Two unexpected performance lessons and the power of the mic
August 1st, 2017The Québécoise singer-songwriter on stage at the beautifully renovated National Arts Centre is charming and talented. But she’s also distracted. The connection between her plugged-in guitar and the amp is not working. In the audience, we can hear her lovely vocals, and the music being played by her band, but not her own strumming. If […]
Critical feedback is one key to success
July 18th, 2017“Great lectures, bad hair.” Clearly, I’m no Einstein, but in the fight for my most memorable student evaluation as a university communications instructor, that comment from 1992 runs neck and neck with this one from 1998: “Puncuashun, and speling, to strick.” Translated, this means “Punctuation and spelling too strict.” (Which, I’m pretty sure, totally redeems […]
Storytelling and the power of visual feedback
May 15th, 2017I undermined the impact of my opening. I relied on my notes too much. I failed to advance my slides as intended. Those are just three of the critical observations I made after watching a video of myself delivering a conference keynote in Winnipeg. That’s the bad news. The good news is that 1. the […]
Five Steps to Overcoming Public Speaking Nerves
April 27th, 2017Brilliance, without the capacity to communicate it, is wasted. I learned this in grade 10 chemistry from the intellectually-gifted, but communicationally-impaired Mr. Philipps. Sadly, that’s about all I learned (and it wasn’t the lesson he was intending to teach). Although my parents may have been disappointed that I dropped sciences in grade 11, I’ve never […]
Conversations that matter: For women in media, it’s still a man’s world
April 12th, 2017Vancouver Sun by Stu McNish 08 April 2017 This week’s Conversation That Matters features Shari Graydon of Informed Opinions, which strives to amplify women’s voices to ensure women’s perspectives and priorities play an equal role in Canadian society. Graydon regrets that in 2017, women remain under-represented, as experts in the media, while men provide the lion’s […]
Whose attention would you most like to attract?
April 12th, 2017Gloria Steinem… senior bureaucrats… somebody who funds the kind of work you do? Whose attention would you most like to attract? In recent years, Canadian women writing timely, engaging and persuasive commentary have elicited responses from all of the above. Others have sparked international conversations, investigative journalism, and a reversal of government policy. And […]
New database seeks to amplify women’s voices in the news media
March 30th, 2017J-Source by Michael Ott 30 March 2017 “We couldn’t find any expert women,” cannot be an excuse. That’s the mantra of a new website dedicated to amplifying women’s voices in Canadian news media. ExpertWomen seeks to create a database of women from across the country who are experts in their fields. Shari Graydon, the founder […]
How to get others to recognize your brilliance – without bragging
February 21st, 2017Once upon a time it was possible to claim with confidence: Nobody likes a braggart. Now you have to qualify the statement: “unless he’s a billionaire, promising to turn the clock back to the 1950s, and Russian hackers are spreading fake news stories about his female opponent.” It was crushing for many women to be […]
Why I’m happy my doctor doesn’t think she knows it all
January 17th, 2017Has your family doctor ever consulted a reference book while you were present? The first time my GP did so, I was stunned. Even though I’d sought treatment for a wide range of issues from a slew of doctors over the course of more than 40 years, this had never happened before. And it seemed to […]
Why we’re celebrating the addition of Viola Desmond to the $10 bill
December 8th, 2016Is putting Viola Desmond on the Canadian $10 bill crass symbolism or a significant step forward? Just ask Adrienne Clarkson. When she served as Governor General, Chinese Canadian girls across the country suddenly experienced a future of expanded possibilities. A refugee who looked like them serving as the head of state suggested there […]