is a necessary component of effectively sharing ideas. “But, if I pause, the audience may think I don’t...Continue Reading
On November 19, 1863 Lincoln was not the scheduled speaker the dedication of the Soldiers National Cemetery in Gettysburg. After all, the country was in the middle of a Civil War. The organizers did not expect him to come, let alone speak. It was his request to say a few words when he did arrive....Continue Reading
Since we spentgood time last week coaching really sophisticated research scientists helping them to make their science accessible to important audiences, we were thrilled that Quicken Loans did this ad for the Super Bowl. We are “that guy” in the background, every day. Helping really smart folks understand how to translate their complex ideas into simpler...Continue Reading
As we approach rehearsal day for a TED-style event, without fail the client asks, “Are you worried about any of the speakers?” We’ve coached hundreds of people to give talks like TED, and only one type of speaker worries me. It might surprise you to hear that it has nothing to do with complicated content, or...Continue Reading
This blog is in our series of coaching reflections, where we pick an experience while working with a client in public speaking, keynote talks, TED-Like talks, presentation skills, executive communication, storytelling, content framing and/or executive presence. Background: Head of a division of a global company has been invited to give a talk at a a leadership...Continue Reading
First, a quick refresher on the classic tale. Goldilocks, after breaking and entering into the empty home of The Three Bears, proceeds to eat the dinner the bear family worked very hard to prepare. First she tries one porridge and decides it’s too hot. The next bowl is too cold. The last bowl is juuuuuuust...Continue Reading
Last night I coached a young woman who was being interviewed later this week for a $250,000 full ride scholarship to the college of her choice. She was tasked to give a 15 minute presentation and answer questions to an unknown panel. The challenge she faced is that the organizers from the admissions office gave...Continue Reading
These are calls I’ve gotten recently from clients, concerned about performances of some of their key women. “She is fine when she’s one-on-one with colleagues, but as soon as she goes into a group meeting or presentation, she clams up. We know she has good communication skills, but she refuses to use them.” “During the...Continue Reading
Last weekend I assisted with prepping some of the speakers for TEDxSanDiego, a wonderful TEDx run by Jack Abbott, a longtime marketing executive in the area. Jack invited me to work with four specific speakers in preparing their talks and then to the rehearsal to help gently guide any other speakers in need of help. I...Continue Reading
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