Rob Biesenbach 
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
I’m not a particularly difficult person to get along with, but there are certain practices in the marketing and PR field that give us all a bad name. They rise to the level of Stupid Marketing Tricks. So whether you’re marketing your business or just marketing yourself, here are my pet peeves, dealbreakers and don’t-go-theres. … Read more
Are you stuck in PowerPoint Hell? Or putting others through it? You’ll find absolution here. Check out this free webinar I did for Georgetown University: 11 Deadly Presentation Sins: A Path to Redemption for Public Speakers. It’s a simple YouTube video, but they don’t enable embedding, so just click here to watch. I first put … Read more
I keep hearing speakers talk dismissively about audience Q&A. They feel it’s a distraction from their message and they treat it as an afterthought. But I believe that whenever it’s technically feasible you should always take questions from your audience. Based on my own experience as a speechwriter and public speaker, here are five reasons … Read more