Body language affects how others see us, and it may also affect how we see ourselves. Social psyhcologist Amy Cuddy shows how “power pose” — standing in a posture of confidence for 2 minutes — can raise testosterone levels (your hormone that generates confidence), and lower cortisol levels (your stress hormone), and positively impact our performance and success.
Accent reduction, or accent modification, is the systematic approach for neutralizing a foreign accent to adapt to the majority accent. The process includes identifying the variations in the individual’s current speech, and comparing them to the constants in the target dialect. These variations include not only sound distinctions, but also the differences in grammar styles, idioms, stress patterns, and rhythm of the new language.
A foreign accent is an important personal characteristic to one’s identity. Accents make individuals unique, and they are often viewed as attractive for this reason. Heavy accents can impede communication in the workplace. Accent reduction, not elimination, might be a valuable communication and professional development endeavor. Accent modification aids in better understanding in the workplace and social settings.
Companies present in teams often to garner high dollar sales. In some ways, team and solo presentations are alike. Both rely on the same fundamentals—setting objectives, preparing, structuring, and then presenting with the right skills and techniques. But the similarities pretty much end there, and the recognition that you’re now part of a team becomes all-important. To be successful, a team presentation must come off as just that: a team presentation.
The team leader leads the team in deciding on the specific outcome(s) to be achieved. Most important, the team leader should guide, not dictate. The leader’s job really is to facilitate the process of deciding objectives and key messages. What response does the team want from its audience? If the team is successful, what will the audience remember about the team/company? And what will happen because of the presentation?
The leader is also responsible for determining […]
When it comes to presentations, content is king. If you don’t have meaningful, interesting content, you might as well shut off your PowerPoint and read directly from historiography textbook. When developing and creating your content, there are 7 key features should guide your language and information.
Coughing from a cold can be very harmful to the voice. A "silent cough" technique can be easily taught to prevent the trauma from coughing.
What We Forget: Personal names, business names, job titles, job 
descriptions
What We Remember: Pain! Vivid images of pain! Feelings of discomfort!
So if you want your self-introduction to be memorable to get a qualified lead, you need to show people in 60 seconds or less what sort of pain your typical clients experience and how your business offerings ease that pain.
Give people names, titles, markets and job descriptions and they’ll forget you. But paint a picture of how you alleviate your clients discomfort and they’ll remember you!
Have you noticed that lizards are never leaders? Other reptiles or animals do not follow the lizard. Lizards don’t even follow other lizards. Instead, lizards seem to dart around following only their own genetic instincts for survival. It’s impossible to be a lizard and a leader at the same time.
Each of us has a lizard brain. A fight-or-flight, instinctual part of our brain called the amygdala. It is part of the limbic system, a system known for being all about emotion, instinct, and decision-making, based on our feelings. The amygdala portion of our limbic system kicks into high gear when we are stressed, overloaded, angry, and fearful. An activated amygdala shuts down our brain’s center for higher thinking, the neocortex. The amygdala hijacks our abilities to be rational, to think strategically, to see and hear all arguments about […]
Imagine yourself standing in front of a room full of people. You’ve been asked to speak on something you know very well. You’ve got this…but maybe you are little nervous. Here are some ways to turn those nerves into confidence as you prepare for this moment.
1. Know the Room
In preparing for your presentation, if you aren’t bringing your own audio visual equipment, be sure to confirm and reconfirm that you will have everything you need. Access to the internet? Sound? A hand held clicker? Arrive early to confirm you have everything you need and that everything works. What is your backup plan if for some reason you do not have everything you need? Take a moment to familiarize yourself with the room. Where will the audience be seated? Find the best lighting when looking up at the stage […]
Occasionally, I have a client ask for the chance to write about how we’ve helped him or her with their business communication skills. This week, Curt Gosman from Now Courier shares his thoughts…
“I had been working with a client for about a month, providing nearly daily cost analysis of their in-house delivery vs contracting with us, when suddenly communication from them stopped and I became concerned. After a couple of long weeks, I inquired and found there had been a personnel change, which of course would mean starting over from scratch. Not sure what to do, I consulted with Ellen Dunnigan, my business communication advisor, who gave me the confidence and advice to contact the CFO. Reluctantly, I called and was directed to a decision maker who was only slightly aware of their total company logistics need — yet at that very moment, was having a specific and pressing need […]
There have been many great leaders across the ages. This begs the question, what did they have in common? What about them made them such a good leader? Here is our answer: