I recently responded to a comment about my take on ‘escalator speeches’. The reader liked it and indicated that you’d have to be fast and to the point to make it work. He also offered his own sample. Yes, the whole point here is fast, concise, focused and to the point. His escalator speech – … Read more
I recently engaged in a LinkedIn discussion group on this topic … Fortunately, lots of content experts are terrible speakers and sometimes they hire people like me to help them. Here are some thoughts I share with my executive coaching clients who fall into that category: Content experts who automatically think they’d be great presenters … Read more
Here are three of my favorite tag lines from my business writing workshops and coaching engagements: ‘The only thing worse than a bad email is a good email that should have been a phone call or face-to-face chat instead.’ ‘Everything you write or say at work projects your image of professionalism, courtesy and credibility … … Read more
Regular readers know I write … and rant … a lot about Elevator Speeches, the simple answer to the often-asked networking question ‘What do you do?’ Sometimes maligned and often done poorly, Elevator Speeches are still a fact of life when you network. But, here’s a clever new spin on that concept. My colleague, veteran … Read more
You know that old adage, ‘There’s no such thing as a dumb question’? Sorry to spoil your fantasy, but that’s wrong. There are plenty of dumb questions. Three of my faves are: Excuse me, do you know what time it is? Hey mister, got any spare change? Honey, do you want to take out the … Read more
We often discuss Email Best Practices in my Business Writing Workshops. Here are some recurring themes: Always have something useful in the subject line so busy readers can evaluate if and when to read it just by seeing it in their inbox. Assume every email you send will be printed, kept forever and framed over … Read more
A reader recently asked if ‘old school’ flip charts still have any value in today’s high tech presentation and training environments. When I teach ‘Train-the-Trainer’ ‘Effective Presentation’ workshops, I always stress their value and practicality. You can post them around the room and keep referring to them easily throughout the meeting, workshop or presentation. Can’t … Read more
When helping executive coaching clients deal with Presentation Anxiety (the technical term for stage fright) here’s the process I use: Identify the specific causes of PA – they vary by person and situation. Most of the causes involve fear – fear of forgetting, fear of not being prepared, fear of looking stupid, etc. For each … Read more
My recent ‘Communicate Confidently!’ eLetter article on ‘Business Card Finesse’ generated some reader reaction. Here’s a summary of several responses, based on a lot of on-going research and sharing of Best Practices with other networking pros. Contrary to what most people do, I encourage networkers NOT to give their cards to anyone! Wait for someone … Read more
A reader asked what I thought about using the phrase ‘you guys’ when talking to a group of people. While there may be nothing wrong with it and lots of people use it, there’s nothing really right with it, either. And you never know when someone in your audience might take offense at it. So, … Read more