Speaking tips blog
Communication matters. What are you saying?
You can’t be it. I’m it.
Matthew tagged171 me, asking for details beyond the surface. It sounds like a chain letter, but I enjoy reading the posts of folks I know (a lot more than I enjoy writing this), so I'll play along.Five things you didn't know about me:I have a Commercial Driver's...
Speed things up a bit
After some sickness putting us out of commission a bit, we're back in business. Sickness makes the well times seem so much more weller.Had a faithful reader give this tip, and I can't believe I didn't know it or discover it before. You should know by now I'm a HUGE...
I’m sorry
I witnessed a great apology today. At Toastmasters, we are frequently sarcastic and sometimes even caustic with one another (mostly the guys), and today was a light-hearted and enjoyable example of friends getting after one another. It escalated quickly, with one...
Wrong word
Had a guy last night offer up an English nugget to me. He was a very interesting guy -- a true Renaissance man who was also a Toastmaster DTM (highest level possible). As we connected and talked, I used an incorrect word and he paused and said, "I'm going to correct...
Standing room only
Saw the importance first-hand last night of connecting with the audience via eye contact and any other way possible. Presenting to an aviation crowd in a hotel ballroom. 202 chairs set up -- brought in another 25 as we reached capacity. Final tally was 291 and we...
Why punctuation matters
Listened to a speaker introduce his topic with a summary statement directed to his audience:"We are able to do that for you. I hope you will feel free to chime in whenever..."But there was one major problem. He didn't pause when he hit the period. So it sounded...
How many was that?
Listening to a sermon and was told there would be four points. I jotted "1." in my notes and began following along. I jotted down the key elements, making personal notes as I did, but when the pastor got to point #4, I looked down and alreayd had four points. I...
Talk to the box
Was in on two teleconferences today, and in both cases the phone connected groups of people. It's always a weird dynamic when some people are live and some are remote. But the principles of communication don't change.In both cases today, I watched people talk to the...
It’s good to see progress
Like 100 million other Americans, I made a commitment heading in to the New Year to eat better and lose some weight. After a visit to the nutritionist, some very basic (common sense) action items turned into a quick difference on the scales. While I'm told that...
I’m listening. Really.
Watched an interaction at a meeting today that was really quite humorous. A person with laptop in tow was being asked direct questions by another person. One question sparked a lightbulb that only Google could answer. So laptop popped open and attention was turned...
How may I help you?
Maybe it's just me. But I'm sick of hearing that phrase from customer service when they have no intention (or ability) of doing it.Tonite it's the cell phone. First, the phone I bought is NOT as it was advertised (understand I have little cell phone need other than...
How can I get better?
Had a fun and unusual assignment last night. I worked for ESPNU at a local college basketball game as a "talent stat liaison" (I made up the job title). Basically, I was feeding stats and interesting tidbits, records, runs, and story lines to the guys in the truck...
