I had a question from a reader recently about what to do when all my usual prescriptions (see here, here, and here) for dealing with stage fright – physical work on breathing and muscle group relaxation, coupled with mental work on imaging and replacing the feared outcome with a positive one – don’t work. Perhaps the […]
One of the unfair realities of the professional speaking business is that celebrities get a pass when it comes time to rate the speaker after the speech. And ratings are incredibly important to speakers because they are so essential for good buzz, repeat business, and long-term success. I’ve seen my fair share of celebrities speak, […]
For most people, moving into the digital world to communicate means experiencing significant loss of clarity, ease, and depth. You struggle to convey the lightness of tone you want in an email, and risk offending your colleague because the smile doesn’t come through. You tune out during an audio conference because some connection is missing […]
When you’re talking anthropogeny, it can be hard to tease out cause and effect. Did we humans evolve a bigger brain as cause or effect of our development of language and other advanced functions, for example? Hard to know. Correlation, as careful scientists are fond of saying, doesn’t necessarily imply causation. With that in mind, […]
Virtual relationships are more fragile and easily disrupted because they all lack the unconscious connections our face-to-face interactions automatically convey. The lift of an eyebrow, a quick smile, a shake of the head – these are the ways we decode other people’s intents. They are largely absent from all forms of digital communication. In business, […]
We are all unwitting participants in a massive social experiment that began slowly after World War II and gathered speed in the last decade with the introduction of the smart phone. We have created virtual personas, online worlds, digital connections, social media lives, email relationships, audio-conference teams, video linkups – the whole panoply of ways […]
Public speaking is a privilege. Especially if you’re lucky enough to be able to pursue it as a full-time occupation, or a significant part of your business, and get paid for it. The audience offers you the gift of their time – sometimes tempered with a sneak peek at a mobile phone, sure, but still […]
I often get asked about how you can launch a career as a thought leader. Rather than keep the discussion general and vague, I’ve waited for an opportunity to talk through a particular example. Dr. Vince Molinaro, a long-time friend and client, recently agreed to become that example. Here’s our combined story of how one […]
Giving a speech is a high-adrenaline, people-oriented, immediate-gratification event. The ranks of professional speakers tend to be filled with extroverts, not surprisingly. Their reasons for opting for a life on the road vary from a need to be loved by large crowds to a passion for changing the world for the better – with all […]
You’re standing in the wings, getting ready to go on stage to give an important speech. If you’re like most people, you’re just a little nervous at this point. Well, OK, maybe more than a little nervous. Maybe you’re terrified. And maybe you’re asking yourself, how do I sound more intelligent, confident, dominant, and attractive […]
