Ignite your power to communicate.
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There is a common misperception about public speaking. People think that if they feel comfortable, they’re good speakers. In fact, I’ve had people tell me, “That’s great that you coach people to be better speakers, but I always feel comfortable in front of an audience!” What I want to ask them is: “Okay, and how …
My daughter Nora recently shared a situation she experienced with a committee she serves on at her university. The leadership of this committee needed to make a decision that would substantially affect the whole organization, and a heated debate ensued. As she described it, there were two sides to the issue, and each side was …
A lot of conventional wisdom about public speaking advises the speaker to “know their audience.” That’s fine advice as far as it goes, but in practice, it’s hard to implement. Audiences are big, varied, and want different things. How can one speaker know them all? Instead of trying to know your audience, I suggest the …
One of the very best things I get to do in my job is watch my colleagues absolutely kill it. Last week, Ignite CSP had a big team of coaches at an engagement, and I got to see them do their thing at the highest level. Ignite CSP senior coach Neela Muñoz was delivering the …
Our coaching approach boils down to these three steps: intention, alignment, and practice. The answer to almost any question you ask me or another Ignite coach about communicating is going to fall into one of these three buckets. Intention. Alignment. Practice. This week’s blog posts are a review of these fundamental building blocks. Today, the …
100% of my clients come to me in order to become better talkers. The particular focus varies–keynote speech, clearer presentations, better storytelling—but what they all have in common is that they want to change something about the way they talk. The longer I do this work, the more I think that there needs to be …
The way we speak is at the heart of our identity. Our words and delivery style are unique to us, and at the same time they (literally) tell others who we are, where we come from, and what’s important to us. When you think about it that way, it’s no wonder that most of us …
I am a huge fan of Priya Parker and her book, “The Art of Gathering.” If the word “gathering” makes you think of something lofty and unusual, and maybe not applicable to you, I urge you to reconsider! Parker is using the word in its most expansive sense, both as a noun and as a …
It’s easy to remember to be grateful when it’s brought to our attention. Thanksgiving? I’m grateful! Close call with illness? Grateful! Unexpected gorgeous day? Oh, yes, grateful! What does it take to cultivate gratitude on the off-days? The times when we’re just chugging along, doing our thing? Or when it feels like nothing is going …
A director friend of mine told me a story once about a theatrical piece he worked on. The piece was primarily musical, but it included staged elements. He lobbied for a specific, very talented, top-of-the-line lighting designer to be part of the artistic team for the piece. As my friend tells it, the lighting designer …
