How do you give a successful VC pitch?  A recent study suggests what determines success, and indeed what allows subjects watching VC pitches to guess accurately which ones are the winners and which ones are not.  What’s surprising is that even people who knew nothing about the pitch, the company, or indeed venture capital, can […] The post The Secret of a Successful VC Pitch appeared first on Public Words ..read more

I recently participated – virtually – in a hybrid conference.  I was very curious, of course, to see how it went because most observers of the conference world expect some version of what I saw to become the future of the meeting business.  Everyone wants to know:  what’s the model going to be? What works […] The post How Good Are Hybrid Events, Really? appeared first on Public Words ..read more

If you are over forty and reading this blog post, you are beginning to experience –however subtly – the symptoms of cognitive decline.  What’s surprising about that sentence, perhaps, is how soon in life the decline begins.  Now, don’t be too alarmed; researchers are busy looking for cures in the form of magic pills that […] The post Listen, People! appeared first on Public Words ..read more

Dr. Rebecca Heiss is a Stress Physiologist, and the author of Instinct, published in April 2021. She’s a professional speaker and trainer helping individuals and organizations overcome their fears. Her latest project is launching a 6-week course online for women looking to overcome stress, anxiety and imposter syndrome and become the confident, authentic leaders they are.  […] The post E2 Season 2 of JOQ: Nick Morgan catches up with Stress Physiologist Dr Rebecca Heiss appeared first on Public Words ..read more

I’ve been blogging for 14 years.  That’s extraordinary, if I do say so, not the least because no one knew when I was starting the blog how long the format itself would last.  Blogging as a thing was just getting going, and there were still a lot of blogs that looked more like online diaries […] The post My 14-Year Anniversary Blog Post, or, Why You Need to Rehearse Your Zoom Presentations appeared first on Public Words ..read more

Martin G. Moore, the No bullshit leader, is co-founder of Your CEO Mentor with his daughter Emma. His new book, No Bullshit Leadership, is out Sept 28th, so rush to your bookstore and buy it now. “Leadership beyond the theory” is the name of his wildly popular online course and the new cohort is starting […] The post E1 Season 2 of JOQ: Nick Morgan checks in with No Bullsh!t Leader and Your CEO Mentor Marty Moore. appeared first on Public Words ..read more

I’ve been writing on the importance of the voice in leadership communications for many years.  In my book Power Cues I talked about the key element of resonance in the voice as a tool of leadership that works unconsciously on listeners’ minds to propel people with strong voices into dominant roles and success with teams. […] The post Why the resonance of your voice matters appeared first on Public Words ..read more

Anchoring bias is one of those psychological constructs that is very familiar to psychologists but less widely talked about by the rest of humanity.  And yet, it is extremely important for framing arguments in public speaking and other forms of communication.  One might say, especially important in public speaking, because our powers of skeptical analysis […] The post Use Anchoring to Strengthen Your Arguments appeared first on Public Words ..read more

OK, I’m not even going to comment on how it’s possible that it has been 20 years since 9/11.  The anniversary crept up on me while I was busy doing other things, like riding out a pandemic.  How about you?  If you were alive and old enough on 9/11, you remember where you were the […] The post How Have Communications Changed Since 9/11? appeared first on Public Words ..read more

We humans are powerfully influenced by color.  There are of course the associations we develop with specific colors, thanks to our culture.  Red can mean good fortune, or something hazardous.  White can be the color of death, or purity.  And then there are moments that depend on color, like the emotional charge we get from […] The post What Color Is Your Speech? appeared first on Public Words ..read more