As a coach and international business school instructor, I have worked with hundreds of current and future leaders who are accomplished, bright, and capable — and who quickly lose their confidence and competence when making business presentations. For a subset of these leaders — those who need to present in English when it isn’t their […]
Stop Ending Your Speeches With ‘Any Questions’ and End With This Instead
You have a big presentation to make to your client, your funders, or your boss. You’ve spent hours developing a deck that’s concise, crisp, and visually stunning. You’ve practiced the delivery so that you speak with clarity, calm, and confidence. You’ve tested to make sure your tech is glitch-free, proofread the printed materials, and developed an […]
How to Solicit Negative Feedback When Your Manager Doesn’t Want to Give It
In my role as a leadership coach, I consistently hear my clients say that they crave negative feedback from their managers in order to improve in their jobs, grow their careers, and achieve better business results. However, when it comes to soliciting negative feedback, they find that their managers would rather dismiss, deny, or delay […]
Are You Working With a Bully? Here’s How to Keep Your Cool Without Losing Your Dignity
We all have to work with difficult people. That’s a fact of life — and work. And one person’s difficult person isn’t necessarily another’s. You might experience Analytical Amy as challenging to work with because she slows every single process down in order to make sure every detail is correct, but your boss is eternally […]
How to Turn a Conflict With Your Co-Worker Into a Calm Conversation
Have you ever had a conflict with a co-worker? Of course you have. If your company employs more than one person, workplace conflict is inevitable. And even if you’re a sole proprietor, you’re going to have challenges with clients, vendors, industry colleagues and others. Unless you only surround yourself with people who think, speak and work […]
Want to Be a Master Networker? Stop Making Boring Introductions and Do This Instead
Whether you’re hosting a conference, mingling at a networking event, or leading your team through a presentation to a new client, there’s one step that’s inevitable: introducing people to one another. If you’re like most busy professionals, your introductions of your colleagues and clients feel perfunctory, are unplanned, and come across as either terse or […]
Mario: Before and After
Several years ago, when I was still teaching my yearly “Report Writing and Presentation Skills” class to graduate students in the Beijing International MBA Program at Peking University, I had a young Chinese man in my class named Mario. (Quick aside: My colleague at PKU, Deborah Riegel, and I often had Chinese students who had […]
To See Yourself as Others See You: The Value of Being Videotaped While Making a Presentation
Many years ago, when I was participating in a video production class at my local college, I took my camera and crew to a nearby grocery store to tape some random scenes of shoppers. To my consternation (but also amusement), the minute I held up the video camera to record someone deciding which head of […]
Want to Increase Your Presence? Start by Telling One of These Stories
Leading business schools, from Stanford to Wharton, teach storytelling as a business communication strategy. The ability to tell an engaging, compelling, and persuasive story is a hallmark of effective leadership and executive presence. Stories are a powerful way for leaders to engage customers, increase sales, rally the troops, sell ideas internally and externally, recruit talented […]
3 Presentation Mistakes You’re Making (and How to Fix Them)
When people think of public speaking mistakes, they usually imagine disaster scenarios – their minds go blank in front of the boss, or the A/V equipment stops working, or the client asks a question that stumps them. And of course, these things CAN happen. I have presented during two blackouts, where not only did the […]
Stop Beginning Your Speeches with ‘Good Morning and Thank You’ and Start With This Instead
Every presentation is an opportunity to make an impression. You can either use your pitch to build credibility, engagement and buy-in, or blow the chance to share your story in a way that sells. No matter how compelling your message is, if you don’t capture your audience’s attention in the first minute, you’ll miss the […]
Wow. Ouch. Thanks: How to Hear Feedback Without Fighting It
Last week, my 12-year-old daughter Sophie was talking to me excitedly about her upcoming cross-country running meet at school. As I was listening (ok, half-listening), I suddenly remembered that I hadn’t told her what time I would be meeting her at the race. “Oh, by the way, Sophie,” I began. But that’s as far as […]
How to Tell Your Boss He’s Wrong
In the heartbreaking and heartwarming 1987 romantic comedy Broadcast News, Holly Hunter plays Jane Craig, a television producer with an unshakeable commitment to being right. In a heated exchange during layoffs, network executive Paul Moore remarks to her: “It must be nice to always believe you know better, to always think you’re the smartest person […]
5 Ways to Make Your Life Simpler in the New Year
I spend a significant amount of time in my work life facilitating things. I facilitate workshops, I facilitate difficult conversations between colleagues, and I facilitate “learning about self” for my coaching clients. I also spend a lot of time in my family life facilitating, too: facilitating the morning rush to work and school; facilitating “who […]