Handling Interviews from the Audience

Interviewing, Emceeing, Q&A From the Audience: Tips for Difficult Situations

I recently attended an event where journalist Judy Woodruff interviewed famed architect Santiago Calatrava. That interview surfaced two issues...

Read more
Email Etiquette and Writing

Email Greetings: You Lost Me at Hello

In the movie Jerry Maguire, Tom Cruise barges into his home after an argument and long separation from his wife, starts an explanation meant as an...

Read more
Answering Hostile Questions

MORE on How to Handle Hostile Questions—Part 2

Handling hostile questions can be more than an uncomfortable five minutes with your project team or an embarrassment with your executive...

Read more
Meeting with a Colleague

Start an Elevator Conversation; Forget the Elevator Speech

The elevator speech is dead. That was my pronouncement in last week’s blog. The reasons: Elevator speeches are too vague, too canned, too...

Read more
Creating a Stellar Elevator Speech

Why the Elevator Speech Is Dead—And What to Do Instead

Ten years ago, clients asked me to help their sales teams to perfect their elevator speech. Not anymore. It’s dead. Nobody has time to listen to...

Read more
Worst Pet Peeves

The Pet Peeve That Zaps Productivity and Sours Attitudes

You rush into your office early at 7:30 to get a jump on the day. Your overflowing inbox shows several emails marked urgent. But they’ll need...

Read more