Archives

23 Aug How to Choose a Speech Coach

When you are charged with finding and selecting a vendor to help you or your employees strengthen their communication skills, you are taking on a crucial task. Whether it’s helping a colleague prepare for a major presentation, learning to navigate difficult conversations yourself, or developing an organization’s leadership team, you need to closely match the learning needs to the training skills. (more…)

4 Aug Avoiding The Great Resignation

One of the most perplexing questions our corporate clients ask is, “Will our talent actually stay?” The concern is that many talented people are leaving their positions for more desirable jobs. Some people refer to this as The Great Resignation.
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23 Jun In Customer Service, Words Matter: What Do Chick-fil-A and the Ritz-Carlton Have in Common? 

At Chick-fil-A, when a customer says “Thank you,” their employees don’t say “You’re welcome” or “No problem.” Instead, they say, “My pleasure,” and there’s a big difference. 

Find out why in this CNN article: 

https://www.cnn.com/2022/04/09/business/chick-fil-a-my-pleasure/index.html 

13 Jun Investing in POWER skills 

One of the most perplexing questions our corporate clients ask is, “will our talent actually stay?” The concern is that talented people are leaving their positions for more desirable jobs. Some people refer to this as The Great Resignation. 

For instance, a client of mine, with 20 years of experience in helping tech companies scale from 50 to 2000 employees, explained, “there is no great resignation, there is talent everywhere, but they get to decide where they are going. That’s the difference.”  (more…)

7 Jun Being Present for Your Listeners

To quote part of a song from the musical Hamilton, “I wanna be in the room where it happens….” Remember when we were in the same room with our listeners? We could get a sense of their energy, nonverbals, and actual interaction. This sort of feedback helped build our momentum in the moment.

Two years into this new form of daily communication, one that is separated by miles, time zones, and technology, connection and influence can feel out of reach. (more…)

17 May When English is not your first language, use P.A.R. to make sure you are understood and are speaking clearly. 

Around the world, at this very minute, tens of millions of people are taking classes at language schools; some are using YouTube to learn to speak and listen, and of course, many are learning in their grade schools, high schools, and universities. Many of these people will be required in their careers to use English, so they are often very serious in their approach to learning.  (more…)

4 May Rampant Redundancies 

The excesses of communication in our time are reflected in our language. When verbal overkill is in, eloquence is out. And when was the last time you heard an eloquent speech? So we plod along carrying a sack full of unnecessary words.

Here are some common examples of ripe redundancies ready for burial. (more…)

27 Apr Strengthening Relationships with Appreciation 

Everyone wants to be appreciated. People want to feel and know they matter. Unfortunately, our culture in the business world leans more towards critique than appreciation and competition more than support. Knowing how to share authentic appreciation is an invaluable skill for strengthening relationships.

Here are four tips that help: 

Be Prompt - It’s best to share appreciation immediately, if possible. If you wait too long, you are likely to overanalyze, script yourself, and lose authenticity. The more delay, the less authenticity. Another risk with delay is the person you are appreciating may not remember the action/event details, and therefore, your appreciation won’t have its intended impact.  (more…)

21 Apr Three Ways to Keep Yourself From Rambling 

If you find yourself “getting into the weeds” by using long sentences when sharing information or opinions….You might be a rambler!

If your friends and colleagues dread hearing you speak…. You might be a rambler!

If your clients, customers, or direct reports seem uncomfortable when you talk.…You might be a rambler!

If you find your neighbors or even family members keep avoiding your talks…. You might be a rambler!

Many of our clients are brilliant and interesting people. Even if you are all these things…You might be a rambler! (more…)