Blog

Having coached thousands of people over the course of my career, there are some common questions that always come up. Perhaps the most asked is what do I do before giving a presentation. Even for me a presentation can still be anxiety provoking. Maybe it’s a large...

There are a variety of ways to establish your organizational and personal credibility.  One of the most visible and effective ways to demonstrate your credibility is with a presentation. Unfortunately, out of the gate this year I have seen too may people present...

Living in Philadelphia, I hear a lot of, “Ugh, I am so bored of Tom Brady and the Patriots.”  Really?  You don’t enjoy watching an athlete who has devoted his whole life to being one of the best athletes there is?  An athlete who consistently performs and excels?  I...

In 2018, I saw a larger trend than usual in the area of controlling nerves when presenting. If this speaks to you, then resolve in 2019 to do something about it! Be okay with being nervous.  Decide to present. Don’t let your fear hold you back. If you get nervous...

Noun: FlyBy The thoughtful, brief exchange of ideas by spoken words. Synonyms: Chat, short presentation, purposeful small talk, brief conversation. Examples: I was walking downtown and had a FlyBy with an old friend to update her on my latest job. At the party I had a...

On Tuesday, October 23rd, The Wall Street Journal published an entire section on Women in the Workplace. One particular article caught my eye: Women are Leaning In, Now Companies Need to Lean in Too, by Sheryl Sandburg (COO of Facebook and Author of Lean In) and...

You know the scenarios: you’ve been working with complicated numbers for months and it’s finally time to present your findings to your colleagues.  Or maybe your company has a new system that can give you 25 pages of extremely useful data to help you wow your client...

“It’s not a big deal,” a speaker said to me right before a presentation in front of his peers at a monthly department meeting.  Actually, it is a very big deal.  Here’s why.   Teamwork. Your peers are your teammates. They can be there for you when you need them...

I usually never start with the negative, but if you avoid these four mistakes…watch your audience tune in. 1.Speakers Think It’s All About Them. A speaker should invest first in who their audience is and what their audience is focused on.  Ask: What do they care...

Your typical presentation tactics aren’t connecting with everyone in your audience. Need a quick fix to sway the skeptics?  Tell a story. Stories aren’t just about entertainment. In a business setting, stories can make your message more memorable, more relatable, and...

You step in the elevator and find your manager waiting. Maybe she asks what’s new, or how your current project is going, or how your kids are doing at baseball. All of these seem like fodder for small talk. But all of them can be so much more. Opportunities to present...