Thinking on your feet is “streaming speech.” Just like video streams over the internet, streaming speech is flowing your words, thoughts and feelings unimpeded by mind control. People who are in a position to have to think on their feet usually have a deep well of knowledge and experience. Yet they often don’t trust [...]

  I am in love with this word – storyselling!  It says it all about the power of stories to persuade listeners to buy products and services or buy into ideas. Storyselling is the act of telling the authentically persuasive story. It is sharing the story that excites others to say, “Yes, I want that!” [...]

  Next week I am facilitating a day-long training program for sales professionals in the world’s fifth largest software company. Unlike my usual clients who feel fear of speaking, these folks will be good at speaking and selling.  They are already very successful. So, “What,” I wondered “Do they need from me?” They need me [...]

  “Has anyone ever been in prison?”  These were the words that opened W Mitchell’s talk to NSA Houston Chapter in September 2010.  Words spoken quietly in a voice vibrating from deep within his chest.  Words not spoken immediately.  W Mitchell wheeled himself to the center of the staging area, sat deeply into his wheelchair [...]

  I found a wonderful blogpost by Kathy  Reiffenstein at Professionally Speaking Blog that I simply must share with you!  Kathy draws some valuable lessons on speaking from the Broadway production of A Little Night Music. So much of my skill as a speaker and speaking teacher comes from my training as an actress.  So [...]

  The following is a post written by my friend and client Leigh Mires, Principal and Training Director of Walter P Moore Engineering.  She and I have been working for seven years to train their engineers to reduce their dependence on PowerPoint.  I guess we have more work to do!   Married to PowerPoint  Cate Blanchett, [...]

   This week, I coached a Director at a Fortune 100 company who is preparing to deliver an executive summary presentation.  Twice a year, “Steve” must present to senior executives an update that includes what his team has achieved, what they are working on, what their prospects are and what they have contributed to the [...]

 I spoke at a conference for proposal managers last week and was reminded of how much business professionals rely on PowerPoint for delivering presentations. The following is an article I wrote forThe Houston Business Journal several years ago.  I have rewritten it to share with you…. Has PowerPoint gone from useful tool to emotional roadblock [...]

I just read a great series of articles by Andrew Dlugan of Six Minutes Blog fame.  Andrew has reminded us that Aristotle wrote the definitive work on what it takes to be persuasive over 2300 years ago. He defines the three aspects of persuasion, Ethos, Pathos and Logos. Then he writes an article about each [...]

Presence is also an external quality that others sense and to which they respond.  Other people perceive your presence as a magnetic force and they are drawn to you, because presence is actually a radiation of psycho-physical energy emitted from your body.  It is your life force emanating from your body, and it occurs when [...]