Is it a Presentation or a Training Session?
Compare the following sentences: I’m making a presentation I’m running a training session I’m teaching a class I’m facilitating a meeting There are a number of different reasons for standing up in front of a group: to entertain, to sell, to inform, to teach, to...
Don’t Expect Creativity at Work
In a previous post on this blog, I wrote about the need for a change of environment & activity in order to stimulate creative brainstorming during meetings. We can also increase the likelihood of our participants generating better solutions to problems if we give...
Speak Human
Think like a wise man but communicate in the language of the people. William Butler Yeats Leading people requires communicating with them – about organizational goals, special projects, sales, work assignments, and so on. Presenting to your employees is not about...
Ask More – Tell Less
Is it time to stop talking and start asking questions? Many leaders don’t ask questions – of their teams, their colleagues, or their customers. Why not? In many instances, they • are expected to have all the answers • assume their employees or colleagues don’t...
Let’s Rethink Participation at Our Meetings
“No one participates.” This is a common complaint that leaders often have about the meetings they lead. Is this problem happening at your meetings too? You probably have a good understanding of the word participation, but let’s begin with a dictionary definition...
Be Yourself – Even while Presenting
How natural is your presentation style? So often it seems that presenters leave their personalities behind as soon as they set foot on stage. It’s not clear where people got the idea that a presentation should be done without any personality or enjoyment, but it has...
Not Enough Creative Brainstorming at Your Meetings?
You probably don’t have to stretch your imagination very far in order to picture yourself and your meeting attendees sitting around a boardroom table in a room with no windows, drab grey walls, and poor ventilation. This setting is a recipe for “boardroom table...
What’s Improv Got to Do With You?
Have you ever studied improvisational theater? Improv — like Second City or “Whose Line is It, Anyways?” Are you thinking, “Why would I? I don’t want to be an actor, and besides, I’m not funny.” If so, I’d like to share a secret with you. Life is improv. Every day,...