How do you hold your instrument?

Great pianists spend years learning exactly how to position their hands over the keyboard. Guitar players practice placing their fingers on the frets. A violinist develops the ability to hold the bow just so to produce the perfect tone. You may or may not be musically inclined, but you definitely want to be heard when…

Can you really speak well sitting down?

No matter how much you prepare for a presentation (you do prepare, don’t you?) sometimes you have to be flexible. That’s what happened when a friend was ready to speak along with two colleagues. Which brought up a question: “I expected that I would be standing on stage and would have an opportunity to walk…

Your Takeaways from the Royal Wedding

You may not be a royal wedding enthusiast. Not everybody got up at the crack of dawn to see Prince Harry and Meghan Markle walk down the aisle. But you’ve surely heard the considerable reaction to the sermon.  The Presiding Bishop and Primate of The Episcopal Church caused quite a stir with his dissertation on…

You don’t say…

Masterful speakers have myriad ways to make an impact. They shift the tone of their voice, and the volume too.  Sometimes a whisper can seem stronger than a shout. They vary the rhythm of their words and the pace of their speech to capture attention and convey emotion. And then there’s this. Whether you’re speaking…

Cues for you from the Washington ruckus

Quick. What’s your take on this White House Correspondents Dinner brouhaha? It’s whipsawed me in a big way. I saw Michelle Wolf’s routine live; it made me so uncomfortable I almost changed the channel. (Yes, they call the dinner “the nerd prom.” I don’t even want to think about what they’d call a woman who’s…