Punishing Everybody Growing up, were you ever punished for something that someone else did? The chances are pretty good that you were; and if so, you may still feel a little twinge of resentment when you think about how unfair it was to get blamed for something you didn’t do. There are at least two Read More
Public Speaking Skills
“Don’t Look Up”: How to Talk about the End of the World
NOTE: If you plan to see Don’t Look Up on Netflix, but haven’t done it yet…stop reading now, before the spoilers begin, and come back after you’ve watched the final credits! A Film about How We Communicate Since you’ve seen the movie, you know that (a) Kate Dibiasky has discovered a new comet that (b) Read More
To Leave a Legacy, Speak Up!
Your ideas are part of your legacy—but only if you put them out into the world! Joni Mitchell once sang, “Nothing lasts for long,” and she’s right—but we humans want the best parts of ourselves to last for as long as possible. (And yes, the advent of a “big birthday” is what has me thinking Read More
How to Get Your Flow On
Flow is the quality of being able to move “seamlessly” from one idea to the next in a way that makes sense to your listeners, and doesn’t involve hesitation, hemming, hawing, uhmmmm, or losing your train of thought. People who want more flow in their public speaking are usually convinced that they need to add Read More
Use Chill Thoughts to Crowd Out Negative Ones
I just wrapped up work with a client who’s about to give a big presentation. And my final, most important advice was to focus on chill thoughts until he gets onstage. What’s a Chill Thought? A chill thought helps you calm down, avoid anxiety, and—best of all—crowd out the ugly, self-demeaning thoughts that so often Read More