3 Mar Getting your Message Across: Strategies for Conveying Technical and Complex Information 

Communication excellence, speaking clearly and conveying ideas with impact, is highly associated with career and organizational success.

Yet, healthcare and technology leaders face a major challenge: simplifying complex and technical information so that others “get it,” buy-in, and take action for best results.

Here are some truths about transmitting knowledge  and influencing others outside your field:

• Knowing your topic does not equal speaking clearly about your topic.
• Your listeners likely don’t care about your topic as much as you do-sorry!
• Anytime you speak, whether one on one or to a crowd,  in person or virtual, in a formal or informal setting, you are a “presenter.”
• Preparation, not Desperation: Strategize and plan, no matter how knowledgeable you are. 

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23 Feb Vocal Variety and Its Role in Virtual Presenting  

Now that virtual presenting is here is stay, keep in mind that your oral delivery is more important than ever. Our colleagues, clients, and anyone else who is listening at home or in their office are most likely multitasking. Some of us have two monitors that allow us to be watching/listening and doing multiple tasks simultaneously. Since a few of your listeners may not be directly looking at the screen, your voice is what captures their attention. Therefore, I am coaching clients to incorporate “vocal variety.” Vocal variety is when you choose a specific word or phrase to add vocal emphasis to convey a meaning. A very easy way to add vocal variety is to increase your volume. (more…)

10 Feb Answering Off the Cuff

#1 Thinking on your feet 

When I meet potential clients, their needs span many areas, but I want to talk about one I find almost everywhere I go.  “How can I be better at speaking off the cuff?”  Easy!  Well, honestly, it is easy, but to explain how it’s easy, let’s talk about what you are asking for.

Speaking off the cuff, thinking on your feet, or any other way you describe it, comes from the idea of speaking with limited notes in a time crunch.  You don’t get to take a lot of time to fully plan a response. You must deliver at that moment!  So, the way you can be ready for anything is to prepare ahead of time.  (more…)

26 Jan Random Reasons Clients Like Virtual Meetings 

As a communication coach working with  hundreds of clients virtually, I’ve asked, “Why do you  prefer Zoom to a real room?”

Here are my fave fun replies.  Add your virtual virtue in the comments below. 

1. I can eat garlic bread and smelly cheese on a break 
2. I only have to wash the front part of my hair 
3. I can wear my  shirt with a hole on the back collar 
4. I am all alone in the bathroom. 
5. I pound out three emails in thirty- minutes, and no one knows 
6. I look ten years younger with my ring light-yes! 
7. I can emit natural body noises without shame. 
8. I get to wear my cuddly red polka dot pajama bottoms 
9. I learned to speak without moving my lips to people in my house 
10. Your contribution? 

17 Jan How to Be A Listener-Centric Communicator

11 Jan Choosing a High Quality Speech Coach

If you are looking for a communication coach to help you with your effectiveness as a communicator, I urge you to check out the new book published by Rutledge. It’s called The Handbook of Communication Training. It features 50 different communication professionals, experts, professors, and practitioners from around the United States who have come together to agree that the best communication coaching and learning happens when your coach has been trained and shows prowess in these seven best practices. They are: (more…)

15 Dec Can You Learn Presentation and Public Speaking Skills in an Online Course?

Clients often tell us about an online course they found, or their company has provided, on Public Speaking and Presentation Skills. Then, they ask us what we think of it.

There are two primary considerations:

1. Yes, you can learn some communication skills alone and online.

2. The skills you need must be compatible with online learning.

Number two explains the potential challenges with learning communication skills online. (more…)

26 Nov Why Doesn’t a Power Pose Work for Me? 

Dating back as far as the 1950s, psychologists have connected the idea of your physical position with confidence. For example, people associated the psychology of “walking tall”  with confidence.  Over the decades, the concept evolved. In addition, movies, television, and social media have projected what confidence looks like.  So it’s not much of a surprise when language like “power pose” and “Wonderwoman pose “ have gained new attention to the idea that your physical stance can impact confidence.  (more…)

22 Nov Don’t Talk Too Much! 

If you are a person who tends to give others too much information or go down rabbit holes of multiple topics, you will benefit by mastering an awareness of how much content you can deliver in 60 seconds. In addition, organizing your thoughts and practicing the delivery as a Subject Matter Expert will help you engage your listeners and make a memorable impact.  (more…)

8 Nov Managing Body Language in Difficult Communication Settings

It is important to observe your listeners’ body language as a first step. Whether in the room with you or on video conference, your listeners may exhibit signs of stress because of a lack of clarity or contentious information. What does this look like? The listeners may engage in side conversations. There may be a rumbling in the audience.  This tells you, the speaker, that you’ve done something to trigger this reaction and produce negative reactions. (more…)

19 Oct Are you having conflict and disagreement at work?

Are you having conflict and disagreement at work?
Then, follow the advice of the thought leader….and get off the keyboard!

A Japanese client from a well-known American-owned private equity firm in Tokyo recently worked on persuasion for my coaching efforts. We ended up analyzing a Ted Talk from Julia Dhar, a noted Australian speaker on debate, conflict, and persuasion. (more…)

7 Oct Calling all Wonder Women! 

As female leaders, we must stay current with strategies for communicating our confidence. So, here’s an exciting piece of research. As a Coach, I work with my clients to focus on the goal of speaking with confidence.

The way we talk about our accomplishments can make or break us. So, here’s an interesting article to help keep perspective. The research focuses on identifying key female areas communicators can use to strengthen their effectiveness.

Be a business superhero in your skin and harness your tools speak with confidence.

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30 Sep Communication Style

What impression do other people have of you?  Have you ever focused on what and how you communicate with others? If asked to use two words to describe you, what would they say?  For that matter, what would you say? Centuries ago, Sir Walter Raleigh wrote that communication needs to be “chameleon-like.” He was not talking about being something different with each person you meet.  He was urging leaders of the time to be aware of their communication style. (more…)

15 Sep Is It Possible to Over Prepare for a Presentation?

When preparing a presentation, TED talk, webinar, investor pitch, wedding toast, or anything in between, there can be a struggle with how much to prepare in advance. (more…)

20 Jul What Continued Zoom Fatigue and the COVID Delta Variant Means for You and Your Team 

If you’re like me, you’ve experienced heavy Zoom fatigue in the last 16 months. During this ongoing pandemic, it’s earned its slang term, right alongside “Quarantine” (the drink you make with whatever you can find in your fridge or freezer), “Blursday” (an unspecified day because of lockdown’s disorientating effect on time), “zoom bombing” (hijacking a Zoom video call). “WFH” (working from home) and “quaranteams” (online teams created during lockdown).   (more…)

13 Jul Does virtual presenting level the speaking field?

Last week, I worked with a client who shared with me that her nervousness associated with public speaking was not as much of a problem since the world went virtual.  I was curious about what changed for her or what had helped her.  When working with clients on controlling their nervousness, there are many things to be considered.  A major focus of the help we bring is with thoughts.  The thoughts are what people say to themselves before, during, and after the presentation. We all talk to ourselves.  It’s what we say that has a tremendous impact on how well we can control nervousness.   She said, “Kristen, we are all equal now. Everyone is in the same size box.  No one takes up more space than anyone else on the screen.”  Hearing this brought a smile to my face.  This client has successfully changed her thoughts to be more positive and productive. So whether or not you believe that virtual presenting levels the speaking field, the more important takeaway is that changing the way you think about something and internalize it helps create a more positive outcome.