When adults used to ask my tall-for-his-age son where he went to school, his answer would perplex them. “I go to B4,” he’d say. They’d look at me quizzically, probably wondering, “Before? “Before what?” I’d explain that...
How do you feel about the idea of having a personal brand? If you’re like a lot of people, you may agree with this pithy comment I got on Facebook: “Barf.” That’s an understandable reaction. After all, we are not dish soap (“cuts through grease!”) or paper towels...
If you’re struggling to organize your thoughts for a presentation, report or any important message, it’s hard to go wrong with this simple and time-tested communication framework. Known as “Know, Feel, Do” (or sometimes “Think, Feel, Do”), it’s an...
One of the most important things you can do for your professional development is to get some improv training. I studied improv for several years at Chicago’s Second City Training Center and it changed my life. Improv made me a better communicator, a better team member...
It happens to all of us: no matter how much positive feedback we receive, we can’t help but focus on (and obsess over) the negative — even if it represents just a sliver of the overall sentiment. As a speaker (and actor) I get direct feedback all the time, and...
There’s a documentary coming out this fall on the late Gilda Radner, one of the original cast members of Saturday Night Live. Called “Love, Gilda,” it’s getting a lot of buzz. In talking about what made her funny, Radner explained, “My...
