Increase Your Impact as a Speaker and Presenter
May 12th, 2021Doug Ford’s mis-management of the COVID-19 crisis has put the Ontario premier in the crosshairs of parents, teachers, restaurant owners and frontline workers alike; it’s caused health care leaders to […]
read more...Four communication lessons from Doug Ford and Jason KenneyIncrease Your Impact as a Speaker and Presenter
December 22nd, 2020A woman once told me about having attended her thesis supervisor’s presentation at an academic conference. It took him almost 20 minutes to read his research paper aloud. When he […]
read more...How to reduce your dependency on speaking notesIncrease Your Impact as a Speaker and Presenter
December 2nd, 2020“I’m trying to sound smart.” These words broke my heart when I heard them from a workshop participant last week. The young woman who uttered them is so accomplished that […]
read more...4 incentives to liberate you from reading your speaking notesIncrease Your Impact as a Speaker and Presenter
October 6th, 2020“Find another profession.” That was the blunt assessment of one high school student who sat through a presentation I gave in Saskatoon 15 years ago. The youth-targeted media literacy book […]
read more...The value of candid criticism from reliable sourcesEffective Communication
May 24th, 2019These are just a few of the exchanges provoked by the Toronto Star’s recent publication of a commentary I wrote about the downside of filler phrases. Many of those who responded […]
read more...Clear speech advocate writes; Twitter sh*t storm erupts.Increase Your Impact as a Speaker and Presenter
July 30th, 2018Now that Russian interference in the US election has been clearly established, many are concerned about the implications for democracy. But universities and researchers should be paying attention to another […]
read more...Are students universities’ most effective means of mobilizing knowledge?Increase Your Impact as a Speaker and Presenter
May 25th, 2018Why would 80 women who spend most of their working hours talking to people from the front of a room be nervous enough about their speaking ability to sign up […]
read more...Women need to let go of perfectionism: it’s the enemy of good (and of engagement)Increase Your Impact as a Speaker and Presenter
April 18th, 2018I’m speaking to a select group of rising star business women. In mid-sentence, I pause to pull off my suddenly too-warm jacket as I smile and murmur “hot flash”. At […]
read more...On Personal Branding, Being Authentic, and Avoiding IrrelevancyIncrease Your Impact as a Speaker and Presenter
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 […]
read more...Two unexpected performance lessons and the power of the micEffective Communication
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 […]
read more...Critical feedback is one key to success