03 Nov Truly Scary
When speaking, your genuine self is your most persuasive element. Incorporate anecdotes or case studies with specific details. By recalling the actual event, all your senses fire with an inexhaustible source of material....
01 Nov Art and Science
Your content may not be new, but the way you express it can and should be...
20 Oct Owning TED
Julie Cordua is the CEO of THORN, an organization devoted to eliminating child sexual abuse from the internet. Her TED talk is riveting. (Disclaimer: We have trained many of the THORN staff, including Julie, but we did not coach her for this talk.) Julie's delivery was raw and...
15 Sep Sing Out Sara
Sara Nelson breaks into song and dances around picket lines to rally the troops. Being blonde, attractive and a flight attendant, is she concerned about her image? Not in the slightest. Nelson happens to be the unconventional President of the Association of Flight Attendants. Nelson is...
12 Sep You Don’t Say
Meaningless phrases abound in business presentations. These phrases are filler, or serve as an announcement. They do not reflect well on the speaker and are unnecessary, but old habits are hard to break. Unfortunately, they also waste the listeners' time and test their patience. To illustrate...
31 Aug Indian Market
The 98th annual Indian Market was held last weekend in Santa Fe, New Mexico. This juried show draws over 150,000 visitors worldwide, with 100+ Native American artists from 200 tribes displaying their art. We go early to get to know the artists and discover the stories...
04 Aug Psychological Gesture
As a path into the consciousness of their character, actors leave breadcrumbs for audiences. One method is to develop a psychological gesture, or a repeatable, physical tell. It could be pulling at a strand of hair, twisting a wedding ring, or facial tic. However, we often...
07 Jul Reality Bites
Why are audiences attracted to manufactured reality? TV shows like Survivor, Shark Tank, The Real Housewives of...
30 Jun What Happens Next?
In Oklahoma City last week, we trained a group of interns attached to the Oil and Gas Industry. Like many of our clients, these young engineers, attorneys, CPA’s and scientists were challenged to construct client anecdotes or case studies. The truth is, no one was born...
29 Jun Haste Makes Waste
Would that we all had the recall abilities of Sherlock Holmes or Jeopardy champ James Holzhauer. But we humans can employ some of history's best memory tools. Your kids undoubtedly sang "The Alphabet Song" to learn letters. And, as we referenced in a recent tip, the ancient...