beckysue 
Listening is not a one-way process. It’s not just about hearing. Listening often requires you to dig so you really understand what’s being said. I was reminded of this in the webinar Friday. Which went great, though the Q&A portion was a little difficult to manage. Normally in a live situation, an audience member asks … Read more
Tomorrow I conduct my first webinar. I’ve attended them before but never starred in one. Yesterday was the final dress rehearsal, and while we’ve managed to master the technology (this particular platform is new to the hosts, too, so we’ve been learning together), it’s still an odd and disconcerting experience. I’m looking forward to advances … Read more
When you think about Hemingway’s writing style, certain things come to mind. Spartan prose, free of excess modifiers. Short, choppy sentences. A distinct masculine bent. For me, Hemingway is about honesty. One idea that has influenced my writing more than any other is this one from Papa himself: “All you have to do is write … Read more
This is one of my favorite stories about the power of stories. Every organization has a vast, untapped reserve of great stories with compelling characters at the center of them. As I say in the video, people don’t care about programs, they care about people. So finding someone relatable who embodies that program is essential … Read more
Tonight I deliver my first speech based on the book. Being acutely aware of the importance of practicing what I preach, here are 10 rules I’m adhering to in the development and presentation of the material: 1. Dump PowerPoint and templates I did this in KeyNote instead of PowerPoint, which pretty much enforces mediocrity. And … Read more
“Quick, I need a joke for this speech!” No you don’t. The last you thing you need is to shoehorn some tired, contrived quip into your presentation that has no relevance to your material. All for the sake of “breaking the ice.” Better to let the humor flow naturally and organically. And to respect the … Read more
Last year I went to a meeting in Chicago where a group of executives from far-flung divisions of a major company went around the table introducing themselves to the group. They each followed a similar pattern: basically reciting their CVs. “I was head of blah-blah, then I moved over the to the blah-blah division, then … Read more
In the old days of Facebook — a couple of weeks ago — people would dutifully cut and paste political messages, quotes, aphorisms, etc., into their status updates. Recently I’ve noticed a growing phenomenon that is both ridiculously simple AND effective. People are simply putting text in the form of pictures. Like this one: That’s … Read more
What can Mad Men teach us about expressing ourselves effectively? What does Chris Farley tell us about stage presence? Is there intelligent life down here? Mr. Spock says so. Nothing sells like video! The webcast of yesterday’s radio show is up and it turned out great. Having video clips, even if audio-only, added a lot of … Read more
This morning I’ll be appearing on All Sides with Ann Fisher, a talk radio program broadcast out of Columbus, Ohio. We’ll be talking about the book and taking questions from callers about how to communicate and write more effectively. And you don’t even have to be in Columbus to listen. Tune in via the intertubes … Read more