Learners come into our workshops absolutely certain of one hard-and-fast rule: never ever read from your slides. They look pretty bewildered when we respond with, “Well, it’s complicated,” rather than emphatic agreement. The problem with “never read from your slides” is that it often ends up meaning presenters glance at the slide as it comes...
read more
Do you have that friend or family member who offers you a ride and then doesn’t look at a map or set their GPS app because they’re so sure they know how to get to where they’re going? They may be confident that they know where they’re headed, but unless you already trust them—a lot—you...
read more
For too long, companies such as ours let it be other people’s business to create a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive world. What authority did we, a small boutique training and consulting firm, have when it comes to another organization’s DEI? In recent months, we’ve reconsidered. We have decided we do, in fact, have a...
read more
For too long, companies such as ours let it be other people’s business to create a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive world. What authority did we, a small boutique training and consulting firm, have when it comes to another organization’s DEI? In recent months, we’ve reconsidered. We have decided we do, in fact, have a...
read more
In all of our workshops, a certain amount of unlearning has always taken place. Over time, we realized that everything we were helping presenters unlearn came from the world of speechmaking. Although presenters knew they were not delivering formal speeches, the assumptions they made and the strategies they used didn’t reflect that. They were simply...
read more
Josh Bersin wrote an interesting article on LinkedIn about the mismatch between academic education and job skills. What jumped out at me was research showing that while 72% of educational institutions believe newly educated workers are ready for work, only 42% of employers think the same. That’s a pretty big disconnect, but it’s one that I’m...
read more
Praise for All the Leader You Can Be: The Science of Achieving Extraordinary Executive Presence There is no doubt that communication is a skill that must be developed by everyone who wants to move into leadership roles. It’s no surprise then that my colleagues and I have been working with business leaders to improve their communication...
read more
There’s no debate about the power of storytelling. Stories persuade and inspire. They paint a compelling picture in the mind’s eye. They bring complex data to life. They build trust and understanding between storyteller and listener. The need for better business storytelling comes up in nearly every sales conversation we have with clients and prospects....
read more
One of the most important things for business communicators to understand is the distinction between a speech and a presentation. They are not the same. The problem is not that people struggle to articulate the difference between the two or have a hard time distinguishing one from the other as an audience member. The problem...
read more
People often ask us about the rules for PowerPoint. Some examples include, “What’s the rule for … the number of bullets on a slide?” the number of words per bullet?” the number of slides a presentation should have?” the right size font to use?” the right font to use?” We also hear apologies like these:...
read more