Ah, vocal fry – that little edge to a voice that gets people (almost always women) accused of sounding like Kim Kardashian or whoever the vapid-starlet-du-jour may be. But what *is* it, precisely? Is it actually a problem, or is it just another way of policing someone’s (again, usually a woman’s) voice? This communication Q&A…
Ahh, the delight of being assigned to give a ready-made, communications-department-massaged, cororate-HQ-approved presentation…complete with a script and soulless slide deck… Dealing with pre-approved, canned corporate presentations is a reality for many, many employees. There’s lots of reasons why some companies don’t give their employees much (or any) say in their presentation slide decks or script.…
There’s nothing like the holiday season to get people worried about their conversation skills. You’d be amazed at how many questions I get peppered with: “I’m a total introvert – how can I start a conversation at the corporate party next week?” “I want to look good in front of my boss. I probably shouldn’t…
You can find Tom Mucciolo on Twitter @TMucci Want to speak with the poise and confidence of a Fortune 500 CEO? Even our corporate top dogs need help with their presentations, and they get it from Tom Mucciolo. Tom is a highly respected speaking expert who specializes in performance and visual presentation for high-level…
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…
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…
You can find Roger Haskett on Twitter @rogerhaskett 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…
Have you ever wondered what people mean when they say ‘be authentic?’ Lord knows I have. Authenticity is a pretty popular buzzword when it comes to speaking and content creation. It comes up over and over as a magic sauce of connection and persuasion (and sales). If you want your audience to like you, to…
We humans think with our eyes before we think with our brains. Visual information is hugely important for our cave-dweller brains, and when it comes to wooing an audience, how you look matters. Happily, you don’t have to worry about your body type, or your size, or other variables out of your control. Rather,…
The word charismatic gets thrown about quite a bit. I’ve heard people call someone “charismatic” when I would have labelled that same individual “bombastic a**hole.” I’ve also encountered people I would label as highly charismatic that others describe as inaccessible or aloof. The last year has been an interesting study in political charisma, with Justin…
