by Alan | Aug 13, 2006 | Communication skills, Content, Customer Service, Leadership
Had a friend relate a customer service story I thought appropos.Seems his airline (who shall remain nameless, but let’s just say that bankruptcy filings are not too far in their past history) lost his bags, left them on the ramp, they got rained on, ruined all...
by Alan | Aug 8, 2006 | Communication skills, Content, Delivery, Efficiency, PowerPoint
Walked in to teach a class today to discover that the handouts I had requested were not present, two of the notebooks had the wrong cover sheet (and were thus not distributed correctly), and the printed roster was not accurate. A prop I had used the last time I...
by Alan | Aug 7, 2006 | Communication skills, Content, Delivery, Sales
Frequently in life the things that are not said carry meaning that goes well beyond words. But when action is expected from words, clear honesty is the best practice. I had a chance to spend some time with a world-reknown speaker over the weekend, and he said that...
by Alan | Aug 6, 2006 | Communication skills, Content, Delivery
Another of my TTPP (Top Ten Pet Peeves). This one is SOOOO prevalent. You’ll hear it everywhere now.Speakers who begin a sentence with, “Well, to be honest…” If you’re ever in a one-on-one conversation with me and say that, I’ll...
by Alan | Aug 3, 2006 | Communication skills, Content
Watched a C-level keynote today where the presenter had clearly done some research. Problem is, he then proceeded to quote random facts in differing units, making comparisons virtually impossible. At one point he quoted some important length of time from days of...
by Alan | Aug 2, 2006 | Communication skills, Content, Delivery
Working with a student in class last week, helping him craft and refine his message. The student was an experienced speaker, having given his keynote many times, but had come for help because he “just wasn’t satisified” with what he had presented...
