Blog
Meetings and Moods: How to Influence through Emotion
It's well known that our moods are contagious. In fact, Googling "contagious emotions research" yielded 6,360,000 hits! And while the research continues to explore why we pick up on others' emotions, there is no doubt that we do. Therefore, as a presenter or meeting...
It’s Only “Make-Belief” (and that’s not a typo!)
Remember playing Make Believe as a child? For that moment, you really believed you were a pirate or a superhero or a fairy with wings. Now, let's be adult about this! But wait...Have you sat in a theater watching a really well done movie or play, and when it's over...
You Can’t Fix What You Don’t Know!
The Importance of Specific Feedback Spring is the time to get busy. We're fixing up the gardens, doing our spring cleaning, repairing that fence that took a hit from the snowplow, etc. It's easy to see what needs to be done around the house and yard once the snow...
How Much Do You Want This? — The Ambiguity of Presentation Prep
Nerd alert: My two guilty-pleasure television shows right now are "American Idol" and "World of Dance". I admit it. I'm kind of obsessed. Both programs center on very talented, dedicated amateurs competing for the top prizes, which include cars, cash, and most...
What Do Your Top Performers Really Want from You?
George, a successful thirty-something Marketing VP, sat in my office venting his disappointment regarding his last performance review - a review in which he was highly rated. "I got the written document in advance," he said, "but then we never had a sit down to go...
Happy um…uh…Holidays!
Filler includes those unnecessary words and sounds people use when they want to "fill in" the dead air while trying to collect their thoughts and talk to an audience at the same time. Favorites include "um" and "uh" as well as phrases like "you know" and "right?...
Executive Presence and Confidence
A few weeks ago, I was part of a panel speaking to executive women at ESPN. The topic they were most interested in was executive presence...music to my ears! Part of the discussion centered around presence and confidence. Specifically, one participant said "Executive...
Why Your Presentation May Have No Power and No Point!
Are you overusing PowerPoint? Take this mini-quiz and find out: 1. Do you open PowerPoint as soon as you begin to prepare for a presentation? 2. Do you spend more time on fonts and layouts than on message construction? 3. Do you sometimes read aloud from your slides?...
Voice of America Radio Interview with Lisa Parker: Showing up for work courageously
"Work Life Confidential" Voice of America Radio Host, Ken Dolan-Del Vecchio, interviews Lisa Parker to learn why people don't speak up at work. Listen to "Work Life Confidential" episode: Showing up courageously at work You’ve probably attended those “town hall”...
Is Your Message a Mystery?
Have you ever listened to a speaker drone on and realized the more they talk, the less you understand? Yeah, me too. It's frustrating, especially when you actually need the information buried beneath that pile of verbiage (or a pile of mangoes if you read our June...
Ask the coach: Turning down the volume on loud co-workers
Dear Coach, I have a coworker whose voice is very loud. She has been asked by several of our more senior colleagues to please turn down the volume, but it doesn't last long when she does. I do a lot of phone work and she drowns out the person I'm trying to hear. She...
Too many mangoes! A lesson in communicating concisely
Do you like to share lots of useful details? Have you ever been asked to "keep it short?" Do you struggle to fit your content into the time allotted? If yes, then keep reading. In a recent Heads Up Executive Presence and Presentation (EPP) skills seminar, one...
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