Speaking Tips

 

Waves of Gratitude

The planet we inhabit has never been under more stress. Mordor has arisen and thrown legions of Orcs into the fray, intent on wiping out goodness. Dictators and their minions shovel disinformation to gain control, wiping out the weak and unprotected.But even babies know right...

Mou-Mou

An episode of The Crown-- which features the British royal family, focused on Mohamed Al-Fayed (father of Dodi Fayed who dated Princess Diana). Al-Fayed pitched owners of the Ritz to buy the Parisian hotel. Although he offered more than any other bidder, his offer was rejected. Al-Fayed...

Dream Away

TIP OF THE WEEK: DREAM AWAYM.R. O’Connor’s remarkable book Wayfinding; The Science and Mystery of How Humans Navigate the World is about our capacity for exploration, memory and storytelling. O’Connor references the most ancient storytellers-- Australian Aborigines. She states that for over 65,000 years, Aboriginal...

Play the Movie

TIP OF THE WEEK: PLAY THE MOVIETelevision Writer/Director/Producer Ryan Murphy’s shows include Glee, The Watcher and Dahmer. In a recent NY Times interview he stated that “The rule of my career has been, the more specific you are, the more universal you can become.”We train...

Happiness Advantage

Our cousin Dr. Jeffrey Horwitz sent us a TEDx talk titled The Happy Secret to Better Work. In it, Shawn Achor, a Harvard educated author and speaker presents his research into positivity and productivity. Achor states that if you raise the level of positivity in...

La Cucaracha

TIP OF THE WEEK: LA CUCARACHAOf the 4,200 species of cockroaches, only thirty are attracted to and reside with humans. These insects, who are 320 million years old breed rapidly and adapt to chemicals. Knowing these pesky critters are nearby creates fear, revulsion and is...

Look Here

We recently met with a client virtually. His background was a white field with product logos that his company manufactures. The depth of products was impressive, yet each time our client moved his head, his outline blurred and odd images behind him popped in and...

Nature’s Balm

TIP OF THE WEEK: NATURE’S BALMAutumn in the Canadian Rockies is exquisite. The mountains are decorated with layers of deciduous trees in breathtaking shades of rust, gold and bronze. The chill and dawn light makes you feel more alive, refreshed and grateful.In harvest season, agrarian...

Freefall

Tragic stories pop up regularly about people dying from taking selfies. They were usually too close to a cliff or waterfall without a safety net. Speaking can also feel like standing on the edge of a cliff. Rather than memorize or read a presentation, we encourage...

Which Word

C.S. Lewis is best known for “The Chronicles of Narnia,” but he also wrote extensively on the subject of writing. C.S. Lewis and the Art of Writing by Corey Latta is a wonderful reference for aspiring writers. Because most speakers first write out their material, there are...