Rob Biesenbach 
Looking for the perfect holiday gift for yourself? How about a free copy of my new book, 11 Deadly Presentation Sins? For Subscribers Only This week I’ll be giving a sneak preview of the book for subscribers to my email list. If you join by tomorrow, you’ll get all the exciting details, including: A first … Read more
Like millions of Americans last week, I took to social media to heap scorn upon The Sound of Music Live. We are now in that next predictable phase of pop culture ephemera: the backlash to the backlash, wherein the production’s defenders scold its attackers. So it’s incumbent on me to tell these people THEY ARE … Read more
President Kennedy’s iconic “we choose to go to the moon” speech, which I watched the other day near the anniversary of his death, offers important storytelling tips for anyone trying to explain complex ideas to a general audience. Watch the video (or read the speech here), and see how Kennedy uses analogy to put abstract concepts—big … Read more
The client from Hell, the boss from Hell—there are many permutations of this phenomenon. But sometimes the holiday season brings out the worst in us. End of the Year Rush In the marketing and PR world, this is the time of year when clients find unused money in their budgets and scramble to get new … Read more
On Monday I led a 90-minute storytelling workshop in New York for a CEO and his direct reports. They were trying to work out how to rally and unite their employees, but I came away with something, too: what I’m modestly calling A Grand Unified Theory of Storytelling. The event’s organizers had an artist there … Read more
Public speaking can be nerve-wracking enough, but presenting as a group adds a whole new level of anxiety to the process. And when the presentation is a new business pitch, that really raises the stakes. Organizing a group presentation can be like herding cats, only with less focus and discipline. But it doesn’t have to be … Read more
Last week I was in Cleveland visiting family and I finally got to see the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (+Museum). I really did enjoy it and I appreciated what they did, but I came away feeling they could do a much, much better job telling the story of “the world’s most powerful art … Read more
Last month, on the first anniversary of my father’s death, I wrote a post called How to Write a Eulogy. My main points then still apply: First and foremost, speak from the heart. If it’s meaningful to you, it will be meaningful to others. Ignore the “rules.” There is no one “right” way to write a … Read more
The Internet and mobile technology didn’t invent bad behavior, but they sure have exacerbated it. That’s been vividly illustrated in two stories that broke this week. Together they offer a cautionary tale about the limits of anonymity and privacy in the modern world. Anonymity Breeds Contempt Until he was fired last week, Jofi Joseph was … Read more
When I talk to audiences about presentation skills, the #1 question I get is how to handle stage fright. I’ve written about it before but it keeps coming up. And the more I read and listen, the more I learn. So here are my newly expanded Top 10 tips for handling the jitters, nerves, stage fright—whatever … Read more