May 2103

Now is the month of Maying...

You can read my latest blog entry, It's an honor, and all this month's musings here. I hope you find these posts useful, thought-provoking, or entertaining.  And if you have any questions for me to address in upcoming posts, just send an e-mail!

Other "news" includes notices of upcoming workshops, which you can find here.

Tips you can use!

Make seasonal adjustments
Speaking while suffering from allergies presents a challenge, but you can mitigate their effect by doing a thorough vocal warm-up. See last March's newsletter for more details.
 
Don't apologize
If something goes wrong with your speech or Q & A, never say "I'm sorry." By all means, admit to mis-speaking, rephrase, or say, "what I meant to say...." But saying those two little words can lead your listeners down a path you do not want them to go!
 
Comfy vs. sloppy
Of course you don't want to be uncomfortable in your work clothes, but beware of going too far in the other direction. Avoid wearing "Casual Friday" attire that you wouldn't wear to lunch with your mother.

 

April 2013

April needn't be the cruelest month

You can read my latest blog entry, Safety training required, and all this month's musings here. I hope you find these posts useful, thought-provoking, or entertaining.  And if you have any questions for me to address in upcoming posts, just send an e-mail!

Other "news" includes notices of upcoming workshops, which you can find here.

Tips you can use!

Start training today
You may still be gathering data for that big presentation or just now outlining your speech, but if it's less than two weeks away you need to get back to your breathing/vocal warm-up routine. This is one thing that can't wait till the last minute.

Simplify, simplify, simplify
Your clarity of expression mirrors your clarity of thought. If the listener gets lost in your dependent clauses or confusing vocabulary he/she will just check out. Use simple sentences and active verbs.

"Audition" your outfit
Make sure the clothing you will wear to your big presentation or high-stakes meeting is something you can move in. Think about how/where you will be sitting or standing and make sure there are no gaps or gapes, no accidental ride-ups or low-riders.

March 2013

A change of pace

I have been blogging on a weekly basis for 16 months now, and my metrics tell me that not all of my newsletter readers have seen my blogs. So starting with this issue, I will be posting my monthly comment as my latest blog entry. This month's is titled Extro-intro-ambi, and deals with the three types of "-verts." I hope you find these posts useful, thought-provoking, or entertaining.  And if you have any questions for me to address in upcoming posts, just send an e-mail!

Other "news" includes notices of upcoming workshops, which you can find here.

Tips you can use!

Break in your leadership shoes
You may be saving your "powerful' new shoes for a special presentation or high-stakes meeting, but wear them around the house to break them in a bit. Because it's hard to be a leader when your feet are killing you.

Breathe deeply every day
Aside from myriad health benefits of deep breathing, your body needs to get used to what "filling up the tank" feels like. If you practice daily, you'll be ready to call up a deep breath instantly when you need it.

Use the computer's tricks
As you format your notes, you can try various colors for fonts, differentiate with spacing, even insert wingdings or other symbols to help you. They're your private roadmap, so annotate away.