According to a report by The Harris Poll and Grammarly, 75% of business leaders say they spend too much time and energy resolving miscommunications in the workplace. But here’s what really caught my attention: The article states that U.S. businesses lose a staggering $1.2 trillion annually due to poor communication! So let’s consider this: When communication falters, productivity takes a nosedive, morale gets squashed, and growth stumbles. Confusion, error or frustration as a result of miscommunications result in missed opportunities, failed connections, costs going up, deadlines get ..read more

  I was so excited to see that my book, From Nervous to Nailed It, has been featured on Shepherd.com‘s top list of “Best Books for Nice People to Be More Persuasive.” This article is insightfully written by Shelle Rose Charvet, CSP, HoF, GSF,  influence and persuasion expert, accomplished (and hilarious) speaker, all-around nice person, and best-selling author of Words That Change Minds, which has been in my go-to business book library for at least 5 years – and which I still refer to every now and then when I need a good persuasion refresher. What I love mo ..read more

You’ve got a presentation coming up, and you’re excited, you’re nervous, you’re ready to share your message and uplevel your visibility. So what’s your first step? Get your slides together, of course! But….wait! Can I convince you of trying a different, not-necessarily-intuitive-but-far-more-effective-way? Put your slides to the side — and start this way instead The process of creating a presentation goes far beyond putting information on a slide, throwing in a few images, and then delivering it to your audience. If the speaker does not have strong clarity on both the objective of their prese ..read more

Have you ever met a complete stranger who recognizes and knows you because they were once impacted by something that you said, and they never forgot it? Have YOU ever had a chance to meet someone who had an impact on your life – a speaker, author, mentor, teacher– and you never forgot it? We don’t always realize that when we speak up and share our expertise, we may be making a huge difference in someone’s personal or professional lives. Imagine having a huge impact on someone’s life…and not even knowing it! I recently had a chance to personally meet and connect with someone who I first saw sp ..read more

  A presentation mistake, public speaking mistake, or communication mistake — just don’t do it! A few years ago, I attended a networking group meeting where the organizers regularly gave a different member 20 minutes to present themselves and what they do. Pretty standard practice for many networking groups, and nicely supportive of their members. And it provided me with a real-life example of a presentation mistake that I – and maybe you, and the collective “we” – don’t want to make. On this particular night, a real estate agent was given this opportunity. And from the looks of it, she ..read more

What happens when you have a brilliant idea, and you’re SURE that you’re explaining it well, but your intended recipient or audience just doesn’t “get it?” So frustrating. Is the problem that they just don’t understand the idea? Or is the problem that you’re not communicating it clearly enough? After hearing this complaint a little too often from incredibly brilliant people, I created this 90-second video to share 3 ideas on how to articulate your thoughts effectively and ensure your message lands with impact, clarity and confidence (with transcript below). Bottom line is…. it’s not just abou ..read more

  What do you do when work and ‘parent guilt’ collide? A few weeks ago, after the summer months of staying pretty local, I headed off on my first post-summer work engagement in Toronto, followed immediately by another one in Montreal. A busy week indeed! But…I had a problem. My 12-year old son had just a few days left of his summer vacation, and then was starting high school at the end of the week. Quite the milestone. Which is the same week where I was going to be gone (or at least the first 3 days of that week). And the mom guilt hit hard. To be clear: I love what I do. At the time tha ..read more

Have you ever gotten to a point in your life that you wish things were different, or that you were brought up differently…because maybe THEN you would be someone braver, more confident, and just “better” overall? You’re not alone. Many of us wish that our environment growing up was more encouraging, more accepting, and gave us the ‘permission’ to speak up. And maybe many of us with that our environment RIGHT NOW was like that too. Finding your voice and speaking up is exactly what @drdoreendowning and I chatted about in this podcast. And what a meaningful, wonderful conversation it was! Fille ..read more

What a pleasure it was to get a chance to do this interview with the Harvard Business School (HBS) Online Global Chapter. Facilitated by Gwen Mdinaradze, the HBS Online Global Chapter lead and the CEO of Speakers Alliance Canada, Gwen and I had a wonderful conversation where we spoke about public speaking fears, how to overcome them, and the many big and small steps that I follow when coaching leaders and public speakers. Great discussion and Q&A session with the incredible attendees as well! Links to the 3.5-minute teaser and the full interview are below. Teaser (3.5 mins, with additiona ..read more

Do you ever get so nervous about your presentation that you get hyper-focused on WHAT to say and HOW to say it that you don’t give much attention to other things you need the day-of? Here’s a reminder to pause and think about the tiny details you might actually need — for example: “Will my feet hurt when I’m standing in front of an audience for far too long?” Your shoes matter! Watch this video to find out the THREE pairs of shoes that I bring to every presentation when I’m the speaker — and why each one serves a very specific (and necessary) purpose.   ..read more