Three Presentation Tips From ABC’s 90-Second Hurricane Tutorial
Scientists, teachers, entrepreneurs and leaders who deliver complex information might want to take some lessons from a 90-second video on how hurricanes form, produced by ABC News. Chief meteorologist Ginger Zee explains hurricanes clearly, simply and...
A Startup Uses Third-Grade Words As The Cure For Confusing Health Plans
If you have trouble understanding health insurance terms, you’re not alone. According to a study in the Journal of Health Economics, only 14% of respondents could correctly answer four questions about the most basic components of a health insurance plan....
A Virtual Therapy For Stage Fright That’s Remarkably Realistic
A team of virtual reality (VR) experts, psychologists, and former Google and Facebook engineers are using modern tools to tackle phobias that humans have faced since the beginning of time — social anxieties, including the top social fear of all, public...
Four Proven Tips To Stay Creative After Labor Day
Did you have an epiphany on your vacation this summer? I've written some of my best articles in a beachside café, from a lounge chair at lake Tahoe and sitting poolside at a resort. Like most people I’m more creative when I’m out of the office. The further...
Take These Three Steps To Craft Your Pitch Quickly
If you only had 24 hours to craft and deliver the pitch of your lifetime, what would you leave in and, more importantly, what would you leave out? To make the exercise even harder, you’ll have only 10 minutes to give the pitch. I met with a group of senior...
The Interview Skill Guaranteed To Give You An Edge
If two job candidates have equal qualifications, which person is more likely to get the job? According to a new survey of HR and recruiting professionals, 63 percent of recruiters say they’d give the job to the person who has better “oral communication...
It’s Essential To Do This At Least 10 Times Before Giving Any Presentation
The CEO of a large company lost the audience—his top salespeople—in the first two minutes of his presentation. I was there to witness it. Slides were out of place and financial data was wrong. “Sorry guys. I threw this together last night,” the CEO...
This Human Trait Gives You An Edge In An Age Of Robots
In the information age you are only as valuable as your ideas. Your ability to package your ideas with emotion, context, and relevancy is the one skill that will make you more valuable in the next decade. During a visit to the Silicon Valley headquarters...
Tim Gunn’s Fashion Tip For Jimmy Fallon Is A Perfect Example Of Constructive Feedback
“Do you have any fashion tips for me?” Jimmy Fallon recently asked his Tonight Show guest, Project Runway mentor, Tim Gunn. Gunn’s response: “I love your suits. I love the fit of them. You are classically handsome. You have a great physique. You are the...
Why Richard Branson Loves The Early Tradition Of Campfire And Story
Virgin Group founder Richard Branson says the best ideas for taking his company into the future are found when he’s practicing the ancient custom of storytelling by a campfire. “Telling a story is one of the best ways we have of coming up with new ideas,...
GE’s New CEO Uses An Effective Communication Technique To Focus His Agenda
On his first day as the new chief executive of GE, John Flannery sent an internal letter to the company’s 300,000 employees. It’s been 16 years since GE has had a new CEO, so Flannery made sure the direction was clear. “I have a relentless focus on three...
A Kitchen Entrepreneur Turned Millionaire Offers One Secret To Success
Jo was fifteen when a teacher told her that she wouldn’t make anything out of her life (Jo had dyslexia, a largely misunderstood condition at the time). She dropped out of school, but was determined to prove the teacher wrong. Today, Jo Malone is the name...
The One Job Interview Skill In Short Supply, According To Dirty Jobs’ Mike Rowe
Mike Rowe, the television personality best known for hosting Discovery Channel’s Dirty Jobs and Deadliest Catch, recently called attention to a serious problem facing blue-collar and white-collar job candidates: the decline in soft skills. When Fox News...
The Founders Of Apple And Airbnb Combined These 2 Skills To Make Magic
I recently spoke to two highly-compensated software engineers in Silicon Valley who do not have as much coding experience as many of their peers. Yet, they’ve landed jobs and have received promotions over their more experienced counterparts. In both cases...
Learn From Omega And Celebrate The One Thing That Makes You Or Your Product Different From The Rest
On July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong became the first man to step foot on the moon. Nineteen minutes later, Buzz Aldrin joined him. Aldrin was wearing an Omega Speedmaster wristwatch. Since then, the watch has been known simply as the Moonwatch.
Like The Omega Moonwatch, Find The One Thing That Differentiates Your Product
On July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong became the first man to step foot on the moon. Nineteen minutes later, Buzz Aldrin joined him. Aldrin was wearing an Omega Speedmaster wristwatch. Since then, the watch has been known simply as the Moonwatch.
Thomas Jefferson And Three Keys To Persuasion
Thomas Jefferson would have been comfortable on Twitter. He would have been really good at writing short, provocative tweets that make people think differently.
Thomas Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence is the most persuasive document in American history. Its creation contains valuable lessons for any leader who wants to sell ideas more effectively.
Alan Alda Explains The ‘Ice-Water Experiment’ And How Messages Stick
Alan Alda is a seven-time Emmy Award winner best known for playing Hawkeye Pierce in the classic television show, M*A*S*H. Alda’s interest in science led him to host the award-winning PBS series Scientific American Frontiers. Eleven years of interviewing scientists on the program convinced Alda that people with the best ideas are often terrible communicators.
How Mark Zuckerberg Effectively Communicates Facebook’s New 5-Word Mission Statement
Facebook is a service that connects friends, families and groups. At least, that’s the way founder Mark Zuckerberg promoted the platform for its first ten years. Today he’s creating a new vision to guide the company for the next ten years. And he’s using an effective leadership method to do it.
Learning To Sell Your Idea In 10 Minutes Is A Valuable Career Skill
Recently, I visited an elite class of military officers who will spend the next thirteen months training on the most sensitive—and challenging—national security issues of our time. One of my books on communication skills is required reading in the class because crafting and delivering a compelling presentation is a key skill they’ll have to learn. In fact, they learn to sell their ideas in ten minutes or less.
The Cognitive Cure For Stage Fright, According To Neuroscience
A world famous pastor who speaks to sold out stadiums once admitted to me that in his first year as a minister, his hands would shake as he approached the lectern. His palms would sweat and his heart would race. He had severe stage fright.
JFK’s Sharp Editing Skills Help His Ideas Live On
One hundred years after John F. Kennedy’s birth and 56 years after he delivered one of the greatest speeches of the 20th century, we are still inspired by John F. Kennedy’s words. We remember JFK’s ideas because he was a good editor.
Human Communication Skills Power IBM’s Watson Ads
Each and every day IBM’s Watson works alongside business professionals in 45 countries, analyzing volumes of data to make better decisions and to solve big problems. But ask the average person about Watson and they might recognize it as ‘the computer’ that beat two champions of the quiz show Jeopardy!
A Trendy Silicon Valley Buzzword Offers A Valuable Lesson In Effective Communication
According to one analysis, tech company executives have used the word “moat” 89 times in earnings calls and financial presentations over the past year. The trend appears to be tied back to Warren Buffett’s choice of the metaphor as a stock picking analogy. Buffett said he looks for companies that have a strong protection against competitors, “like an economic castle.”
Neil deGrasse Tyson Explains How He ‘Cherry Picks The Cool Stuff’ To Make Science Fun
Neil deGrasse Tyson gets 200 speaking requests a month. He accepts about four. Neil deGrasse Tyson has 7.3 million Twitter followers. Neil deGrasse Tyson is Stephen Colbert’s favorite guest. Neil deGrasse Tyson’s new book is a bestseller on Amazon, and it has...
College Seniors: 65% Of Recruiters Say This One Skill Is More Important Than Your Major
Sixty-five percent of recruiters and hiring managers say strong written or spoken communication skills is more important in an entry-level job applicant than their college major.
Carmine Gallo storytelling keynote to largest CFO firm in America
Although few business professionals will take the stage at the 2017 international TED conference being held this week in Vancouver, it doesn’t mean you can’t learn a few tips from some of the world’s best speakers. However, do not confuse a TED Talk with a “TED-like” presentation.
The Apple Store’s New Redesign Celebrates Steve Jobs’ Legacy
As traditional brick-and-mortar stores shut their doors at a record pace — and online retailers such as Amazon experiment with brick-and-mortar stores — the category is ripe for innovation once again. The winners might be those who ask more empowering questions.
What The Most Admired Brands Can Teach United About A Culture of Service
Culture is a narrative that starts at the top with leaders who share and reinforce the brand story every hour of every day.
Books Make Leaders Better Speakers, Says A Navy Admiral And Commander
Retired four-star Navy Admiral James Stavridis has 4,000 books in his home library. On one side of his business card his title reads: Dean, Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University. On the other side, his favorite quote by Thomas Jefferson: “I cannot live without books.”