Daniel Goleman’s brilliant 1995 book, Emotional Intelligence, gathered and synthesized some research about what it takes for people to get along in the world. The phrase “emotional intelligence” has become part of the lexicon and indeed seems to be enjoying a bit of a renaissance just now, two decades later. Perhaps because we are experiencing […]
I was coaching a client recently and realized that this able speaker had some serious misconceptions about how to relate to the people sitting in the chairs in front of him. It’s essential to keep the right attitude toward your audiences despite the stresses of travel, performance, and occasionally unpredictable audience responses. A speaker can […]
Every year about now, the conference season kicks into gear and I hear — and coach — speeches and speakers under conditions of high stress and adrenaline. Inevitably, I hear speech beginnings that don’t do either their speakers or their audiences any favors. Some are small mistakes and some are more fundamental, but they’re all […]
I’ve been chatting recently with speakers, clients, managers, speaker bureau people, meeting planners – the whole universe of people who are involved in public speaking and conferences. It seemed time to update the trends I’m seeing in the professional speaking world. Please note this is an unscientific survey, based on anecdotal evidence. But also some […]
I first encountered Alan Alda as the irreverent, anti-war doctor in M*A*S*H* the TV show. It was one of those shows that seemed important at the time because of its anti-war attitude and other acts of rebellion. It gave comfort to those of us for whom the war was a long way off, but the […]
There’s something about the approach of fall that always makes me think about renewal. Maybe it’s because I was tied to an academic calendar for a good deal of my work life. The fall, then, is time for going back to school and learning something new to improve yourself, and your career, just as much […]
I never thought I’d be posting about Adele again so soon. I’m not a music critic, just a big fan of hers, and in my previous post I talked about her amazing ability to envelop the entire concert hall in her big, beautiful voice and to make her between-song chatter bring us together in what […]
You’ve heard the old saying that you don’t get a second chance to make a first impression, so you know first impressions are important, and durable. You may have heard that people make up their minds about each other within thirty seconds of meeting, or on some other equally flimsy basis. So you know that […]
One of the great dangers of email, that staple of modern business life, is the misunderstanding that comes from your witty comment being taken seriously by the dope on the receiving end of your cleverness. I mean, how could someone fail to understand that I was just being funny? How dumb can he be? And […]
Recently, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand swore during a speech at the Personal Democracy Forum at New York University. She said, “If we’re not helping people, we should go the f**k home.” And later on, talking about President Trump, she added, “Has he kept his promises? F**k no.” There was a fair amount of scolding on line […]
