20th July, 2010 - Posted by janebeard - No Comments
Business people – especially the ones in marketing and HR – looooove the word leverage. Their talks are full of how we’ll leverage assets, leverage people, leverage ideas, even how they’ll leverage the competition. Some of these speakers love the word leverage so much that, when I ask them what word they would use instead, if » Read More
17th July, 2010 - Posted by janebeard - No Comments
Yesterday, Steve Jobs gave a press conference on Apple’s response to complaints about the iPhone 4. We thought it was a terrific example of two things: making amends when you need to, and pushing back when you need to. Lots has been written about apologies, and what constitutes an “appropriate” apology. Here’s a good piece » Read More
26th June, 2010 - Posted by janebeard - No Comments
We usually work with senior executives who present in pretty high stakes situations. These folks tend to come with a lot of experience as speakers…and a lot of personal “rules” about how they want to perform. But we also like to help speakers in the community. That’s how we came to work with a group of » Read More
17th June, 2010 - Posted by janebeard - No Comments
Forget about ‘em. Seriously. Because when your attention is on your hands, it’s not on us, out in the audience. And we matter more than your hands do. PLUS: Your hands are really smart. In almost all cases, they’ll do everything naturally and intelligently — IF you just let them do what they do. When you become » Read More
7th June, 2010 - Posted by janebeard - No Comments
This weekend, I got a dose of my own medicine, when I spoke to an audience at the Association for Comprehensive Energy Psychology. The topic was, “Using Intention to Transform Your Audience,” and it was a blast. These folks know that science is proving, over and over, that focused intention has an impact on the » Read More
31st May, 2010 - Posted by janebeard - 1 Comment
We’ve been coaching a bunch of speeches this week, and it seems like most speakers want to talk about some “new” feature they’re delivering to their customers. We’re urging them not to do it…because you can do so much better than, “new.” In fact, “new” is pretty commonplace, especially in Western society. “New” isn’t necessarily better. It’s » Read More
25th May, 2010 - Posted by janebeard - 1 Comment
“I pulled a few slides from a deck I gave last week to the Board.” Yikes. This speaker means one of three things, none of them good: – “I talk to the Board and you DON’T,” – “I prepared for them, but for you: leftovers. Deal » Read More
22nd May, 2010 - Posted by janebeard - No Comments
One of the interesting things about humans is that we’re wired is that our brains crave novelty. In fact, psychological anthropologists think it’s left over from our days as hunter-gatherers. It’s why some of us (ahem) have 10 pairs of black shoes in the closet but remain in the hunt for another pair. Searching for the » Read More
15th April, 2010 - Posted by janebeard - No Comments
Your mother was wrong: You don’t always have to say “thank you.” “Thank you for your attention.” “Thank you for taking time out of your day to be here with us.” How many presentations have you heard begin and end with, ”thank you”? How often have you actually felt thanked? From the audience perspective, it’s not like we » Read More
8th April, 2010 - Posted by janebeard - 1 Comment
It’s true that the most powerful moments in your presentation are the first moments, and the closing moments. The way you start the message, and the way you bring it home, are hugely important. But there’s another powerful moment that most speakers discount, and that comes when you STOP talking. It’s the moment when your » Read More
