How Well-Known, Accepted Wisdom Can Hurt You

  “If you want to reach your audience, ya gotta get ‘em laughin’ one minute, and crying’ the next.”   Have you ever heard advice that sounded good, but ultimately, held you back or kept you from taking action? I have. It was the “wisdom” that started this...
A New Perspective on an Old Problem — 5 Simple Steps to Create Your Best Story

A New Perspective on an Old Problem — 5 Simple Steps to Create Your Best Story

Perhaps the biggest challenge I see as a storytelling consultant is this: Most people are inserting too much information and backstory into their narrative. What is the impact on your audience when you do this? The Lunch Buffet Effect. You remember buffets,...
3 Costly Humor Mistakes Which Derail the Impact of Your Speeches and Stories

3 Costly Humor Mistakes Which Derail the Impact of Your Speeches and Stories

It’s common knowledge in speaking circles that humor greatly increases the impact of your message. But, there’s a caveat. Your humor must be relevant and appropriate for each audience. Therefore, let’s take a look at three common mistakes that hurt your impact and...
Feeling ‘Chicken’ About Speaking? Try This….

Feeling ‘Chicken’ About Speaking? Try This….

How to Manage Speaking Nerves One of the most common questions I hear is:   “Michael, how do I get rid of my nerves?”   I understand the purpose of the question, but it’s the wrong one to ask. My response is always, “You don’t want to get rid of nerves.”...
Use These Questions to Connect With Your Audience

Use These Questions to Connect With Your Audience

Why Use Questions to Connect? A common challenge for most presenters is how to capture their best ideas that will quickly gain audience attention. An obvious reason for this is that people are easily distracted today. We must capture their attention with our first...
Communication Skills – How a Wounded Soldier Connected With Me

Communication Skills – How a Wounded Soldier Connected With Me

How do you connect with an audience when you don’t seem to have anything in common with them? I was reminded of this question a few months ago when I was invited to Tampa, Florida to do some work with one of my past clients, retired Green Beret Lieutenant Colonel...