As speakers, we need to be intentional about how we use our emotions for influence. I am often asked by clients how they can be more influential with the emotions of their audiences. Some have an ask for their senior leadership, others want their audience to accept a change within their organizational processes or procedures, […]
3 Strategies to Keep You Motivated in the New Year
Staying motivated in our “new” normal requires successful strategies. Prior to the pandemic, our lives were fairly predictable – from how we ran our personal lives to how we worked. Our world became upended early on during the pandemic from not knowing the ramifications of the virus, to how long we were going to have […]
3 Questions for End of the Year Reflection
The end of the year signifies a time for reflection. Research has shown that taking time to reflect has significant performance advantages. For years, I have kept a weekly “win jar” where I have kept a visual account of my “weekly wins”. I have further refined this ritual to include an informal journal where I […]
Gratitude: Don’t Underestimate This Communication Superpower
I like to think of gratitude as a communication superpower. You might be familiar with research that touts the benefits of cultivating a gratitude habit: higher levels of happiness and well-being, less stress, and greater resilience. Gratitude is a positive communications practice that not only improves my own well-being, but the well-being of others. Here […]
3 Strategies to Reduce Public Speaking Anxiety
According to the National Social Anxiety Center, anxiety over public speaking affects 73% of our population. Speaking in front of an audience, whether in-person or virtual, puts us in a vulnerable position and our brain perceives we are in danger. As a result of this “threat”, our bodies produce hormones that prepare us for “flight […]
3 Factors to Gain Credibility with your Audience
Recently I worked with a client who posed an interesting question: “What could she do in to gain credibility with her audience?” Speaker credibility has its roots in Aristotle’s teachings over 2,000 years ago as he wrote about a speaker’s character, otherwise known as ethos. According to Aristotle, a speaker’s character was just as important as […]