On Monday I taught a workshop on public speaking for video, and as usual I ask the audience to segment themselves into three categories. I use a color code similar to the homeland security threat levels. Green is for those who are agreeable to speak when asked; yellow for those “hesitant but willing to do…
I’d rather be grilled slowly over a medium flame than grilled by Congress. It’s like being in court with multiple prosecutors hurling trap questions at you designed to humiliate and embarrass and serve their own agendas to get re-elected. And you have no judge or defense attorney yelling “I object.” If you ever get the…
You know that moment when the wheels start to come off your meeting. People begin looking at their phones and start having side conversations. The murmur interrupts and distracts from the “main” conversation. And before you know it, people are excusing themselves to move on to more important things. You ask yourself, “What happened? How…
I was just asked this question in a group coaching session. If you have a business purpose for your Facebook Live video, there are three things you can do besides looking down and awkwardly reading a few names out loud as people join in: 1) Start your content. That’s right… actually start on time, especially…
I still get this question, “Hey, you’re not at Cisco anymore? What do you do now?” I left in 2016 after a successful 10-year run and began pursuing my life mission as a speaker and coach. I had enough of people saying I had missed my calling, so I finally picked up the call. Those…
Some people fear death. Some fear public speaking. For groundbreaking comic book artist Kelley Jones, his greatest fear is boredom. He spoke at a lunchtime session I attended on Halloween, an appropriate day given the creepy characters he has brought to life in such a radical new way. The Sandman, Swamp Thing and even Batman…
It was one of those coloring book games we played in the car on long road trips to grandma’s house. “Use your crayon to connect the dots and complete the constellations” the instructions said. But just when I was about to begin, I saw something different in that complex swarm of dots and tiny numbers. Instead of…
I just read a friend’s opinion on the purpose of Facebook, and it got me thinking. Facebook’s stated mission is “To make the world more open and connected.” Is that what it’s doing for you – connecting you and opening you up? As an amateur social scientist, I find Facebook fascinating. And it has fulfilled…
You probably thought from the title that you’d get in-depth advice on fixing the financial services industry. Ha! Sorry, I was not an Economics major. I was a Communications major. And we all know what you do when a Comm major comes to your door… you pay them and take your pizza. But I digress.…
When my mom taught me how to cook spaghetti, she showed me one sure way to know when it was done. You throw a noodle against the wall. If it sticks, it’s ready. If it falls off, the pot needs to boil more. This metaphor has worked its way into business brainstorm meetings for good…