In all my years of reading about, working with, listening to, and interviewing business leaders, it won’t come as a surprise that not one has ever suggested they chose their line of work because they love email. However, almost all of them acknowledge email is a big part of how work gets done in their organization and sending/receiving email accounts for a significant portion of their work day. Since email continues to be how work gets done in most organizations, we all need

Think about someone you’ve met and admired but you have lost touch with. You may have shared a common interest with the person, they may have been there for you during an important moment, or you may have only had a brief conversation with them, but that conversation impacted you in a special way. These are often people we want to maintain relationships with, but for a variety of reasons we don’t. The good news is that it only takes a little effort on our part to reconnect. T

Chances are you have sent an email to a coworker, customer, or potential employer and then wondered why you didn’t get a response. You are not alone. With professionals receiving, on average, over 100 emails each day, many messages go unread and unanswered. So, what should you do if you don’t get a response to your email? Consider whether email is the best channel. Too often we choose email because it’s the communication channel that works best for us, but consider what might

A job interview is a bit like a first date. Prior to most first dates, you often have some communication. For example, if you met online, you’ve seen a photo of the person, read a little about them, and perhaps exchanged some information via text or email. Now, imagine two different first dates. Date A : This person makes a connection between something you shared in your profile and something relevant to your conversation. They ask you a question related to something they saw

Clearly defining the problem you want to solve is an important step in the problem solving process. However, individuals and teams often rush through or ignore this step. In doing so they make some common mistakes that result in a variety of negative outcomes including wasted time, confusion, and low engagement from decision makers. This article provides insight about how you can improve your communication by framing problems clearly and in terms that matter most to your audi

In my first full-time job after I graduated from college, I inherited an event planning process that had been in place for many years. The process required five professionals to take turns staffing an office for three hours every afternoon where students who wanted to plan an event would visit and complete a series of paper forms. Staffing the office was a significant time commitment, and the process resulted in a good deal of data entry mistakes when the information was late

The uncertainty brought on by difficult experiences triggers fear in our brains. From an evolutionary perspective, this has helped our species survive. However, in modern times, the fear can lead to anxiety, panic, and poor decision making. Leading in difficult times requires leaders to have high self-awareness, regulate their emotions, and monitor their reactions. A leader’s behavior in these high-stakes situations can determine the fate of their organization. When others ar

Students and executives arrive in my classes and workshops with a desire to improve their communication skills. Without exception...

One of the primary reasons so many people fear public speaking is they are uncertain about how the audience will respond to their...

When given the opportunity to present our ideas, we all want to perform well, and most of us have heard public speaking advice that...

An introduction is an important part of any presentation. The speaker must capture the attention of the audience or risk having audience...

Managing email is a source of frustration for most business leaders. According to a McKinsey report, the average professional spends 28%...