In the past few weeks, many of my clients have struggled with a “family pack” of negative emotions.  For various reasons (all completely valid to the individual experiencing the emotion) they have felt disappointment, embarrassment, anguish, defeat, and anxiety.  I’m...

Right from the start, let me be very clear:  I am not asking – nor would I ever ask – that you get rid of all the junk food in your diet. I know how dull life can be without white sugar and flour, not mention high fructose corn syrup.  What I am asking you to do is...

I ran a workshop this week for about 80 professionals who were all expecting a “sit-n-git” presentation in which they could look up at the screen every once in a while, maybe make a note or two on the handout, and then go back to whatever task or game they brought in...

It’s hard to write anything of value or utility this week given the horrific events at Monday’s Boston Marathon. While I live in Delaware these days, I am a native Bostonian and have had the Boston Marathon on my list of Top Five events never to disappoint. The...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ts32w441jo

Our final fear trifecta post builds on the conclusions of the last two: 1) If we agree to stop trying to wrestle our nerves to the ground and 2) begin to dispute the irrational beliefs that undermine our own confidence, then what final ingredient can we add to this...

“You are going to have to [look] sooner or later, our world is full of reflective surfaces.” Harling, R. (1988) Steel Magnolias, 2.1:18. I laughed out loud reading Barbara’s recent post  and the public speaking drinking game! What a hilarious response to seeing...

Names are the worst for me. There I am smiling, nodding, shaking the hand of the A/V technician who I REALLY need on my side at this conference, and not an hour later (something has gone awry), I am tracking him down, desperately trying to summon his name from my low...

On this, the last day of National Poetry Month, I am sharing some final thoughts on the enlivening, relevant power of poetry. Actually, a compelling column written by John Coleman in the Harvard Business Review Blog Network. It’s entitled, The Benefits of Poetry for...

Continuing with our "Ode to Poetry Month" theme, I have included an audio clip of a story originally told by Mark Twain. Yes, even Mark Twain battled stage fright. I was surprised to learn this little factoid about him, given his special gift as a storyteller. Below...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uNMCZ4Uc0xM

Before I explain the game, let me tell you where the idea came from.  Last week I had to videotape ten modules for an online course. It’s bad enough that there was no teleprompter, or even a mirror to see if anything was askew before the red light went on  (and, oh...

If you are a frequent reader of this blog, you may remember the Elephant in the Closet post, which is one of the best mash-ups of two idioms I’ve heard. Unfortunately, the speaker did not know she had misspoken, and was taken aback when people chuckled. As a result,...

One week ago today, my city was forever changed. It’s inconceivable that all the terror, shock, sadness, fear, anger, compassion, horror, tension, anxiety, suspense, and disbelief happened in these last seven days. It feels like seven months have elapsed since April...

April is National Poetry Month in the United States. Time to recover a poem that you love, or memorized in 4th grade, or otherwise recently read in your Poetry Journal subscription - and put it to public speaking practice. Reading poetry out loud is an excellent way...

Last spring, just as I was contemplating what to plant in my flower containers, I was sent a blog post on that very topic. The article was written by landscape architect-turned-event-planner Rebecca Dietz. She skillfully summed up the do's and don'ts of container...