You’ve read the reports. You’ve seen the surveys. The number one concern business leaders have about their workforce is a lack of soft skills, especially communication. It’s a concern that transcends industries, job levels, and functional areas. And if you’re like many leaders we talk with, you’re wondering how to address it in a way...
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We shot a few videos recently focusing on some of the fundamental aspects of our work. Here are two that define meetings and presentations as Orderly Conversations. Understanding the consequences of that definition helps facilitators plan and run more effective meetings. Meetings and Presentations are Not Speeches Transcript: “When it comes to improving face-to-face communication,...
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Active listening is one of the many communication skills we help our clients develop in our communication skills workshops. Like so many communication skills, we need to be intentional in their use until they develop into a habit. Recently, I read an article in the Harvard Business Review titled “What Is Active Listening” by Amy...
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We spend a lot of time helping people succeed as trainers, meeting facilitators, and presenters. That work focuses on helping people initiate and manage the conversation that takes place in each of these settings. What we rarely focus on is the role of the people receiving the training, participating in the meeting, or listening to...
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Something we can all relate to is being confused when sitting through a presentation. The presenter is talking in circles, and the slide on the screen is a jumbled mess. We struggle to make sense of the information on the slide, and then we realize we haven’t heard a thing the person has said. Sound...
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Anyone in the position of having to deliver similar content on a repeat basis faces the problem of how to keep things fresh. Maybe you’re in sales and have to talk about the same information in every sales call. Maybe you deliver the same presentation at different conferences. Maybe when rolling out an HR initiative,...
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Recently we delivered a workshop for a group of staff members at a Big Ten university. The group was made up of leaders from various parts of the university’s expansive library. They were a fascinating group with truly interesting jobs. These individuals had been asked to meet with small groups of university donors in hopes...
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One of the benefits of defining business presentations as Orderly Conversations® is that we can guide learners’ improvement based on their individual responses to the tensions involved. Fundamentally, this tension is between what’s required to make a presentation an orderly process and what makes it a spontaneous interaction. Let’s break that down. Presentations Require Order ...
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Question: What do you do when delivering a presentation in an entirely inappropriate room for your needs? Recently, I received a couple of questions about this topic. The issues involved are common enough (and at times frustrating enough) to warrant attention. “I’m going to be delivering a presentation in a room twice as wide as it...
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In addition to being a trainer for Turpin, I’ve spent many years teaching communication to undergraduates, graduate students, and professionals. In the course of teaching everything from Composition 101 to complex ideas, I finally hit on one simple goal that can act as a guiding light for everything from emails to keynotes: Make It Easy....
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