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Good morning, friends! My colleagues and I coach people on their communication skills for a living… all day, every day, for the last 21+ years. Over that time period we have learned and re-learned a lot of things about communication, and the realities inside the typical corporate entity. In many ways, my teammates and I […]

If you or someone you know is set to embark on a job search, or has completed one recently, you will likely agree that the art of finding a job is a skill unto itself. Why do those with the best backgrounds or the best skills not always land in the final chair? Because prospective […]

We spend a lot of time here coaching people on how to communicate in order to get the outcomes they want. And in some cases, the outcome is a sale of a product or a service. But in many cases, the outcome is the “sale” of an idea or a plan. The vast majority of persuasion […]

We had a fascinating conversation with a workshop participant recently. He shared a real story, about a presentation he gave soon after he joined his current company. He worked hard at it, he prepared, and he was nervous, but ready. He made the presentation, it seemed to go OK, and then afterwards he asked for […]

Have you ever written or sent something to a colleague, client or partner, perhaps something important, that you worked hard on, and really looked forward to the ensuing discussion? You really wanted to hear their thoughts or you needed an answer? And then been surprised when no prompt response came? And nothing… still nothing… no […]

The world is a constantly evolving place made up of constantly evolving people with constantly evolving expectations. What does that translate into? A world where your skills need to be constantly evolving (obviously). But as obvious as the point sounds, that is a really hard thing for most people to achieve. Agility is a good […]

We just finished an intensive workshop, designed in multiple modules and spread out over multiple days, with one of our top clients. The topic was Executive Communication Skills, and the goal was to coach a small group of ten rising executive stars in the art of persuasive, executive-level communication skills. We covered a lot of ground […]

Great communication requires a full toolbox of strong communication skills. And my colleagues and I can (and do) talk about such skills with our clients every day. But before we can fill up your toolbox with strong skills, we first need to lay the foundation of strong mindsets. When we lay that foundation of strong […]

In nearly every workshop I teach, I ask a question that sounds something like this: “How many of you attend too many meetings that run long?” Nearly every hand goes up, every time. “How many of you get too many emails that are too overwhelming to read?” Nearly every hand goes up, every time. “How […]

(Author’s Note: I was recently scrolling through our archive of old blog posts. And I came across this one, which I wrote in 2014. It is a simple story about an interaction with my then-four-year-old son, where he outmaneuvered me at the frozen yogurt shop. But as is often the case, the simple story illustrates […]