Many of my clients and those reading this post speak a second language. Some of you may even speak multiple languages in which case you’re a polyglot. We know first hand that learning a new language can feel daunting, to say the least. The more I thought about this, the more similarities I found between … Read More
Working independently has its advantages but not nearly as many advantages as collaborating. In fact, some have written that collaboration fuels a business and I’m inclined to concur. What needs to happen next is asking the right questions to ensure that collaboration is right for you and your company. Here are ten items you may … Read More
Sometimes we have the good fortune of being asked to repeat a presentation or workshop. In my opinion, that’s an honor. What we don’t know is if someone in our audience will be hearing us for the first time or will be hearing us again. If it’s the latter, we must freshen up our delivery … Read More
Now that we’re rapidly approaching September and hear the all-too-common “back to school,” hopefully we welcome the idea of education. That includes improving our skills as a speaker. Unfortunately, too many speakers spend their valuable time on an incorrect focus. What I mean by that is they try to become more proficient in telling a … Read More
When I have the privilege of coaching a new client to sound his or her best, I often begin by requesting that they complete my corporate communication self-assessment. Of the brief list of questions, I include a statement about confidence addressing a small audience vs. a large audience. While there are always exceptions, the majority … Read More
Most of us are familiar with the common voting phrase “the ayes have it.” Since “ayes” and “eyes” are pronounced the same…let’s think about how that relates to our communication. In my experience with coaching clients, they tend to ask if they should speak the same way they write. My answer is no and here’s … Read More
About 5 years ago, I was asked to create and deliver a business communication workshop for a state association. What a great idea on the association’s part! The title I used was: Exceptional Exhibitor: From Small Talk to Big Business. This past weekend I attended a home show as a consumer. As you can probably … Read More
From time to time each of knows what it’s like to put our own needs first–that’s pretty normal, right? Of course it is. The real question to ask ourselves is do we make the time to focus on others when they need us, even if they don’t ask. Recently I was privileged to earn the … Read More
Henry Ford said “A business absolutely devoted to service will have only one worry about profits. They will be embarrassingly large.” Given that today is Veteran’s Day, it’s also an important reminder about how we serve others. Too often in our busy day-to-day lives we overlook this key aspect of business. I encourage you to … Read More
Business is all about choices. That means that anyone you serve has the freedom to choose between you and one of your competitors for your product or service. The important question is: Do you know why a client or customer opts to leave and what do you do about it? As a quick example, I’ve … Read More