About a year ago my training partner and I were speaking with a client who told us that another trainer they worked with was frustrated because her RFP’s were consistently being rejected. She felt she was being treated unfairly and had filed a formal complaint; this was exacerbated when she found out we were being offered repeat work, without having to go through the RFP process at all. What she did not know (nor was she told, which is a whole other blog post), was that her trainings were deeply ineffective,
Read MoreA couple of weeks ago a speaker asked for my feedback on a speech she was working on with another coach, for a large event. We scheduled a phone session, and she had her coach on the line so we’d all be on the same page. When she was done with the read-through of her speech, it was pretty clear that she was way off the mark. Her speech lacked a clear purpose
Read MoreHow often have you had to give a speech, but did little to no practice ahead of time? I don’t mean impromptu speeches; I’m talking about getting lots of notice about the speech but choosing to avoid practice altogether. It’s an easy step to want to skip. After all, practice isn’t glamorous…
Read MoreWhen I was a teenager, I struggled to communicate my ideas and opinions with people who disagreed with me, or heck, even those who did. I knew I had strong feelings about things, but I didn’t know how to articulate them well.
Read More“It quickly became apparent that while this class was technically about writing essays, in reality it needed to be about learning how to think critically…”
Read MoreThis past spring my husband started working with a coach – a poker coach. That’s right, he’s working with someone to improve his poker-playing skills. At first I was skeptical; after all, I come from a world where you only hire a coach for high-level professional development like public speaking and leadership.
Read MoreOne of the best scenes from an otherwise mediocre movie was when Will Farrell’s character in “Talladega Nights” couldn’t figure out what to do with his hands while he was speaking in front of a large crowd. While he spoke, his arms slowly kept rising next to him, as if possessed by their own will.
Read MoreBeforehand, all of the facilitators were asked to attend a training session because we came from various professional backgrounds, and they wanted to make sure we were all on the same page as to what our goals and responsibilities were. Most importantly, because many of us were coaches and trainers (and used to being in the spotlight!) we needed to understand the clear difference between being a facilitator versus being a trainer.
Read MoreA friend of mine recently worked with a new speaker coach to get her ready for a big work presentation in front of a room of over 500 people. She was disappointed after the first session because she didn’t feel like she’d gotten what she needed. She noticed her coach struggled to translate his skills as a wonderful speaker into helping her with her presentation. “He didn’t seem to understand I was giving a corporate presentation, not a motivational speech.” She lamented. “And he’s such a great speaker, so I thought he’d be a great coach!”
Read MoreIn the last few years, TED and TEDx Talks have rapidly become the gold standard of public speaking: the presentations are informative, witty, innovative, and demonstrate the best of what a killer presentation can do. But did you ever wonder how they manage to maintain that level of consistency and quality in every Talk? Are all of these subject matter experts also naturally brilliant orators as well?
Read MoreNow the real work begins, and this is where most people check out. Joining a club may be the first step, but getting the results you were hoping for when you first joined means having to engage, work hard, and work smart. Here are a few ways to get the most out of your membership:
Read More