Not too long ago I was at a Cornell event listening to a speaker open his presentation. In an attempt to build his credibility, he shared his title and the name of his employer. Then, before getting to the main point of his talk, he shared a long list of personal accomplishments. Somewhere between his fourth and seventh achievement, my impression of him changed from being somewhat impressed to being somewhat underwhelmed.  What happened? The presenter, hoping to impress, had

We are problem solvers, so when faced with a workplace issue, we are wired to focus on solutions. However, research suggests people are...

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

On the first day of my persuasive communication course students are eager to learn how to convince others to see things their way. They want to know how to negotiate employment benefits, get assigned to the best projects, and sell their ideas. But before we learn to persuade others, we discuss how to be critical receivers of persuasive messages. Not only do I want them to think critically about the persuasive arguments their classmates will present during the semester, but I

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...

What do parents and hostage negotiators have in common? It turns out they both use many of the same communication strategies. That was my...

At the beginning of every semester I tend to have a few students who are so nervous when they present that they make me feel nervous. Research suggests why this happens. Emotions can be contagious. Researchers have found that anxious mothers can unintentionally pass along their anxiety to their children. And it turns out you don’t even need to be in the same room as another person to transfer emotions. Studies have also shown that social media posts can transmit emotions acro

Leaders motivate the actions of others. Parenting isn’t much different. In both roles we want to give those looking to us for guidance...

When I was a kid I liked eating out at restaurants that included a placemat I could draw on while we waited for our food. My favorite...