4 Easy Steps to Leading a Great Conference Call
Posted On August 29, 2016 BY Dean Brenner
A 2004 survey from Raindance Communications looked at the issue of multitasking. And for those of you who regularly lead conference calls (like me), brace yourselves… the numbers ain’t pretty. These stats are a little dated but still eye-opening. According to this survey: 90% of people surveyed said they multitask while on conference calls; 70% reported doing other, […]
The Difference Between Good and Bad PowerPoint Slides
Posted On August 2, 2016 BY Dean Brenner
My colleagues and I see a lot of PowerPoint slide decks. More than we can count, actually. So we have a deep reservoir of context on what makes a good slide deck and a bad slide deck. And very often, people make a critical mistake when thinking about slides, and how to make them better. […]
Secrets of the Smart and Savvy Negotiator
Posted On April 7, 2016 BY Dean Brenner
I was recently speaking to a client, a person I have been coaching for about six months. This coaching assignment has been focused on the subtle aspects of persuasion. He is relatively new in his organization, and has wanted to work on how to better influence his colleagues, without coming on too strong. Many of […]
Post from the Past: Practice DOES Matter
Posted On March 28, 2016 BY Dean Brenner
(This post was originally published Dec 2014) I had an outstanding experience recently with a workshop participant from one of our major client companies. This young man had participated in one of our one-day presentation skills workshops about six weeks ago. And then he signed up for a different workshop this week, a two-day “executive […]
4 Tips for Making Sales Easier
Posted On October 14, 2015 BY Dean Brenner
Recently I had an outstanding customer service experience in my small town in Connecticut. My wife and I decided that a 100+ year old walnut tree needed to come down. It was now a risk to our house in a storm, and we decided it needed to go. So we called a company we have […]
Switch and Shift: Leadership is One Big Sandbox
Posted On September 8, 2015 BY Dean Brenner
We recently contributed another article to our friends at Switch and Shift, a business blog focused on “the human side of business.” Our latest piece is called, “Leadership is One Big Sandbox,” and is all about the little demonstrations of respect that we as leaders need to show our coworkers every day, and how even […]
Growing Your Client Base? Start Here First
Posted On August 3, 2015 BY Dean Brenner
So many people are always thinking about “what’s next” or “what’s new.” Everyone likes to think about how to get bigger, better, stronger, especially from a business perspective. Where will the growth come from? How do I reach new potential customers or clients? I was at a party on Saturday night, and the event was […]
Storytelling Techniques: Opportunity → Leverage
Posted On July 22, 2015 BY Dean Brenner
We recently wrote about a powerful storytelling technique called Problem⇒Solution. It is a “cause and effect” technique, where you lay out the problem first, quantify the problem, and then share the solution and the benefits of the solution… and you do all of that as part of the OPEN in your presentation, conversation or meeting. […]
The Importance of Staying in Touch
Posted On January 12, 2015 BY Dean Brenner
We had a great interaction this week, a story worth sharing. We heard from a guy who had been in one of our workshops in 2005, back when he was with one of our biggest client companies. He left that company in 2007, which is probably the last time we had any contact with him […]
Your Slide Deck is Nothing But Risk, Part 2
Posted On April 14, 2014 BY Dean Brenner
A little while back, I wrote a post called Your Slide Deck is Nothing But Risk. It’s caused a lot of discussion — in our workshops, in discussions with our clients, and in some of the social media where we spend time. It’s a premise that has cause a lot of people to furrow their […]