My brain is crap for details like lyrics to songs (remind me to tell you about the time I didn’t realize a song I sang around the house was about morphine… even though the word “morphine” was literally coming out of my mouth when I sang it), what Alexa JUST told me the temperature was (seriously, […]
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How to find (and use!) analogies that aren’t OVERused
Imagine you’re in this situation: You have a big idea. It’s not one people have heard before, but its impact could be huge. You have an opportunity to talk about it (say, to present it to your boss, or in a session at a conference), but your time slot is short. On top of that, your […]
Want to drive action from your audience? Ask this question.
Back when we were talking about making your message measurable I suggested you answer one question about every message or piece of content you put out there: What does this particular message need to do? Ideally that outcome flows two ways: there’s a benefit to you (why you’re creating that content or message in the first place) and a benefit to […]
Five top tools for 2020… and a free prize!
Ah, that New Year smell, when everything is fresh and new and only possibility lies ahead. But you’re not satisfied with possibility, are you? No… not you! You want to get things done. So, here’s a little New Year’s present for you: instead of the regular #swipefile, here are my top 5 tools from 2019 that […]
How to set better New Year’s resolutions? Find a Red Thread instead. *2020 Update*
This post first appeared around this time last year. I’ve updated with this year’s results and my Red Thread® for next year, too. Yep. That time again. New Year’s Resolution time. Everyone’s goal-setting, theming, three-wording, and all-around resolving. Fun fact: when I was a Weight Watchers leader, all the new folks didn’t usually show up […]
Should great performance be your goal? Or great *expression*?
We’ve talked before about setting an outcome for your message — that’s what makes your message measurable. It also helps you shape your content. But when you talk to others about your ideas, what should your goal for delivery be? What will help you shape how you get your ideas across? There’s obviously a huge range of situations where we need to […]
How to make your message measurable
You put a lot of work into your messages. You spend a lot of time and effort on building, writing and sharing your content, your presentations, maybe even your book. At a high level, there are reasons all that work is worth it. If your messages work the way you want them to, they’ll help you […]
Can you profit from speaking for free?
I’m obviously a big believer in the power of speaking to drive business, both to and for your business. If you’re in a business (or represent one), there are few opportunities better than a conference stage to get in front of the people you want to hear your message. When it comes to that kind of speaking, I see […]
Stop writing scripts (and do this instead)
There’s a bit of a rant ahead, but it can be summed up in these 16 words: “It is nothing short of ridiculous to memorize ten words in order to remember one fact.” I don’t think I can say it any better than Dale Breckenridge Carnegie said it…way back in 1915. But I do think I can […]
3 things you need to know to draft the perfect message
So, you need to draft a message. Sounds simple, right? After all… it’s just a piece of content. It could be an email, or a blog post, or a presentation. So why is it often so hard? Because a message isn’t just a message. Wait… what? No, really: a message isn’t just a message. Yes, there are […]