Speaking Tips

 

Absolutely

We’re always entertained by excuses for backing out of a commitment. From the lowly “The dog ate my homework” to the lofty “Corporate policy is restricting travel,” we’ve heard them all. But like comedy, timing is everything. When you absolutely promise to show up, and...

No There There

Anyone who has ever been in an Eloqui training knows the word “help” drives Deborah nuts. We encounter this ubiquitous Band-Aid when people relate what they do in business or their non-profit. Unfortunately, when you use “help” it makes the rest of what you say...

Weeeeee

Last season, downhill racer Mikaela Shiffrin accumulated the most wins for any competitive skier, man or woman. Now Shiffrin is training in Portillo, Chile for the upcoming Olympics. But Shiffrin departed from her usual events to do speed training. She even posted a video of...

Time Travelers

Re-reading worthy books is a pleasure, and Wayfinding by M.R. O’Connor proves it. O’Connor focuses on episodic memory, or conscious recollection of previous experiences in time, place, and associated emotions. Episodic memory enables us to place ourselves in time, travel back to the past and...

The Source

People are willing to give their opinion on just about everything today, especially via social media. But if they have no credentials or insights, and you’re swayed by opinion, any negative comment can affect you. After two days of training in Los Angeles, we heard...

Aloud

Jennifer Egan (author of A Visit from the Goon Squad) won a Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Critics Circle Award. Because writing and speaking are intertwined, we made a point of seeing her at the Santa Fe Literary Festival. We’re always curious about the...

Mastery

TIP OF THE WEEK: MASTERYIn Yvon Chouinard’s book Some Stories, he writes about the outdoor pursuits and crafts he has enjoyed over a long life. These activities include surfing, mountaineering, whitewater kayaking, spearfishing and toolmaking. Chouinard notes that the progression from novice to master has...

Viva la difference

This week, students are returning to school to learn and socialize with their peers. Mirror neurons in the brain fire when we see others behave, making it easier to mimic their actions. (This is what mammals do.)   The challenges of class size and meeting achievement...

What’re You Lookin’ at?

Leonard gave it his all, attempting to break his own world record of eighteen basketball dunks in one minute. He was pumped, and so was the audience on America’s Got Talent. Two dunks were successful, but on the third, the audience whooped and applauded, stopping Leonard in his tracks....

The Descent

Kristin Harila, a 37-year-old Norwegian Saami, was on top of the world fourteen times. Harila just broke the record for climbing the world’s fourteen tallest peaks—all higher than 26,246 ft. It took her ninety-two days, while the previous record was 189 days. Harila did it...