How to Use (and NOT Use) Humor Once, when I was about 13, I was trapped in the crossfire between my arguing parents. We were driving; I was in the front seat between them when the shouting started. I tried to shrink myself deeper and deeper into the seat cushions as...
Drop These 5 Nonverbal Habits What are your nonverbal habits? Do you know? Often with habits, you don’t even realize you’re doing them. They’re automatic and almost involuntary. You do them unconsciously because they make you feel better. Sometimes that’s good,...
How to Recover When You Stumble I’ve had my share of communication mess-ups. As a speaker, I get plenty of opportunities to embarrass myself in front of people. I sometimes misspeak, stumble over my words (or my feet), forget to advance slides, or find some...
How to Overcome the Fear of Public Speaking You’ve probably heard it said that public speaking ranks as the #1 fear among Americans. While I find it hard to believe that most people would choose skydiving or petting a tarantula over giving a speech, fear of...
Authenticity vs. Confidence You know you need to exude confidence: perhaps you have a big presentation, a difficult conversation, or an interview coming up. Yet, you’re nervous. How do you reconcile these two realities? In any interaction, the higher the stakes or the...