One of history’s finest artists, Leonardo da Vinci, was demeaned by his biographer. Giorgio Vasari described da Vinci as touched by God. In fact, da Vinci was mortal, but endowed with two critical traits-- unbridled imagination and intellectual curiosity. Surprisingly, Da Vinci had almost no schooling. But...
Opening any presentation is nerve-wracking. Not only is stage fright at its peak, but the audience expects you to say something compelling. Plus, not everyone listening to you processes information the same way. The most difficult to satisfy are those with short attention spans. The...
Paul Cox believes the combination of an ethnobotanist, bats, and Jackson Hole, Wyoming holds the key to defeating neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's and ALS. He's assembled a consortium of scientists for this very purpose. Because Cox isn't working for big Pharma, he's not constrained by...
Glenn Close won Best Actress at the 2019 Golden Globes. Other winners can take note for how to deliver a memorable acceptance speech. Close didn't waste time thanking her dry cleaner, dog walker or astrologer. Instead, she gave a respectful nod to the other actresses in...
In a recent Eloqui workshop, an attendee, we’ll call him Patrick, became overly excited each time he got up to speak. Nerves and stage fright drove him. As a result, he increased his speed and volume. This made Patrick difficult to understand and affected his ability to...
The more you attract new and fresh, the better you’ll feel, and ultimately sound. Stage actors in long-running shows know their most critical challenge is making the script sound spontaneous each night. Take on this challenge and have the best speaking year of your career....
Sarah Gardner went to England and brought home the gold. But Sarah isn’t an Olympic athlete-- she’s the Development Director for the non-profit THORN. Their mission is to prevent child sex abuse and trafficking through technology. Sarah is outgoing and professional. But when she was asked...
We wrap up each year with an exercise that puts our life and business in perspective. After almost twenty years, it's become a cherished tradition. Here's how it works. Purchase a spiral-bound, lined journal with enough paper to last for years. Set up the following...
David Sax's NY Times article: End the Innovation Obsession explored how society values innovation. But innovation cuts both ways. To please investors, customers and the media, firms put a priority on inventing new technology. Unfortunately, many of those innovations wind up in landfills or the dustbin of...
Yorgos Lanthimos' film The Favourite is getting great buzz. Lanthimos wanted immediacy and authentic vulnerability from actors Rachel Weisz, Emma Stone and Olivia Colman. He achieved this outcome with three weeks of rehearsal, having the actors do seemingly goofy exercises like jumping from floor tile...