Biesenblog
Riveting Insights on Communication, Storytelling and Presentation Skills
Has Tragedy Tweeting Gone Too Far?
In the wake of every national tragedy, from shootings to natural disasters, it happens like clockwork -- celebrities and companies and everyday folk tweet their thoughts and prayers to the victims. There's an interesting debate over "tragedy tweeting" at Arik...
How to Find and Shape Better Stories
Today I'm guest blogging over at the estimable Spin Sucks blog. So click on over for the story of Estela and the Candy Factory and my Easy Formula for Unlocking the Power of Stories. And if you're interested in marketing, communications and social media, it's a great...
Be Here Now: A Lesson from Clark Griswold
It's hard to visit the Grand Canyon without thinking of that scene from Vacation where Chevy Chase runs over to the rim, gives the canyon a quick once-over and dashes back to the car. (The only link I could find is dubbed in Spanish, but fortunately the language of...
11 Deadly Sins of Public Speakers and Presenters (Pt. 2)
Perhaps the only thing worse than sitting through a dull, lifeless PowerPoint presentation is being the person at the head of the room delivering that presentation. Poor speaking skills can be a career killer, making it harder to get your ideas and programs approved,...
11 Deadly Sins of Public Speakers and Presenters (Pt. 1)
A colleague the other day expressed hope that all the attention to TED talks would inspire people to become better presenters. I hope so, because I still see a lot of people making the same old mistakes in their presentations. They fail to take into account the needs...
Death at the Grand Canyon: How a Story Can Save Lives
Five million people come to the Grand Canyon every year and a handful don't make it back alive. This is the story of one of those deaths, and what it can teach us. Grand Canyon visitors get into trouble in all kinds of ways. They don't carry enough water or food, they...
5 Life Lessons I Learned From My Cat
On Sunday night I got home from a short vacation and found our very old, very dear cat in a terrible state. After a rush to the animal ER and a diagnosis from our specialty vet, we made the difficult decision the next day to let her go. It had been a long time coming,...
5 Lessons from The Great Gatsby School of Writing
If you should ever fall out of love with writing, read a little F. Scott Fitzgerald. That will surely rekindle the flames. I've been reading The Great Gatsby in preparation for this week's film premiere. There's nothing like re-reading a book you loved in high school...
The Art of the Bad Apology (And a Lesson from Bill Clinton)
There’s nothing worse than a bad apology. Like the non-apology apology (“I’m sorry if you were offended”), which skirts responsibility and essentially blames the victim for being too sensitive. Or the increasingly popular “I didn’t know I was being recorded” apology,...
To Be a Better Writer, Accept Edits with Grace (5 Steps)
When co-workers offer comments about something you wrote, do you accept their feedback with grace and ease or do you bristle like a threatened porcupine? If it's the latter, be careful. You could get tagged as "difficult" -- the Sean Young of the workplace. Never...
Sterling’s Gold: 7 Lessons for Success from Mad Men
Roger Sterling: fictional ad man, chronic drinker and serial womanizer. An inspiration to wiseasses everywhere, he says the things we wish we could say in the workplace -- only funnier. But his collected quips, lovingly catalogued here, represent more than a...
The Myth of Body Language
For the longest time, I thought the subject of body language was a bunch of BS. Then I talked to an expert and realized that it's not body language that's BS, but most people's ideas about body language. That is, the science is valid, but the interpretation of it is a...
