How to Conquer Pre-Performance Nerves As a pianist in my younger days, I experienced debilitating stage fright. Even the idea of playing in front of friends and family terrified me. I usually managed to get through the performance, but would often end up crying...
7 Gifts Everyone Wants Every time you interact with another human being you establish or reinforce two things: 1) Your reputation—how others see you, and 2) Your identity—how you see yourself. Some interactions affect those two things more than others. The...
3 Times to Shut Your Mouth In many situations, the wisest response is to keep your mouth shut. As the Dalai Lama said, “Silence is sometimes the best answer.” But that’s not what I’m talking about. When I say “shut your mouth,” I actually mean “keep it closed.”...
Career Conversation with Lauren Francis In April, Lauren Francis of Mulberry Talent Partners interviewed me as part of her “Mulberry Conversations” webinar series. In our conversation, Lauren and I discussed how to communicate calm competence and confidence in...
The Four Components of Presence What does your presence say about you? Or… do you even have “presence”? What do people mean by “presence,” anyway? Your presence is simply how you show up nonverbally to others—how you present yourself. You do actually have to...
Stop Being Modest Maya Angelou once said, I have no patience with modesty. Modesty is a learned adaptation. You don’t want modesty. You want humility. Humility comes from the inside out. You can spot fake humility, sometimes known as “modesty,” a mile away....
