Just Say No to Ghosting.
As far as I can tell, the term “ghosting” started as a way to describe the phenomenon of one person suddenly and without warning completely cutting off contact with another person, typically in a dating situation. Texts and calls go unanswered, and eventually the ghosted person gives up, unsure what happened. The same thing happens …
What Is Hamlet Up To, Anyway?
When I’m directing a play, one of the central questions to answer for each character is what their “super-objective,” or ultimate goal, is. Do they want to win another character’s love? Receive forgiveness for a long-ago wrong? Avenge their father’s murder? Triumph over their nemesis? Figuring that super-objective out is important because it charts the …
The Process Influences the Outcome
For ten years, Ignite CSP has been coaching top-level executives at a big company who are preparing for high-stakes interviews in the process of trying to get an important promotion. We are really familiar with the interview and promotion process at this company, and we’ve worked with dozens of candidates over the years. They are …
What I Learned from the Cashier at The Fresh Market
We all know that we shouldn’t assume. Still though, we get through our days one assumption at a time, despite knowing it may lead to misunderstanding. A couple of weeks ago, I was picking up some groceries at a Fresh Market grocery store before setting out on a road trip. There were a couple of …
Tell Me What Really Matters to You
Often we think that speeches and presentations need to be full of big words and lofty ideas. And there’s nothing wrong with either of those things, of course! But if you want to move your audience, if you want us to care about the things you care about, tell us what really matters. Tell us …
The Argument for Making Things Harder
Modern living is all about convenience. If we can have what we need, when we need it, at our fingertips, that’s a good thing. Right? The introduction of email (and its siblings, texting, IM, Slack, etc) was supposed to make our work lives more efficient—no more waiting for a call back before you could move …
“Intention” Doesn’t Mean “Agenda”
We’re inundated daily by tons of information and data, and it can feel like our most important job is to pass along our own content and information to others. I notice this frequently when I ask a client what their intention is for the meeting they are preparing to lead. I’ll say, “Think about the …
Best Case/Worst Case
When we’re anticipating something that’s going to happen, we tell ourselves a story about what we think may occur. I’m expecting it to be the most glorious day ever I’m sure I’m going to have a terrible time I’m afraid that when I give this presentation it will go horribly and I will be mortified …
Intention and Attention
I write a lot about intention in this space. I realized recently that another way to think about intention is attention. Where am I placing my attention? Is my attention on myself or on the audience? Am I concerned about my own experience or theirs? When my default intention is “to get this over with” or …
I Hate Being Blindsided in a Meeting!
It’s one thing to prepare for a speech or a presentation. The environment is controlled, and there are only so many variables we have to consider. But what about when we’re in a meeting or a discussion, and something unexpected happens? Our idea is shot down, our expertise is questioned, or our leadership is challenged? …
