If you’ve been communicating in a professional setting for any length of time, you surely have a “disaster story” – a time when...

Do your work well. Nothing beats a good reputation supported by excellence in what you do. Do good work.

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...

I was honored this week with induction into the Purdue University Nutrition Science Hall of Fame. This is the department where I studied...

Have you ever considered how much of what you know you learned by observing others? Children imitate their parents. Students emulate...

How many things are you doing right now? Are you reading this blog while having lunch, checking emails, replying to a text, fixing a...

Calling audience members by name gains attention and solicits participation. It builds connections between presenter and audience and among audience members.

I have been teaching young children since I was a teenager. This photo was taken back in the 90’s! Young children have long been one of...

Procrastination. We all do it – delay or postpone doing something. Is there something you’re putting off? Something you avoid doing even...

What draws you in to pay attention to a speaker or keep reading a blog post? Effective openings arouse your attention by appealing to...

One of the main benefits of building presentation skills is enhanced confidence, which in turn enhances your effectiveness as a speaker....

The morning of February 5th we pulled out of our driveway in Indiana and headed south. It was 3° and snow had covered the ground...

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...

Where are you, Sherlock Holmes? I would like to enlist your help in solving the mystery of the unsupported data. It appears that the...

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...

February is a big month in the world of sports. We start with the Super Bowl. Let’s party! Then we add the Winter Olympics, which only...

If you ask people on the street why people are getting fatter, you will get as many answers as the number of people you ask. People with...

4 weeks into 2018, what percentage of New Year’s resolutions have been forgotten? Too many! Yours don’t have to be. Achieve your goals by...

What is your favorite food? Why did you pick that food? Does thinking about eating it conjure up good memories? Was it one of your...

I am a goal setter, but I don’t limit myself to resolutions only at New Year’s. However, I do annually spend some time at the start of...