Diversity Belonging + Inclusion
February 24th, 2021and Sweta Rajan SHARI: Sweta, when we spoke for the first time recently about how we might collaborate, you vented a bit about the whole notion of “imposter syndrome”. This is something that comes up in our workshops all the time — the extent to which many educated, experienced and competent women feel like they’re […]
read more...Reframing Imposter SyndromeIncrease 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 looked up at the end, she was the only one remaining. Everyone else had bailed from sheer boredom — and he hadn’t even noticed. (She […]
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 she earned a coveted academic research grant usually awarded to PhD students even though she’d just completed a bachelor’s degree. She also speaks three languages. […]
read more...4 incentives to liberate you from reading your speaking notesImprove your Writing
October 20th, 2020I cry easily, whoop at the end of dance performances and am passionate about my work. My partner would tell you it’s not possible to have a conversation with me that does not involve me sharing my feelings. And I think the world would be a much better place if we raised men and boys […]
read more...When it is (and isn’t) useful to focus on your feelingsIncrease 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 that had earned me the speaking invitation, In Your Face – The Culture of Beauty and You, was an award-winning Canadian best-seller. But my ability […]
read more...The value of candid criticism from reliable sourcesIncrease 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 for a presentation skills workshop? I asked myself this the first time the Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario (ETFO) hired me to deliver such workshops. […]
read more...Women need to let go of perfectionism: it’s the enemy of good (and of engagement)Blog Post and Our Advocacy Work
April 27th, 2018We recently surveyed hundreds of women who’ve participated in our workshops and remained on our mailing list. Email overflow and work-life demands being what they are, we were happy to log 57 responses from women in 16 cities across the country. They gave us insight into what use they’ve made of the training we deliver, […]
read more...What Impact are We Having? What More Can We Do?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 the end of my talk, the marketing VP of a major credit card company approaches. “You’re so authentic,” she exclaims. “That really works for your […]
read more...On Personal Branding, Being Authentic, and Avoiding IrrelevancyOur Advocacy Work
October 12th, 2017Among the many feelings (fury, disgust, resignation) that surfaced for me upon learning the extent to which casting couch hell remains alive and well, was this thought: There are a lot of decent men in the world capable of doing what Brad Pitt did when he learned of the encounter his then girlfriend, Gwyneth […]
read more...Brad Pitt’s 3-step program for #MaleAlliesIncrease Your Impact as a Speaker and Presenter
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 […]
read more...Five Steps to Overcoming Public Speaking Nerves