Every presentation is an opportunity to demonstrate your confidence, competence and character. You have the chance to prove that you understand your audience’s concerns, and show how you can meet their needs. And, when you do it well, you also get to boost your personal and professional credibility. Until you say, “I’m sorry.” Saying, “I’m sorry” […]
Tag: communication keynote speaker
3 Mistakes Managers Make During One-on-One Meetings
The late, great fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld once remarked, “I don’t do meetings.” And if you were Karl Lagerfeld, you didn’t have to. For the rest of us, however, meetings are a part of getting work done, even if they often feel like an interruption of our real work. No matter what you think of meetings in general, having regular, focused, and productive one-on-one conversations […]
Before You Say That You’re Too Busy, Ask Yourself These 3 Questions
Despite the ubiquity of technological advances, for many of us, time management is more of a problem than ever. Whether you keep postponing finishing your client presentation because your boss keeps throwing new projects at you, or you can’t schedule your family vacation because you have too many high-priority tasks, getting a handle on getting things done can […]
How to Respond to Someone Who Just Got Bad News at Work (Don’t Say ‘Look on the Bright Side’)
When you see your friend or colleague at work, you hopefully get a warm smile, a friendly hello, and maybe a little chat about your favorite TV show that was on last night. But at times, as soon as you see him, you know something’s wrong. His shoulders are slumped, his gaze is distracted, and that smile […]
Difficult Person Driving You Nuts? Here Are 3 Strategies to Try If You’ve Tried Everything Else
Working with a difficult person (and, often, more than one) is as expected in the workplace as attending pointless meetings. We’ve all desperately tried to get a colleague tobehave better, like the one who complains every time a change is announced, or who nitpicks at every detail in your presentation, or who completely withdraws when given […]
3 Words That Really Work to Motivate Your Employees
When you think about your annual physical exam, you may be worried that your doctor is going to criticize your choices (like eating too much steak and not enough salad), deliver disappointing news, or find something frightening. Those are the kinds of concerns that prevent people from reaching out to their physician for help. But feeling judged, […]
3 Ways to Get More Positive Feedback From Your Boss
Most of us think about feedback as negative: being told by our manager that we’ve fallen short of a goal, or that our work processes need work, or that a behavior needs to change. And yes, negative feedback delivered thoughtfully and constructively, is critical to helping us make progress. Let’s not overlook the importance of receiving […]
3 Things That Women Say Yes to that Undermine their Impact at Work
Most of us hope that our colleagues and bosses see us as helpful. Helping in the workplace has been recognized as an important and desirable organizational behavior for decades, from both an interpersonal relationship perspective as well as a business productivity perspective. When we’re helpful, we contribute positively to the social and emotional fabric of the company, as well as to […]
3 Questions to Ask Yourself Before Pitching an Idea to Your Boss
From ride-sharing to co-working spaces, and from Netflix to 3D printers, all of these were, at some point, brand new ideas. And each of them had a person (or people) behind the idea who saw the business potential in turning their idea into reality. But generating cutting-edge concepts isn’t just good for the business — it’s […]
3 Things to Do Immediately After an Argument at Work
Author and business leader Margaret Heffernan once remarked, “For good ideas and true innovation, you need human interaction, conflict, argument, debate.” Nevertheless, many of us would rather not engage in conflict, argument or debate (and maybe even avoid human interaction altogether). We work hard to minimize interpersonal tension, avoid disagreements, and even stay quiet in the face of differences of opinion […]
Why the Most Successful Leaders Don’t Care About Being Liked
There’s nothing wrong with wanting to be liked at work. According to Tim Sanders, author of The Likeability Factor: How to Boost Your L-Factor and Achieve Your Life’s Dreams when your colleagues, direct reports and bosses like you, you have a better chance of getting promoted, being assigned special projects that interest you, having people go above and beyond for […]
Staying Calm All the Time Can Actually Hurt Your Career. Here’s Why
When we think about effective leaders, many of us picture someone who is calm, cool, and collected under stressful conditions. We envision someone who is reliably even-keeled in the best of times and the worst of times, who can assuage anxiety with a placid demeanor during change and transition and is unruffled when others are in a frenzy. But […]