Blog
THIS Is How You Open a Speech
THIS Is How You Open a Speech Whether you're giving a small talk or a giant presentation, I have a strong opinion about what a great opener should look like. In my humble opinion, it's important to: Invite their contribution and participation in the first 30 seconds...
How Was Your Break?
🥱 "How was your break?" 🥱 ...and 3 Better Alternative Questions It’s January 3, 2023 as I’m writing this. The first day back at work for many after a bit of a break. The image below is a text message I just got from a good friend followed by my...
3 No-Prep Team-Building Activities
3 No Prep Team-Building Activities That Spark Deep Engagement Anyone can Google “How do I make my team more connected?”. But the result will be a few activities that everyone on you team has done and been bored by dozens of times. In today’s video, I’m going to...
Research: How Long Does It Take To Make Friends?
How Long Does it Take to Make Friends? (Research-backed answer) Not going to lie...this is easily the most awkward thumbnail photo my design team has ever created 🤣 I cringed when I first saw it. But I asked the team leave it instead of revising because......
5 Ways Managers Can Stop Employee Turnover
I’m really excited about today’s video! You'll leave with 5 great tips to help make sure your employees aren’t burning out. By the end, you'll also have one quick and effective activity you can do with your team at your next meeting to get a feel for where everyone...
THIS Could Change Conferences Forever
What if the next keynote, lecture, or workshop you attended included only 500 words from the speaker? At roughly 175 words per minute, that is only 3 minutes of talking. Is it possible? Since long before microphones existed, we've been putting people up on stages and...
Best Icebreaker: Connection Before Content
I’d like to get rid of the word “icebreaker” all together. There are very few other words that can give so many people such immediate hives. (Although this 90 second video of a marriage proposal packed with jargon could definitely give you hives—and make you laugh out...
How to Avoid the Blame Game
This is a special clip because I'm inviting you into a live Coaching Lab that I ran with a group of staff and faculty at a university I've been working with for the past 2 years. In today's video, you'll be hearing some honest conversation about where blame comes...
5 Smart Ways To End A Meeting Or Event
Last week, I led a virtual workshop at a university where I completely failed to follow my own advice here. It ended terribly. Well...I should say that I ended it terribly. We got cut short, ran out of time, and closed in a bit of a hurried, "thanks, bye" kind of wrap...
An Absolutely Amazing, Simple Group Icebreaker
Have you had the experience of being in a group setting and hearing that dreaded sentence: “Before we begin, let's do an icebreaker!”? Did your stomach automatically sink just reading that? It doesn’t have to be that way. There are 3 things your icebreaker needs to...
Stop Asking “How are you”
Until you read this, you probably are not consciously aware of your own heartbeat. The phrase “How are you?” is a bit like that. Always there. But rarely top of mind. If you watch today's video through to the end, I promise that it will rewire your brain and give you...
3 Clever Ways To Use “The Chat” In Person
In today’s video, I have some gems and nuggets for your in-person meetings: One fun, interactive way to get your in-person group talking to each other My absolute FAVORITE way to make sure everyone’s voice is heard A better method to do a great activity that I often...
ONE Habit To Increase Buy-In
This is the most important concept I've recorded to date. If we all learned this one 60-second habit to increase buy-in, it would make us better leaders, better educators, better spouses, better friends, and even better parents. It'll help you dial in to what really...
Teambuilding For The Established Team
Just because your team has been together for a long time, you can’t skimp out on or get lazy with your team building and team development efforts. Especially if you’re remote, or partially remote—your team needs to put effort into building that connection. However,...
10 Quick IN-PERSON Group Exercises For Engagement
If you go into a group setting and tell everyone that you’re going to do an icebreaker, some will start to break out in hives. Others will play along. And some will genuinely enjoy. But you can make great, meaningful engagement and connection happen without ever even...
Ditch Mediocrity And Get Motivated
This week, I’m going to make you do math! Just kidding. Well, sort of. Ok, maybe a little math. The concept of finding your "intersection point" is currently my favorite idea of the year! Admittedly, the very beginning of the video is a pinch slower than I intended,...
Stop Saying THIS at The End Of Your Presentations
Nearly every presentation I've heard ends this way. It's not horrific, but it certainly is a horrifically average way to end a presentation. Unknowingly, I used to end many of my presentations in the same way. But I have since discovered a far better way! In this...
ONE Thing You Can Do To Increase Retention Today
There’s been so much so much chatter about The Great Resignation, or as an artist friend of mine calls it, "The Big Quit." It seems like it’s just inevitable. “Everyone’s quitting, and there’s not much we can do about it” seems to be the place of "resignation"...