Speaking Tips

 

Your fan club

Prince William recently spoke about stage fright and his special remedy. William removes his contact lenses, making the audience a blur, which lowers his anxiety because he can’t read facial expressions. But reading your audience is precisely what a speaker wants to do.We feel the...

As Easy As

Recently, we watched the Ron Howard documentary on Luciano Pavarotti. When asked what he learned from opera co-star Joan Sutherland, Pavarotti noted her rock-hard diaphragmatic muscles. (The diaphragm holds a volume of air in the lungs and is used to support notes and give a...

Tonal Moods

In writing, tone is the way an author approaches their subject. Like music, words are characters on a page. In Bill Bryson’s new book: The Body, his tone is one of wonder and curiosity, perfect to fire the imagination. On the other end of the...

Telltale Signs

Telltales are made up of two strands of yarn, the least expensive gear on a sailboat. This yarn is critical to a sailor’s health and well-being. Look up at your jib sail and the telltales indicate whether you are managing conditions and course efficiently, or...

Leading with Heart

Displaying empathy is one of the most critical skills that professional service providers can exhibit, yet it is sorely lacking in the world. Empathy is often confused with sympathy. But empathy is the ability to understand and share the feelings of another. Sympathy is feeling...

Zoom Fatigue

Over the last few months, we’ve all done more Zoom, Skype, BlueJeans or WebEx meetings than we care to remember. Initially, video conferencing was a great remedy when sequestered, and a panacea for ugly commutes. But why are they so exhausting?Video calls require more focus...

Forest Bathing

Homo Sapiens existed for over two hundred thousand years in mostly wild environments. Over the millennia, we have insulated ourselves from the wilderness that created us. But we will never outgrow our need for the healing power of nature. Even small gestures, like putting a...

World without Handshakes

The handshake is over sixty million years old and has been practiced by gorillas and chimps, as well as Homo Sapiens. This ritual signifies hello, goodbye, goodwill and respect. Since the handshake establishes a primal, emotional connection-- how would we all feel if it went...

Like, A Tip

TIP OF THE WEEK: LIKE, A TIPWe assume you’ve all been glued to your television, watching the Season 24 finale of The Bachelor. Seriously, in the midst of this awful COVID-19 pandemic, we thought a bit of humor would be good medicine.On his evening talk...

Teleworking Wrap

We hope you've been successful implementing our recent tips on remote sessions. But even after learning technical skills and communicating well, there is more you can do to master this medium. Like everything else in business, follow-up is vital. IF you choose to utilize live...