One of my favorite communication experts is Loren Ekroth, Ph.D who is a specialist in human communication and a national expert on conversation for business and social life.  He sends a newsletter that always has a thoughtful and insightful article.  His article this week is on the gift of presence. You can contact him at [...]

 
 Have you noticed how there will be some people in your audience who shine like headlights at you?  For some reason they are already with you and are beaming attention at you!  Learn to look for the lights in your audience members to absorb love and support for your talk. Link up with their energy before [...]

 
 
I was waiting in the lobby of my massage therapist’s office this week.  Happy to be there to have a massage with my extraordinary orthopedic massage therapist Deborah Cimo, I was feeling good and anticipating feeling even better after Deborah did her magic on my neck and back.
 
The door from her private office into the [...]

 
Sean  Buvala  at storyteller.net has written an awesome post on using stories for apologies and healing.  He says that “Storytelling can be used for many different applications. One of the most difficult, but needed, application of storytelling is to express reconciliation, repentance and recompense.”
Sean lists five steps that help create a story of redemption:
1. Always tell [...]

 
I heard this on the radio today, “Great Leadership begins with the ability to level with people.” That’s another way of saying we must be transparent to be effective as leaders.
I just heard Obama criticized for going to Cairo to “apologize” for American behavior. It might just be that he was being transparent – leveling [...]

Public speaking clients ask me how they can “read” their audience. I tell them they must open to receive their audience members.
Receiving is an experience of 1) seeing individuals in the audience, 2) making authentic connection one-to-one with them and 3) taking them in through soft-focus eye connection.
Receiving is my way of expressing an experience [...]

Many speakers allow their listeners to ask them questions, but not many ask questions of the audience.  Ellen Finklestein of ellenfinklestein.com writes an excellent article about asking questions of your audience.  I will let you read her article for yourself.
At the end of her article she says it is important to plan your questions carefully.  My [...]

David Portney at Best Public Speaking Training  has written an article on how to Prevent Stage Fright.  He has a great idea to meet and greet audience members just before your talk.  I have advocated this for many years. I hope I have David’s permission to mention his article and to add to his helpful [...]

In Jonathan Livingston Seagull, Richard Bach teaches us that perfect speed is being there. That means the exact right pace for any activity is the pace that allows you to be fully present for the event.
In speaking to groups, presenting and public speaking, pace is a key to effective communication. If you talk too fast, [...]

Thursday evening, I was almost asleep with the TV on when I awoke startled to hear Thomas Friedman speaking to Charli Rose on PBS.  Thomas was speaking about the importance of talking to people from a gut level. He mentioned Ronald Reagan, Barack Obama and Bill Clinton as speakers who impart more than information, as speakers [...]