Wow, what a way to start the year. I didn’t take my own advice. Mid way through a recent assignment (an event featuring 5 different talks from the same company), I was told that I offended an executive by what I thought was a simple suggestion. The suggestion was, “Have you ever recorded yourself?” I […]
Feedback without a License Read More »
Last night I coached a young woman who was being interviewed later this week for a $250,000 full ride scholarship to the college of her choice. She was tasked to give a 15 minute presentation and answer questions to an unknown panel. The challenge she faced is that the organizers from the admissions office gave
When reviewing someone else’s presentation, use these lists to help. Read More »
These are calls I’ve gotten recently from clients, concerned about performances of some of their key women. “She is fine when she’s one-on-one with colleagues, but as soon as she goes into a group meeting or presentation, she clams up. We know she has good communication skills, but she refuses to use them.” “During the
Is it really a presentation problem? Read More »
The City of Columbus asked me to host a roundtable discussion on the city’s culture and how it informs us as an intelligent community for the Intelligent Communities Forum. We were giving the breakdown of culture by art, heritage and attitude and curated the conversation around it. I was chosen due to my role of co-host
Hosting the Columbus Culture Roundtable for the Intelligent Communities Forum Read More »
This month I’ve been asked twice to orient / train / tell / brief people on how to coach speakers inside their companies. I’ve struggled with responding as I never like to say no, but in this case, it’s the only answer. I came to appreciate that I haven’t clearly articulated (pun intended) why I
On Coaching Speakers Read More »
It was five years ago this last winter that I applied for one of the first TEDx licenses. And apparently, I’m one of the few crazy enough get a 6th consecutive one. Our event has grown both in size and maturity, and it’s become a well anticipated event in Columbus each fall. As we began choosing our speakers this year,
Lessons from the Front Row: What not to do in your TEDx talk Read More »
I just returned from Dallas and an annual conference for the 250 HR professionals within the Alliance Data family which includes Alliance Retail, Epsilon and Loyalty One Companies. I was invited to curate, coach and host a session called “Perspectives” involving 8 speakers (all associates within the enterprise) for the last day of the conference.
The alternative to a disconnected, canned, paid Keynote speaker Read More »
In Columbus, we have an awesome business (mainly tech) accelerator called 10x. I was invited to help these 10 companies prepare their final presentations/ demonstrations pitches to investors at the end of their, yep you guessed it, 10th week. Below is advice I sent to each of them as the entered the final stretch and
Make the Voice Memo your friend. Read More »
After the first TEDxColumbus event in 2009 at the Wexner Center, I remember thinking the day after: why aren’t I doing more of “THIS?” This being helping speakers architect their story and find their voice. And deliver what I am now calling “The Talk of Your Life.” It is what lead me to create ar.tic.u.la.tion
The journey to give a TEDx talk: A documentary. Read More »
So a few years ago I wrote this blog post on how I thought the Pecha Kucha (Japanese for Chit-Chat) was a fun format for an audience but a really tough one for a speaker. It dictates you deliver a talk with 20 slides on a timer for 20 seconds a slide. MXLLS So last summer when I
How Kit Kat led to TED, told ala Pecha Kucha. Read More »
