Posts Tagged ‘speaking’
An important lesson for all public speakers, storytellers, and the poor souls who must conduct meetings
I love this church sign. I love it because it’s emblematic of one of the most important lessons for all public speakers and storytellers: Say less.Shorter is better.Fewer words rule. The 20 minute commencement address is almost always better than the 40 minute address. The 30 minute meeting is almost always more effective than the…
Read MoreThe Joyful and Effective Use of Condoms in the Latter Years of Life: My latest workshop
I’m hired from time to time to deliver talks and teach workshops on a variety of topics. I’ve delivered inspirational speeches. Commencement addresses. I’ve hosted conferences and story slams. I’ve taught workshops on storytelling, teaching, writing, personal productivity, and more. And while I’m hardly an expert on anything in particular, I’ve always felt that if…
Read MoreUseless skills: Speaking and listening simultaneously
It occurs to me that we all have things that we can do surprisingly well that are fairly useless in life. Surprising but purposeless skills. Sort of meaningless super powers. I’m creating a list of my own. Maybe you’d like to share yours as well? Here’s one for me: I can both speak and listen…
Read MoreRedefining the Author Appearance: Four Proposed Categories
I took my friend to a local bookstore to listen to a well-known, New York Times bestselling author speak. He was excited. He had never listened to an author speak before (other than me), and my hope was that this would be one of many author events that we could attend together in the future.…
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