“Do you prefer coffee or tea? ” “What is your favorite show?” “What do you think about when you’re taking a shower? “ These types of personal questions are one of my favorite ways to interact with folks in an [...]
While attending and speaking at a convention a few months ago I had some free time, so I walked around and looked in several meeting rooms to see what was going on. (Many of the doors were open or partially open.) Most [...]
My longtime friend Robert gave his first paid talk last week. Here's an excerpt from a text he sent me after he'd given the talk: "I was in the warehouse during a big storm and the roll-up doors kept banging. It was [...]
Iowa 80 Group, which runs the largest truck stop in the world is celebrating their 50th anniversary. I get the privilege to speak at their Leadership Conference on Wednesday. (You may have read about this in Safety Stuff.) I wrote [...]
Habits drive much of our behavior. They often have a strong impact on our health and wellbeing. Habits can also drive a companies overall safety success, particularly what Charles Duhigg calls "keystone" habits in his book The Power of Habit [...]
SEVEN TIPS TO MAKE SURE YOU HAVE GREAT SOUND AT YOUR NEXT SAFETY DAY OR CONVENTION Lousy sound can ruin spectacular presentations. So, if you are planning a "safety day" or convention, making sure the sound system (and technicians who set [...]
Every time I start a talk I promise my audience three things that if you also do will make all of your safety meetings and training successful. One: I promise I will make it fun. And what I mean by [...]
Paid to Speak, the first book published (2011) by the National Speaker’s Association is an excellent book for anyone who wants to start a speaking business. I liked it. Though I’m already familiar with many of the tips and topics in [...]
Involving your audience by being enthusiastic is a great way to satisfy them. The Greek en theos, meaning “god within,” gives the root for the word enthusiasm. An enthusiastic person has a special, almost spiritual quality of excited involvement in [...]
Here’s a question I get asked on occasions, which, when I was starting out as a professional speaker, was tough to answer, but isn’t now: “What is the single most important thing a speaker (or trainer) needs to do to [...]