Phil Stella

Even More Faves

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Looks like this growing list of ‘recurring themes’ from my training and coaching engagements has become a popular section – thanks a lot. So, two more Faves to add to your list: 1. Strive for Reader-Centricity. Write for them, not for you. Write the way they want you to write for them, not the way … Read more

February Good Read

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Very interesting, entertaining and useful … ‘Speak Like Churchill, Stand Like Lincoln -21 powerful secrets of history’s greatest speakers’, James C. Humes, Three Rivers Press, New York, 2002

February Good Listen

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An 11-CD audio book with lots of comments from leading professional speakers: ‘Public Speaking Superstar – overcome stage fright, develop compelling stories and riveting presentations’, Made for Success, Inc., 2010 Happy Listening!  

Phil’s Faves for February

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Two more of my favorite … and often-repeated … lines from my training and coaching engagements: 1. ‘The process of creating effective workplace messages is essentially the same. The variable is the medium you choose to transmit those messages.’ 2.  ‘With all emails, include something in the subject line to help your readers quickly assess … Read more

Get them at ‘Hello’

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(Some of my comments from a recent LinkedIn group discussion thread about the importance of a presentation’s introduction …) The first few minutes of any presentation are most important minutes. Start strong, powerfully, engaging and immediately so you don’t blow your intro. And never start with a joke unless you were hired as an entertainer … Read more

Old Sicilian Proverbs

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Whenever I want to use a quote, but don’t want to take the time to research who originally said it, I call it an ‘Old Sicilian Proverb’. So, here are two for this month: ‘In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king.’ (Old Sicilians were not into political correctness or gender-neutral references.) … Read more

Networking with Uncommon Courtesy

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I used to refer to this concept as networking with “common courtesy”. But, just like “common sense”, these practices are anything but commonplace in the business world today. One of the fastest and smartest ways to make that best possible first impression when networking is both very simple AND very easy. You can display “Uncommon Courtesy” that clearly differentiates yourself from the amateurs by:

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Clarity & Brevity – They Both Rule!

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Some of you have probably begun thinking more about the words you use in workplace communication in general and with presentations in particular. Good – that’s the whole idea behind this series of articles.

If you identified lots of word choice habits, also good. If you asked yourself why you used a particular word or phrase and weren’t happy with your blow-off answers ‘That’s the first one I thought of’ … or … ‘That’s the one I usually use’, then get ready to rock & roll. You’ll benefit from some lessons learned on our journey towards more audience-centric word choices.

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Visualize Your Content

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How you use speaker support slides to reinforce and support your message has a direct impact on accomplishing your audience-centric outcomes. PowerPoint – or other similar software packages – has the capacity to provide you with efficient, effective and attractive slides. But, how and why presenters use this great tool makes all the difference.

So, let’s add a few new or different tools to your Presenter Tool Kit and share PowerPoint Best Practices. To get us in the mood, let’s discuss Worse Practices first.

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January Good Listen

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Another audio book worth the listen time: ‘101 Secrets of Highly Effective Speakers’, Caryl Rae Krannich, Ph.D, Listen & Live Audio, 2004 Happy Learning … PJS