Blog

“Tell me about yourself?” Short question, seems easy right? You have known yourself for a really long time so start talking! Quickly you rattle off your name, your degree, your title….then, there is silence. You swallow hard and look to the floor. What should come next? Glad you asked! Coming up with your “story” and making it interesting to an audience other than your Uncle Phil or your mom is complicated, intimidating, and kind of weird. I recently completed a … Read More

What are you afraid of? Tough question, right? Some of us are afraid to take risks…some are afraid of not taking enough. Fear is one of those things that can live dormant in your gut, then suddenly fester and take over in the most cruel ways. Fear of public speaking is real. People have told me they would rather drink poison, stab themselves in the eye, or worse, than step foot in front of an audience. I get it. I … Read More

I will never forget the first time the teleprompter died when I was anchoring the news. There I was staring at frozen words on a screen. Nothing was moving…no words were coming and I had no idea how to save myself.  All I knew is that someone was on the other end of the lens wondering why I wasn’t speaking. After the wave of nausea subsided…I looked at the paper script at my hands and I read. I never picked … Read More

Every time you open your mouth and mention your company in public..it is there. Forever. It can be found and used FOR or AGAINST you until the end of time. One Google search of your name can reveal all.  Great! Unless what you said is not well thought out, untrue, off the mark, or just plain “not good.” Now more than ever you have one shot to get it right. One shot to say something useful…and if it is said … Read More

I was recently having a casual conversation with a woman talking about what I do. She had the usual questions, “who do you work with?”, “how did you get started?”, “so you’re a speech therapist!?”.  I tilted my head a bit and thought about that last question. My first inclination was to laugh and correct her. Then it hit me. Speech therapist. “I am a kind of a speech therapist!”, I thought. It’s a hell of a lot more descriptive than … Read More

In my first blog I wrote about what I do. It’s important to know what you do and be able to articulate that. Agreed.  But I was recently preparing for a new business call and had a thought. “Why do people work with me? Why should this guy work with me?” They already know what I do therefore they know basically what I “am” in the professional sense. So what is it that sets me apart? In this case I decided … Read More

I recently posted my first blog. It was a big deal for me. Not because I am afraid of writing or expressing my thoughts and insights…it is because I wonder “who is listening?????” I posted it on LinkedIn…I think. Full disclosure…technical things like LinkedIn (and I realize it is NOT that technical) intimidate me. I have no idea if I posted it correctly, or moreover if anyone would  actually read it. Truth be told I am pretty sure I did not … Read More

I am always asked what exactly I do for work. For many people if I answer with the words “media trainer” and “message development specialist” I get a polite smile and we move on.  Say “PR consultant”….same result.  I don’t have job title per say…I have a mission and a message.  Most of the time I have about 20 seconds to tell you what I do and why. That is about the same amount of  time you have when you are talking … Read More