Does your workplace have an office clown? Is your office environment one that encourages a hearty laugh, or is humor seen as something that isn’t sufficiently serious – or even unprofessional? Workplace that have a hearty dose of humor as part of their culture often boast higher happiness, wellness, and more open communication than those…
Gearing up for a big family dinner party? Whether you are celebrating Christmas, Hanukkah, Eid, a wedding, or any other kind of family get-together, keeping the peace is no joke…especially when it feels like you’re constantly being provoked by relatives looking to pick a fight. In this Q&A, we have a sticky situation coming from…
Are you among the many (MANY) people who like to “take the edge off” before giving a speech with a drink or two? Whether you’re giving a speech at a corporate gala, acting as emcee for an event, or making a toast at a wedding, a quick drink before taking the microphone is a common…
Holiday party season is upon us! Once the ides of November hit, so to the holiday festivities, and you may find your calendar packed full of events that require schmoozing and small talk. Whether you love or dread these events, they’re important to go to – especially if you see them as an opportunity to polish…
Is your office embroiled in email warfare, with people sending passive-aggressive messages or getting worked up into a froth after taking an email the wrong way? Email can be a hotbed of miscommunication, but there are ways to ensure your emails are clear, effective, and are interpreted the way you intended. In today’s Communication Q&A…
Ethos train wrecks are pretty entertaining. I’ve been delivering a lot of training and talks over the last few weeks that involve the rhetorical appeals (those are Logos, Ethos, and Pathos, for the uninitiated)*. These are three different ways your argument will appeal to someone’s sensibilities. There’s no perfect translation, but roughly it’s this: Logos…
Do you ever find yourself struggling to hit a decent balance between all the activities and responsibilities you have on your plate and the energy you have to actually do all those things? Heavens knows I do, and I know plenty of others who do as well. The frustration we experience creeps into our language – we…
Is your speech plagued by umms, ahs, and other pointless filler words like “so, like, y’know,” etc? I’ve got a question from Tamara on this very common issue: Hi Lauren – I find myself saying “um” and “ah” a lot when I give a presentation, and I hate it! It’s distracting and makes me…
The first few minutes of your speech or talk are critical. Putting together a really solid opener can be tricky, and Ian is looking for advice on how to create stronger openers will grab his audience’s attention from the start: Hi Lauren, My name is Ian, and I’m in the financial sector. I give lots…
Communication is all about connection. If you want to get people to want to genuinely connect with you, then you have to figure out how to engage them first. Engagement can be something of a buzzword, especially in today’s corporate environment. But to help us deconstruct exactly what engagement is, what it does and…