About Grout

01 Mar About Grout

An unexpected snowfall in Santa Fe squelched outdoor plans. The NFL season was over, so why not grout? In a house with all tile floors, that’s a lot of grout. We soon realized that if the work was to be good, it had to be invisible. So, we assembled our materials and had at it.

We had just coached three clients on their upcoming speeches, so the connections were unavoidable. Too much grout and you have a mess that gets difficult to clean up as it hardens. Our clients typically begin with too much material and too many PowerPoint slides. This ‘excess’ can be overwhelming to the presenter and their audience. To avoid the mess, begin by clarifying your intention and cleaning up whatever doesn’t support it.

The more we used our tools and grout, the more efficient we became. The analogy to speaking? Over time, openings, closings and themes become much easier to craft and rehearse.

And as our technique improved, the process and appearance of the floor became more pleasing. Similarly, when a talk falls into place and is under control, you feel confident. When we finished, did the cleanup and stood back, nothing seemed out of place. Your creativity, organization and control should be equally understated, making it more pleasing.