by Alan | Apr 9, 2006 | Communication skills, Delivery
Had a chance to sit in the rear of a large crowd today. And it just underscored the need to have constant and deliberate eye contact no matter what the size of the audience. In this case, the presenter’s eyes rarely reached halfway back, and with the stage...
by Alan | Apr 6, 2006 | Communication skills, Delivery, Toastmasters
I chaired our local Toastmasters’ meeting today. That’s always fun. So much to learn from attempting to get so many details together. We were doing this as a demo meeting in conjunction with an employee work-life program to promote both Toastmasters and...
by Alan | Apr 5, 2006 | Book Reviews, Communication skills, Delivery, PowerPoint
Had a speaker I was working with the other day express shock that I recommended removal of an agenda slide from their PowerPoint. “Shouldn’t I tell them what I’m going to tell them, tell them, and tell them what I told them?” That is one...
by Alan | Apr 2, 2006 | Customer Service, Delivery
Just back from a few days off with the family. A rare vacation — no agenda, no places we HAD to go, nothing we HAD to do. Nice.Except for the desk clerk at the “award-winning, customer-driven, best-in-the-chain, excellence-is-our-standard” hotel we...
by Alan | Mar 23, 2006 | Communication skills, Delivery
I am frequently blessed (asked, forced) to attend sessions that are handled via remote technology (most often teleconference, usually with web conference). I think this is one of the toughest ways to effectively communicate, but the principles are the same. Rule #1...
by Alan | Mar 19, 2006 | Communication skills, Delivery
Heard a speaker close with a signature story to drive home the point the other day. His lead-in was essentially, “I know you’ve probably heard this before, but here it is anyway…” With one statement, he took what was otherwise a good close and...
