In the early 1950's, Grace Hopper was a computer science pioneer and the first U.S. Navy Head of Programming. She also invented the term “bug.” While teaching math, her students complained about being graded on their writing in a math class. Hopper’s position was clear--...
Humor is dicey in any presentation, but a wonderful addition if done well. A recent episode of the Emmy award-winning series Hacks features this challenge. Jean Smart* plays Deborah Vance, a once top Vegas comedienne on the way down. At her lowest point, Vance is delivering...
Making sense of numbers in a presentation is one of the most difficult things to do. Did you use too many or too few? Did you notice eyes glaze over after that PPT slide with graphs? Are you concerned that no one will remember your...
Amor Towles writes in his book The Lincoln Highway a charming piece about a boy experiencing stage fright. Young Woolly has inherited the task of reciting the Gettysburg Address in front of his entire family. He’s petrified, but sister Sarah teaches him the speech line...
When you sing along with Peggy Lee’s song “Fever” don’t you have to do the finger snaps? Lee wrote and sang two hundred and seventy songs and excelled in multiple styles, including Jazz, Blues and Pop-- a rarity for a female performer in the 1950’s....
Summertime affords us increased opportunities to improve public speaking skills. For more advanced presenters, there are conferences, conventions, and other large venues. But don’t overlook smaller, low-ante networking meetings, lunch-and-learns, or weddings and social functions for wetting your speaking whistle. Try out new ways to introduce...
Last week we trained at Church & Dwight in Red Bank, New Jersey. C&D is a major manufacturing firm of household products, and the attendees were IT Managers. They had fun with the training, engaged in the exercises, and supported one other with wit and...
In communication, your schema is a library made up of symbols, images, and experiences stored in your brain. We all have different schema, so when you hear an unfamiliar piece of information, the brain scans your hard drive. If it can’t find the specific definition,...
After cruising past our northernmost point above the Arctic Circle, we turned south to head down the coast of Norway. In addition to the beauty of the fjords and resilience of the Norwegian and Saami people, one thing stood out---salmon! At every meal, salmon was...
While on our Norwegian vacation, we wanted to see a female musician play the Hardanger fiddle, the country’s national instrument. We were told to “walk toward the Ferris Wheel on the wharf.” No fiddler. Undaunted, we felt a pull toward a stone banquet hall advertising a...