Hi friends! This will be my last blog post for a while. I have been playing with the idea of phasing out this element of my creative work for a month or so, and it feels like the time has come. I want to thank you for reading, for sharing my posts with others, and … Read more
Blog
There seems to be an inherent insecurity around being able to accomplish good public speaking consistently. Even people who are skilled speakers worry about “losing the magic” or not being “in the zone.” I get it—I’ve definitely had experiences when it feels like a talk I’m giving reaches a place it hasn’t gone before, where … Read more
In our coaching approach, we are really high on practice. My standard instruction is, “You should have your content complete at least a week before you are going to present, so that you don’t have to adjust at the last minute.” But let’s have some real talk. It’s rare that we’re working that far ahead. … Read more
When you have to do something you don’t want to do, how do you talk to yourself about it? I guess I’ll get it over with. This isn’t fair. I’ll probably screw this up. There are a million reasons I shouldn’t have to do this. I’m always bad at this. I’m resentful, so I’ll won’t … Read more
Research has just come out that tracks neural activity between people interacting on Zoom and compares it to activity between people interacting in person. The results are definitely in line with what I, and lots of people I’ve talked to, have experienced in our virtual environment. The lead researcher, Yale neuroscientist Joy Hirsch, said, “Zoom … Read more
This morning, I woke up thinking about an old friend. In fact, I had dreamed that I ran into her and her wonderful family, and I was so happy to see her. “Right,” I thought, “this is a sign that you need to text her.” I had actually been meaning to text her for the … Read more
This one’s a re-post: enjoy! Even if you’re late to the meeting, don’t look rushed. Even if the speaker before you cut into your time by ten minutes, don’t look rushed. Even if you overcommitted and have two other places to be, don’t look rushed. Looking rushed is a default intention. It’s an effort we’re … Read more
This one’s a re-post: enjoy! I can’t help with fear of death, or apocalypse, or zombies. But the fear many of us experience when we have a high-stakes presentation or meeting coming up? I have a suggestion. Most of us can describe an interpersonal situation we don’t want to be in. The three situations we … Read more
There’s a difference. You can prepare yourself. You might memorize your speech, or choose your outfit. You could review your notes just before you go on. But preparing for your audience is different. It requires thinking about the entire experience from their viewpoint. What do they want to hear? How do they hope to feel … Read more
Sometimes it feels like there’s a school of thought in public speaking training that “more is more.” Do more with your voice, more with your gestures, more with your movement. If some is good, more must be better! My view on this is that it gets confusing for the audience when we load up every … Read more
