How To Present Data To Win Arguments, Change Minds And Save Lives
Which of the following warnings would send you running for the hills? “The California Department of Water Resources says flows into lake Oroville are just under 45,000 cubic feet per second. Outflows remain high at nearly 100,000 cubic feet per second. If the top 30...
Prepare For A Job Interview, The Way CEOs Rehearse For The Media
Facing the camera on CNBC or sitting across from reporters at The Wall Street Journal can be intimidating for even the most seasoned business leaders. The methods used to coach executives for high-stakes media appearances can easily be adapted to a job interview because the goal is the same — to inspire confidence and to persuade your audience to buy in to your vision.
7 Top VCs Say These Communication Skills Will Set You Apart
The New York Times and CB Insights partnered this week to publish a list of the top 20 “winningest” venture capitalists in the world. I’ve personally interviewed some of the investors who made the New York Times list and I’ve followed the others. Seven of the top 20 have made notable remarks on the role that communication skills play in a startup or brand’s ultimate success.
Businesses And Nations Thrive When Every Day Is ‘Happiness Day’
The UN’s International Day of Happiness is a coordinated effort in 160 countries to shift attitudes around the world. Creating a happier world is certainly important. In my experience, leaders who are the most effective happiness drivers make every day happiness...
At Walmart, Every Receipt And Every Leader Has A Story To Tell
Companies with a strong mission and purpose have a competitive advantage. Storytelling can help you find the messages to inspire customers and employees.
NASA Delivers A TED-Like Presentation To Announce Earth-Size Planets
When two astronomers bump into each other in the hallway, one doesn’t say to the other: “We’ve discovered seven Earth-sized planets in the Goldilocks Zone just 40 light years away.” The astronomers might say: “The transiting configuration of seven temperate...
Bill Gates: ‘Melinda Is A Great Storyteller’
The world needs optimists like Bill and Melinda Gates, and it needs communicators like Melinda who bring us the stories behind the numbers.
TED Talks Star Hans Rosling Taught Us To ‘Edutain’ Our Audiences
After hearing about the passing of Hans Rosling, Melinda Gates wrote, “he used numbers to educate us, to entertain us, and to share his special brand of big-hearted, evidence-based optimism.”
Warren Buffett Explains How He Conquered Stage Fright
“I had been terrified of public speaking. I couldn’t do it,” billionaire Warren Buffett admitted on an HBO documentary that chronicled his life. Buffett conquered his nerves by enrolling in a public speaking course. He knew that if he couldn’t speak in public, it would end his career.
Four Easy Tips On Using Video To Make Your Presentation Stand Out
Each and every day people around the world watch hundreds of millions of hours of video on YouTube. It’s a staggering statistic. One hour of new videos are uploaded to YouTube every second. People simply love video. It’s likely that the people watching your presentation love video, too. Are you capturing their attention?
7 Essential Elements Of Stories That Inspire Employees And Motivate Customers
What’s your signature story? Every person has one. Every company, startup or brand has one, too.
Barack Obama’s Final Speech: Five Valuable Lessons For Communicators
(Photo by Darren Hauck/Getty Images)
Words have the power to move us. Words have the power to inspire us. Words have the power to unite us. The great speechwriter, Peggy Noonan, once wrote, “When big, serious, thoughtful things must be said, then big, serious, thoughtful speeches must be given.” On Tuesday night President Barack Obama gave a big, thoughtful speech about serious things.
3 Tips To Wow An Audience Like Under Armour’s Founder And Chief Storyteller
Under Armour CEO, Kevin Plank at CES 2017 (Photo: Patrick T. Fallon/Bloomberg)
“Every great brand is like a great story. Every great story is made up of chapters in a book,” Kevin Plank told an audience gathered at CES in Las Vegas. The billionaire chairman and CEO of sports retailer, Under Armour, delivered a keynote at the 2017 conference to show off his company’s new gadgets, including a smart-shoe and a line of sleepwear to help athletes recover after intense exercise.
How Megyn Kelly Discovered Her ‘Zone Of Genius’
Megyn Kelly became a star when she decided to leave a job and pursue a calling. This week the Fox News star announced that she’s jumping from Fox News to NBC, where Kelly will reportedly command one of the highest salaries in television news.
Three Books That Remind Us The ‘Golden Age’ Is Today
If you’re a leader people look to you for guidance, wisdom and inspiration. And that means you need to see the world as it is and not as it is perceived by the majority of others. Read these three books and you’ll never complain about [almost] anything again.
How Bono, Apple And LinkedIn Make Presentations Engaging And Memorable
An estimated 350 PowerPoint presentations are given every second around the world. How many are ‘boring’ is impossible to know, but as a communication advisor who watches presentations every week, I’ll make an educated guess—the majority of them.
10 Leadership Lessons From 2016’s Bestselling Nonfiction Books
Many of 2016’s bestselling nonfiction books can set you up for success in 2017.
How Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz Inspired Us To Dream Bigger
On a cold January day in 1961, Fred Schultz, a diaper delivery serviceman, fell on a sheet of ice and broke his hip and his ankle. Fred’s son, Howard, was seven years old and vividly remembers the accident.
How Successful Charities Leverage The Neuroscience Of Giving
In 1997 Phil Wall visited a children’s home in Johannesburg, South Africa and met a toddler named Zodwa. Her mother was suffering from HIV/Aids. For eight months Phil and his wife, Wendy, tried to adopt Zodwa. The process was ultimately unsuccessful, but it sparked...
Small Business: The Best (And Free) Customer Service Strategy You’re Not Using
Small businesses, now 28 million strong across America, face challenges exacerbated during the holiday season: seasonal hiring, tight labor markets, discount pricing, social media strategy, and small business Saturday marketing promotions. Often these issues take...
Airbnb’s Brian Chesky Leads A New Generation Of Brand Storytellers
Product launches and business presentations rarely impress me because they fail to reach minds and touch hearts. There are plenty of good communicators who can design a reasonably attractive PowerPoint slide and speak to it confidently. But leaders who can captivate...
How Steve Jobs And Bill Gates Inspired John Sculley To Pursue The ‘Noble Cause’
Former Apple CEO John Sculley reinforces the point that every major innovation or advance—every “Moonshot”— begins with a noble cause, a vision by the founders to make the world a better place.
The Metaphors That Played A Role In Trump’s Victory
Donald Trump didn’t repeat the mantra “Drain the Swamp” in his victory speech early Wednesday morning, but the metaphor may have played a small role in helping him to win the 2016 presidential election.
Hall Of Fame QB Steve Young On Leadership, Character And Conviction
Steve Young once left $4 million in uncashed salary checks in a nightstand next to his bed.
At the end of the 1989 NFL football season, the San Francisco 49ers beat the Denver Broncos 55 – 10 in Super Bowl XXIV. Joe Montana was named MVP and threw five touchdown passes. Montana’s backup, Steve Young, played the final four minutes.
Great Communicators From Steve Jobs To TED Speakers Are Made, Not Born
First, the bad news. There are no shortcuts on the path to becoming an exceptional public-speaker. Now, the good news. Anyone who puts in the work can radically improve their communication skills.
Why Campfires Spark Richard Branson’s Best Ideas
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, and also of learning about each other and our world. It’s been happening since humans first inhabited the earth,” says Branson.
The Mental Habit That Turns Everyday People Into Extraordinary Speakers
As I sat next to Joel Osteen in the bleachers overlooking centerfield hours before one of his sold out stadium events, I asked the world-famous pastor if he had ever imagined himself speaking in front of 50,000 people. His answer may surprise you.
Google CEO Launches New Products With Remarkably Simple Words And Slides
Google chief executive Sundar Pichai is one of the smartest technologists on the planet, but he earns high marks for communicating extremely complex ideas in very simple terms.
Vin Scully’s Masterful Balance Of Stories And Statistics
Baseball is a game of stats. A cascade of numbers is presented as players approach the plate: strikeouts, saves, batting averages, runs batted in, and a dizzying array of ratios and percentages. But in a game of numbers, it’s a storyteller who is celebrated today....
The JW Marriott Brand Partners With Ballet Dancers To Gain A Competitive Edge
It’s no longer sufficient for any business to meet or even exceed expectations. By partnering with the Joffrey Ballet, the JW Marriott recognizes that customers are looking for an experience that stands apart.