powerful counsel | powerful messages | powerful conversations
There is no substitute for daily practice. Real change comes from consistent, patient, disciplined, daily focus on new behavior. Want to learn to patiently listen during difficult conversations with employees? A daily practice of meditation will … [Read more...] about Incrementalism
Yes, I am a communications coach. I help people deliver great messages to all sorts of audiences. But sometimes silence is the most powerful form of communication. More often than not, the best way to position yourself in an email battle is not … [Read more...] about Silence is a strategy too
If you want to do a terrible media interview, don’t have a plan. Don’t be clear about your business objective, don’t define a communications objective that will help you achieve your business objective, and definitely don’t have messages or proof … [Read more...] about Plans. Good.
If you’re the one who identifies a big problem for your company, don’t hide it. Tell everybody. Sounding the alarm gets the right team on board to help find the solution. However, you don’t want to be the messenger that gets shot. Bring a … [Read more...] about Bring a problem and a solution
Start your engines, team! Fall conference season is around the corner. What are you responsible for? Creating messages? Delivering them? Generating interest in your company? Converting prospects into customers? Keeping customers happy once they are … [Read more...] about It’s coming!
Repetition is either a superpower or a disaster. For example: In a media interview? Lean hard into repeating your key soundbite. If you’ve got a great soundbite you’ve got a much better chance of it getting into the final story if you say it … [Read more...] about Repeating: Yes and No!
Dominic Walliman’s TEDx Talk Quantum Physics for Seven Year Olds is a great primer on communicating complex concepts. Here are a few of his suggestions that I love: Meet your audience where they are: “As a communicator, you must take into account … [Read more...] about Distill without destroying
When you work at a company of any size, there are many people who participate in writing, editing, and approving any talk that you give. It would be so delightful if all of those people (including you) could nail down your content three weeks … [Read more...] about Bullets or full script?
In April, I helped about fifty people at a few different companies prepare for talks at their annual user and developer conferences. At the end of almost every coaching conversation, I said, “Good luck! Stay hydrated!” This may seem like a dumb, … [Read more...] about Stay hydrated!
You want to become a better communicator. But there are so many things to work on. Where should you start? With your audience. To be more specific: with how what you do/know really helps your audience. I have worked with people who are super … [Read more...] about What should I do first?
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