Yesterday was the centennial running of the Bay to Breakers foot race. For those of you who have never heard of it, allow me to paint the picture: Over fifty thousand people, a majority of which were dressed in outrageous costumes, took to the streets of San Francisco and marched from the San Francisco Bay [...]

In entertainment, performance, and even public speaking, props play an important role when creating an image or making a key point. Whether your prop is something you hold or something you wear, your audience will connect it to your message, thus making your points more memorable.
For example, I know a professional speaker whose signature prop [...]

I was flying to Houston recently and sat next to a woman who was working on…you guessed it… her PowerPoint presentation. We started up a conversation, and before she knew what I did for a living, she confessed that she really couldn’t take the time to chat because she was giving a presentation the next [...]

Have you heard of Rebecca Black yet? If not, you probably will soon. She is a thirteen-year-old girl whose parents hired Ark Music Factory to produce a music video for her. If you haven’t seen it, here it is. But I warn you…while Rebecca is a sweet young teenager who may indeed be the next [...]

Over the last few weeks I’ve been engaged in discussions with a number of talented and experienced sales professionals. Our conversations have focused on various aspects of the sales process including: establishing credibility, understanding customer needs, reviewing various options and recommending a solution. Everyone was in agreement about one thing. No matter where you are [...]

A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of speaking to the Pro Track 2009 program of the National Speakers Association, Northern CA Chapter. Pro Track is a year-long professional development program for people who want to learn the business aspects of the public speaking industry. Group members meet one Saturday a month for a year. [...]