Biesenblog
Riveting Insights on Communication, Storytelling and Presentation Skills
Webinar: Build Trust, Win Business Through Better Storytelling
I'm presenting a webinar this Thursday that will offer advice on how you can use storytelling to better persuade audiences and make your ideas stick. It's sponsored by Ragan Communications and there is a registration fee. You can check out the details here. Here's the...
Grammar Friday: Lead or Led?
I don't always post about grammar and usage. But when I do ... it's fascinating. This is one of my latest peeves. And it's more than just a nitpick. When people spell the past tense of the verb lead as lead it really trips up my reading. And while we're at it, the...
Why Your Millennial Child Will Never Be a Success
Studies suggest that millennials are more focused than previous generations on achieving fame and wealth. You can blame reality TV or a culture of celebrity worship, but the idea of equating success with material reward and status is so embedded in our culture that...
Beware of Being Labeled a One-Trick Pony
Years ago I had a client in the manufacturing business. They brought in an outside hire who came with stellar corporate credentials, fully versed in all the latest management/operational processes, like Six Sigma. The first time I met him he certainly seemed...
An Easy Formula for Unlocking the Power of Storytelling
(A version of this post originally ran as a guest post on the Spin Sucks blog.) Study after study points to the power of storytelling to transform our communications, help us move and persuade audiences and get more of what we want out of life. I find people are...
Great Moments in Funny Signage: Elvis Edition
When you drive nearly 1,800 miles in four days, comic relief is a welcome part of any road trip. On a holiday weekend swing through the southland, Elvis Presley's Graceland provided an unexpected moment of laughter. And it wasn't just his sideburns or his jumpsuits or...
3 Presentation Tips Guaranteed to Boost Your Performance
If you were to read just one thing online about how to improve your speaking skills, this article from Hubspot would be it: 7 Lessons from the World's Most Captivating Presenters. I personally come back to it again and again for valuable presentation tips. What I find...
How to Apologize: 10 Essential Steps
Last week, the fundraising site Kickstarter got itself into some pretty hot water over a campaign for a "seduction guide" that a lot of people found offensive and misogynistic. I wasn't aware of the controversy, but I am a huge fan of the world-class apology they...
From SNL to The Fugitive: Check Out This Podcast
I had a great conversation about storytelling and presentation skills and other topics with writer, speaker and communications consultant Donna Papacosta. It's all captured in this podcast on her site at Trafalgar Communications. We talk about some of the classic...
Joss Whedon’s Writing Process: Make It Fun
I haven't seen much of Joss Whedon's work, but there's no question he's a prolific writer and creator, so I loved these tips of his on the writing process. Make Writing Fun For me, the big theme here is the idea of making the work of writing fun. For instance, he...
The Road Taken
Eleven years ago I started on a strange journey, fulfilling a long-held desire to perform by signing up for classes at Chicago's famed Second City training center. That led to improv and sketch shows, theater performances and national commercial work. But a funny...
Image is Everything: 3 Vital Tips For Your Business Headshot
If you're a professional and you're serious about your work, you need a professional business headshot that communicates who you are and what you're about. You'll need it for your LinkedIn page and other social media profiles, your website or bio and any time you're...
