Your elementary school teacher was WRONG! Remember how she said to keep your hands by your side and stop moving them when you talk?  She meant well. She didn’t want you to appear distracting.  But your lack of movement conveys a lack of energy, passion and commitment to your topic.  Here’s a compromise.  🚫 DON’T […]

I’ve trained thousands of presenters. Some of them were naturals. Most of them weren’t. Great presentation skills can be learned, one tiny step at a time.  Choose one thing you’re going to do better NOW.  👉 Is it pausing after you say something salient? 👉 Is it simplifying your key message?  👉 Is it speaking […]

Do you regularly communicate with people who speak English as a second language? If so, congratulations on being part of a rich and diverse group of professionals. I love working with multi-national companies that are enriched by people with varying experiences and perspectives.  But, with that diversity, comes room for miscommunication. Employ these three tips to get […]

Would you decorate your new home without building the foundation?? I don’t think so! Stop obsessing about your “ums” and “uhs.” “Verbal fillers” are not as significant as you think, and they’re easily fixable when you apply the PRO framework. – P Plan your business objective in advance.– R Reflect on your audience and what […]

Do you suffer from SPS when you present? (Smart Person Syndrome!) SPS causes you to keep talking and talking and giving more and more detail… until your audience feels baffled, bored and confused. If so, STOP! I challenge you to distill down your key message into ONE SENTENCE.  Make that sentence: – Simple.  – Clear.  – […]

She’s a top executive in fintech and she said she needed to learn to close deals without having to be physically in front of her clients. She said she wanted to work smarter, not harder. So, I taught her to: – Use the camera to connect in a virtual space– Demonstrate the commitment and passion she […]

There’s a time and place for robots. It’s not in your presentation.  Don’t let a flat, lifeless and robotic delivery style get in the way of communicating your ideas.  Eye contact, gestures and physical movements are critical parts of your humanity.  Show them off!

Common Communication Trap: Watch out! We transitioned to remote working quickly a few years back. Unfortunately, we’re still learning how to do it effectively. I’ve watched many of my smart, introverted clients find comfort in working online with their video off. Remember, even in a technical industry, authentic, human eye contact builds trust.

Bag over your head?? No? Of course not! So, why are you going to all your virtual meetings with your video off?  Your audience is left listening to your disembodied voice. Sure, some days you just went to the gym or didn’t feel like doing your makeup. But there’s a cost to letting “No Video” […]

Are you preparing to speak at an industry conference?: If you’re like most of your colleagues, you will “under-present.” 😌  What do I mean? I’ve spent 15 years preparing professionals to crush it at high-impact presentations and I consistently see smart, capable people fall short of their potential. They come across as low-energy, robotic and […]