Ruth Milligan, Author at Articulation Inc

Elevators rarely get stuck.

Great critical thinking, provocative storytelling, clear governing thought and memorable supporting points. All in 60 seconds. It can be done!! How so? Listen here (http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/412/million-dollar-idea?act=1) to a compelling story on the ultimate 60-second elevator pitch contest that aired on This American Life last Sunday. It may make you re-think your next pitch. And email. And voicemail. And […]

Elevators rarely get stuck. Read More »

Stale corporate events, no more!

A year ago TED unveiled a new corporate program where “private” TEDx licenses could enable corporations to host their own internal TEDx events. The guidelines are similar to a regular TEDx event with two primary caveats- only employees can attend the live event and the videos cannot be posted to a public site. A few

Stale corporate events, no more! Read More »

What’s your hook?

Public Speaking and Presentation Tips, Ruth Milligan / Ruth Milligan

Late last year when we started paying close attention to good opening hooks, we started noting those TED talks that had particularly good ones. In this 3 minute video we produced below, we’ve spliced out 6 really notable ones, and what we consider a represenative sample of the different types of hooks you can deploy. From self-deprecating

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The heavy lifting is yours

Coaching and Training Reflections, Public Speaking and Presentation Tips, Ruth Milligan / Ruth Milligan

A client engaged us recently to architect a brand-new signature presentation. So we got out our very sophisticated tools: some markers, flip charts and a whole bucket of post it notes. But we find the questions we ask at every step aren’t so simple: What insight can you reveal? So what? Why will your audience

The heavy lifting is yours Read More »

Hook ’em.

Public Speaking and Presentation Tips, Ruth Milligan, TED-Style Talks Commentary / Ruth Milligan

Everyone has their pet peeves. I have my pet loves. Among them, really awesome opening hooks. As in, how do you grab your audience from the first words out of your mouth. That means, ‘Thank you for having me,” or, “I’m here to discuss an idea…” are no where to be heard. This week at TEDGlobal, among

Hook ’em. Read More »

You sure you got the right analogy?

Coaching and Training Reflections, Public Speaking and Presentation Tips, Ruth Milligan / Ruth Milligan

Last week during one of our Influential Storytelling trainings, a participant was proud of herself for using an analogy to get a point across to the COO of her company. It was the week the Mavericks beat the Heat, and if you aren’t into sports, that meant that the basketball season was over and LeBron lost. Just

You sure you got the right analogy? Read More »

A Family Affair

Coaching and Training Reflections, Public Speaking and Presentation Tips, Ruth Milligan / Ruth Milligan

Make no mistake about it, presentations and public speaking is in my blood. I’ll just caption these two images to demonstrate my point. Exactly 100 years ago, a local club was founded – inspired by a simliar club in England founded in the 1700s. Part literary society, part salon, part bonding just for the

A Family Affair Read More »

What it takes to be successfull

Coaching and Training Reflections, Public Speaking and Presentation Tips, Ruth Milligan / Ruth Milligan

One of my clients called me yesterday to share how her recent presentation went. We’d spent about 6 hours together reviewing, practicing, taping, testing, editing and more. It was a 45 minute talk to a consequential group in her industry. She couldn’t retain her excitement. “So I started with that story we practiced – where

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Bullets are for guns.

Coaching and Training Reflections, Public Speaking and Presentation Tips, Ruth Milligan / Ruth Milligan

I was at a meeting recently with a local township official, and when I asked about what highlights we should know about his community, he left the room. He quickly and enthusiastically returned with a huge power point deck titled “State of the Township.” All I could see was page after page of bullet points.

Bullets are for guns. Read More »

TALKBACK: Irene Navitadad

Coaching and Training Reflections, Ruth Milligan / Ruth Milligan

Talkback is an occasional series of review of live talks we’ve attended. I’ve been listening to speeches the last few months with an eye to “the story.” You know, the example you give that transports you to a place with real sound, smell, taste and an example you can most assuredly repeat. That relatable moment that says I

TALKBACK: Irene Navitadad Read More »

Ruth Milligan

Elevators rarely get stuck.

Stale corporate events, no more!

What’s your hook?

The heavy lifting is yours

Hook ’em.

You sure you got the right analogy?

A Family Affair

What it takes to be successfull

Bullets are for guns.

TALKBACK: Irene Navitadad

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