Be Silent. Be Still. Do you want or need to get people’s attention? You can get it with volume and movement: yelling and screaming and waving your arms. It’s hard to resist looking, when you hear a sudden squawk from a baby or voices raised in an argument,...
From Talking to Speaking to … Presenting Awhile back, I observed a man give a twenty-minute presentation at a formal event. He leaned one elbow on the podium, making occasional languid gestures, as he meandered his way through his points and finally closed....
Make It Easy for Others to Give You What You Want What do you want from others? How good are you at giving those things? We tend to be well in tune with our own desires and needs, especially when they aren’t being met. We forget sometimes that others want, at a...
FAST, NOT FURIOUS By the time I got through security at the airport earlier this week, my flight was already boarding. I walked quickly down the corridor, as fast as I could without actually breaking into a trot. Meanwhile, a tall man to my right ambled along...
How to Avoid an Emotional Hijacking “You’re just so damn calm!” the man yelled at me over the phone. “It’s like you don’t even care!” My jaw almost hit the floor. Me? Calm? TOO calm!? In the present circumstance, I was feeling a whirlpool of turbulent emotions....
To Recover from Embarrassing Moments, Practice These Three Things One time, during a presentation, I asked an audience member a question. Instead of getting the type of answer I expected, I got one that left me feeling flustered and embarrassed. I wished I could crawl...
