If you want to learn something, what do you do? Do you… Look it up online? Watch a YouTube video? Go to the library and check out a book? Sign up for a class? In most cases, adult learning is on-your-own, self-directed learning. Much of it occurs through experience, often referred to as “The School of Hard Knocks.” What if you are in the position of teaching adults? How do they learn best? What motivates them to learn something new? What will motivate them to even pay attenti

Are you looking to build an audience – not just a larger audience, but an engaged audience? As Abraham Lincoln wisely said, “If you would win a man (or woman) to your cause, first convince him that you are his friend.” An audience needs to feel a connection with the communicator before they are ready to attend, listen, learn, and act on a message. They need to feel understood. They need to feel like they share common ground with you. They must believe that you are going to me

Have you ever attended a presentation in which the audience was NOT engaged and became disruptive, or at best, was simply not paying attention – possibly distracted by side conversations or looking at their phones? The presenter obviously lost command of the audience (if they ever had it) and either appeared oblivious to the audience’s lack of attention or demonstrated varying degrees of frustration. The result is a presentation environment NOT conducive to learning. The effe

I know, there are exceptions. Some adults never really grow up. But, let’s not go there. A common admonition for teaching children is that “children are not miniature adults.” Conversely, when it comes to teaching adults, don’t treat adults as if they are simply oversized children. Effective approaches to communicate with an audience vary throughout the life cycle. In addition to recognizing differences in age and developmental stage, audiences vary due to life stage and gene

The Q&A can be one of the most dreaded parts of a presentation. Why? Because we fear we might not know how to respond to a difficult question. However, mastering the Q&A is not an impossible endeavor. By implementing and practicing these five steps, you can go from fearing this portion of a speech to embracing the Q&A. After all, the Q&A is a great opportunity to reinforce and elaborate on your main ideas and ensure the audience walks away with their needs met. Consider that

How many things are you doing right now? Are you reading this blog while having lunch, checking emails, replying to a text, fixing a meal, or “listening” to someone else telling you about their day? We have become a nation of “multi-taskers” – people who pride themselves on doing many things at the same time. Multi-tasking leads to what is considered “continuous partial attention.” Is this a problem? You decide… In nutrition we talk about being “mindful” when we eat. To be mi

I love name tags! I try hard to learn people’s names, but using name tags is a tremendous help. Find out what a person wants to be called – formal title and surname, full name, first name, or nickname – please call me Barb. I am a huge proponent of having name tags whenever I give a speech, even going so far as to have larger name cards if I am incorporating discussions and participation activities. I provide blank sheets of paper and markers and instruct the audience to writ

Did you know that the average consumer is exposed to as many as 10,000 brand messages each and every day? That’s what the American Marketing Association (1) estimated in 2017. Whew! That’s a lot! How can we create messages that stand out from the rest? More importantly, how can we create messages that make a difference? How? By following 5 proven steps. I have created a free downloadable tip sheet available here: https://www.nutritioncommunicator.com/resources listing the 5 s

You walk into an office, a hotel, a restaurant, a store. What needs to happen for you to have a marvelous customer experience? I contend that very little separates a positive experience from a negative one. I contend that the difference is eye contact and a smile. You’ve had it happen to you. I know. It happens everywhere. Every day. You walk through a door, hoping to receive some type of service. But, instead of someone acknowledging your presence, acting glad to see you, an

When someone poses an idea, what is your reaction? To accept and add to it, or to knock it down? When we block the ideas of others we stop the flow of ideas. When we accept the ideas of others we keep the ideas flowing and agree to save the evaluation for later. In improv this is called “accepting offers.” It enhances collaboration and problem solving. A classic improv activity is “But versus And.” The premise is simple: your task is to work together to plan the company holid

What does “connection” with an audience mean to you? That they aren’t asleep or playing video games on their phone? True connection implies that the presenter and the audience are experiencing shared thoughts and feelings. When an audience feels a connection with the communicator, when they believe the communicator understands how they feel and is aware of their beliefs and desires, they’re motivated to pay attention, to engage, and ultimately are more likely to take action.

Getting engaged is exciting, it’s memorable, and it’s planned. Audience engagement in a presentation can also be exciting and memorable, and should be part of your communication planning. No ring required. Engaging an audience improves attention, enhances learning, increases retention, and encourages behavior change. It is also more fun for both the presenter and the participants. I have created a tip sheet with 5 tips for engaging your audience. Visit my resources page: http

This week at my local Toastmasters meeting I stepped way outside my comfort zone… I gave my first ever humorous speech. I shared the topic in last week’s blog – 10 contestants vying for the title of “Miss Communication.” Not only did my fellow Toastmasters laugh, and vote for the “winner,” they gave me a standing ovation (something we generally only do after “Ice Breaker” speeches), and made me promise to compete in a future humorous speech contest. Who would have thought!? I

Let’s meet 10 of them: Starting with Miss Understanding, when what you said and what I thought you said are NOT the same. Much like the classic Abbott and Costello “Who’s on First” routine. Or, Miss Perception, that pesky one that happens when a text or email message is not received in the way it was intended… you know what I mean? Have you heard of Miss Conception? AKA “contagious falsehoods” because they are so common. Like “sugar causes hyperactivity.” Nope. Miss Informati

Successful communication creates a sharing of ideas and feelings between the communicator and the audience. It results in an audience that attends to, engages with, and takes action on a message to achieve desired outcomes. Strategic communication design begins and ends with the audience. A communicator who knows their audience is able to design communication that accounts for what the audience already knows, what they do, and what they care about. Successful communication re