When you are creating a presentation, ask yourself this question: So what? We tend to think a lot about our own reasons for saying something or writing something. We don’t spend as much time on this: What’s in it for our audience? What is the “so what” for them? If we’re talking about our big idea, our … Read more
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A good friend and colleague recently shared her practice of choosing a word each year that helps to focus her energy and keep her thinking about her mission and purpose. (This idea comes from Jon Gordon, who describes it here.) This topic came up because a new word for this year had occurred to her … Read more
I use a popular language learning app every day. Theoretically, I’m learning Spanish. In reality, I spend five minutes daily clicking through exercises in order to keep my streak going. Am I getting better at Spanish? Or am I getting better at these exercises? Or am I just feeling good because I satisfy an app … Read more
Man, it feels good to be right. But what happens when we’re right, and we know someone else is wrong? Is it so important to be right that we have to mention it, point it out, underscore our rightness? Or can we let it go, knowing that the lustre of our rightness starts to fade … Read more
As many of us start to figure out how to venture back into the world, we have to have conversations about safety and risk. These can feel awkward, whether you’re setting up a socially distanced lunch with friends or trying to plan a vacation with your family. There are terrific resources out there for what … Read more
One meaning of to incorporate is to make physical, to embody. When we learn something in our brain, we have to figure out a way to bring it into our understanding, our embodied knowledge. For example, you can watch YouTube videos for days about the perfect golf swing, but until you start to incorporate the information, … Read more
I want to make sure you know this important tip: You can turn off self-view on Zoom and most other video platforms. And you should. When you’re logging into the call, there is usually a chance to check yourself out before you join the other participants. Use this opportunity—make sure there’s nothing in your teeth, … Read more
I got to be part of an online workshop this week with hundreds of educators, kindergarten through university. These dedicated teachers were looking for ways to engage their students online in this new, unsettling world we’re all living in. One of my favorite aspects of the workshop was the incredibly generous way that the teachers … Read more
“But we already know how to do this! It’s like starting over.” Actors, directors, teachers, trainers, salespeople, coaches, ministers, tour guides, team leaders, managers, boards of directors…people in so many industries are having the feeling that just a few months ago they were on top of their game. Now, in order to do the most … Read more
“Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me.” Many of us probably heard some version of this playground chant as children. Meant to encourage us to let name-calling roll off our backs, the rhyme reinforces the idea that only physical violence hurts us. This is not only patently false, it … Read more
