Are You Sending the Wrong Message Before and After Your Speech?

The message you deliver to your audience isn't just dependent upon what you say while you're on stage. What you say and do before and after your speech is equally important.

Multitasking makes you feel like you're getting lots done, but are you really? Here are seven tips to help you stop the multitasking madness and embrace singletasking to become more productive and less stressed out.

Want your business to succeed? The first step is to decide what your business goals are and work from there. Here's why goals are so important.

Helping employees under you reach their potential is an important part of your job as a manager. The best way to do that is by mentoring them. In this excerpt from 9 Powerful Practices of Really Great Mentors, learn about the basics of mentoring.

What you wear says more about you than you might realize. Are the outfits you wear to work sending unwanted messages?

Are you unhappy with your life the way it is? Do you want a better future but aren't sure how to make it happen? These five tips will help you begin creating that future right now.

Dreading your next business meeting already? If you want to make meetings more efficient, more enjoyable, and perhaps even less lengthy, follow these 12 tips.

Laughter is the best medicine, as the saying goes, and it's also a key ingredient in running a successful business. Here are eleven ways having a sense of humor can help you be more successful at business.

Do you hesitate before making business decisions? Sometimes it's important to be able to decide quickly. Here are eight steps that can help you become more decisive in your decision making.

Interruptions cost you and your employees valuable time and productivity. Here's how to get back all that lost time and end interruptions for good.

When you run your own business, your work can quickly take over your life. Here are tips for keeping your work and life balanced, so you can have time to enjoy the fruits of your labor.

Has your job taken over your life? Do you feel like you never actually clock out? Here are three suggestions for getting your life back.

Delivering bad news isnt pleasant, but at times its necessary. Here is a simple formula to help you conduct lifes difficult conversations.

Have you lost sight of your original business goals? Are you so busy running your business that you don't have time to keep it moving in the direction you planned? Here are some questions you should ask yourself to make sure you stay on track to achieving your goals.

Setbacks and disappointments are inevitable in business. It's how you respond to them that makes a difference in how much they impact you. Here are five things you can do to see immediate improvement in how you deal with setbacks.

Smartphones are incredible productivity tools when they aren't being overused, but the soft ding of alerts from social media, emails and game updates can keep you from concentrating on the real world going on around you. Here are five things you can do to overcome smartphone obsession.

Do you feel like a fake even though you're a successful business person? Afraid others will learn your secret? If you answered yes, you are suffering from impostor syndrome. Here are ten tips for overcoming it.

Whether you manage employees, sell to customers, or just need to get your kids to do their homework, being able to get people to change their minds is a valuable skill. Here's how you can influence people without manipulating them.

Good communication skills are the key to success in everything you do. Follow these 7 steps to develop communication skills that'll help you get ahead.

Want to make your business writing more effective? Here are ten phrases to avoid in your letters and e-mails.

When your customers trust you, they will buy more from you and refer their friends and associates to you. Here's how you can get people to trust you by using the right body language.

Is your word choice distracting people from the message you're trying to deliver? Here are three words that business people love to use but often misuse.

Does it seem like no matter what you do, there's always something or someone who takes up a lot more of your time than you had planned? Maybe you've fallen victim to one of these 11 time management lies.

When you've got your own business, it's hard to clock out at the end of the day because there are just too many things that need to be done. However, to be more productive, you don't have to work even more hours than you already are. Use these 5 techniques to work smarter and improve your productivity.

The holiday season can be a stressful time of year for many people, and that can lead to poor decisions. Here are five things to remember before you say or do something you'll regret at the company holiday party or family gathering.

Stressed out? Feeling like you can't take it anymore? Don't let it ruin your life. Use these 10 tips to beat stress.

Procrastination robs you of your productivity and hurts your credibility. Stop putting off those unpleasant tasks and get them out of the way with these 10 tips for pushing past procrastination.

To get ahead, you need to be able to speak confidently when you're put on the spot. Here are seven steps to follow so you keep your composure and respond well when you're under pressure.

Sheryl Sandbergs Lean In has received both high praise and disapproval from women. Whether you agree with everything she writes or not, the core lesson that women should lean in and become leaders in the workplace is solid advice. But, in their rise to the top, women should also make an effort to lean back to help other women.

Nearly everyone makes at least a couple of resolutions for themselves at the beginning of the year, and your business can benefit from resolutions too. Here are three resolutions that can help your business be more successful in 2013.

No matter how much you spend on marketing, or how great your customer service is, if your productivity is suffering, so will your bottom line. Here are five things you can do to help yourselfstay focused and productive.

Whether your idea of success is to be able to vacation whenever you like or to simply support your family, there are three basic things you can do to make sure your business is able tomeet your goals.

Businesses that are brand new and businesses that have been established for years all go through the same lifecycle. Knowing and recognizing the five stages of that lifecycle can help you run you business successfully, no matter which stage you're in.

Don't let yourself become a victim of office politics. Learn the tell-tale signs and what to do about them in this excerpt from Savvy: Dealing with People, Power and Politics at Work.

Want to improve your negotiation skills and learn how to start from a winning position? Here are seven things you can do to give yourself a head start in any negotiation.

You know how important good first impressions are, but it's all too easy to blow it. Follow these 12 tips to make a good first impression.

Are you busy all day but never seem to get ahead? Solve the problem by using these time management tips to focus your work and be more successful.

Worried about making a good first impression in business interactions? Here are seven bad habits that could undermine your credibility.

A big project can quickly become overwhelming without proper planning. Here's why breaking it down into smaller tasks can save time and money.

Change - it's constantly happening to us but rarely does anyone look forward to it. These five steps can help you master change.

Whether your big dream is to start your own business, earn more money in your job, or simply have more time to spend with your family, it all starts out with setting a goal. You can improve the odds that you'll achieve your goals by following these steps.

Cell phones are a nearly indispensable business tool. But are you offending your customers and those around you with bad habits? Here are five cell phone etiquette rules you'll want to follow.

When you face a major project in your business, getting started can be the hardest part. Discover the four steps that will get you moving.

The only way to get more time in your day is to work faster or work smarter. Most of us are already working as fast as we can without sacrificing quality. These tips for eliminating time-wasting habits can help you work smarter.

The challenges of running a business can take a toll on the strongest of individuals. Thats why it helps to have someone in your corner who cares about you and makes sure you get the important things done.

Business and life are full of big and small negotiations. Whether you're trying to get a client's buy-in on an advertising campaign or trying to land a new client for your law firm, your ego could kill the deal. This excerpt from How to Win Any Argument shows you why.

Whether its a speech or a webinar, technical presentations need the breath of life to capture an audiences attention and motivate them to action. Dont be that boring guy that you made fun of at the last conference. Follow these six steps for your technical presentation strategy and have them cheering instead of snoozing.

Whether you realize it or not, speaking has a lot in common with football. Here are four things winning football teams and good speakers have in common.

When you make a bad decision, you can waste valuable time beating yourself up. Find out how to get over mistakes quickly so you can move on and regain your momentum.

Getting your audience to participate in your presentation will make your message more readily received and more memorable. Here are three DON'TS and seven DO'S for getting your audience involved.

If you dont take time to give genuine praise and positive feedback to the people who work with you, youre missing out on a golden opportunity to strengthen your relationship with them. There are three reasons why leaders often overlook this important activity.

It's not what you think. It seems innocent, butit will rob you of time, productivity, and ultimately profit... but only if you let it.

Running your own business can easily take over your life. But if you have no time to enjoy the fruits of your labor, just what are you working for? Here are seven time management tips for small business owners that will let you work less without putting your business at risk.

Do you have a hard time remembering people's names? Forgetting names can be embarrassing. Here are a few simple tips to help you remember people's names.

You may not be a cheerleader by nature, and thats okay when youre in a situation where another person is discouraged. Theres a much better approach for encouraging others that works like magic.

Knowing your personal strengths and talents can help you decide where to focus your efforts and when to hire outside help. There are lots of online assessments you can take to figure this out, but one of the best ways to discover your strengths is to ask those who know you best.

Complicated problems may seem like they have no solution. The author of the new book, "The Five Percent: Finding Solutions to Seemingly Impossible Conflicts" explains in this excerpt how we're likely to react when faced with a complex problem.

Next time you're giving a speech or presentation, don't worry about reciting what you've prepared word for word. Instead, use the knowledge you have about your topic to speak to your audience with passion and authority.

In your role as a leader, you have blind spots about how your behavior impacts others. Even though its hard to ask for feedback, youll learn things you could not discover any other way.

If there's one thing politicians have mastered, it is defending things they've said and done. Here are seven things you can learn from them about defensive communication.

When you want to change your behavior, its like trying to build a superhighway out of a dirt road. You can do it. Just know that breaking bad habits is a construction project in your brain that takes time.

Whether it's a little slip up or a big ole foot-in-mouth moment, communication blunders happen to the best of us. What's important, beyond damage control, is that we learn from our mistakes. Even better, we can learn from others' mistakes. Here are 2011's top 10 communication blunders and lessons we can learn from them.

The economic downturn has made it more difficult than ever to achieve prosperity - or has it? According to the authors of the new book Prosper: Create the Life You Really Want, prosperity is still attainable, but you might need to adjust how you define it. Here are six practices for redefining what prosperity means to you.

If you want to engage your audience on a new level, try asking them powerful questions that really get them thinking about your topic.

The way to winning your audience's heart is by treating them respectfully. If you want to demonstrate respect for your audience, focus on these four key areas.

With each speech you give, you have the chance to make small improvements that can make a big difference in how well your presentation is received. Here are four steps to help you identify those opportunities for improvement.

If you run a small business, multitasking is second nature to you. But even though you try to use your time efficiently, there still aren't enough hours in the day. Get back lost time and be more productive with these ten tips.

Are you having trouble getting your message across to your employees? Here's what you need to know to communicate with your employees in a way that helps them improve their performance.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was, undoubtedly, one of the most superb speakers of his day. Here's a look at what made his speeches so memorable and how you can use him as a role model in your own public speaking endeavors.

When you make a mistake or cause problems for someone else, you may be tempted to minimize the impact and avoid admitting youre wrong. Find out why apologizing quickly is a far better approach.

Are your speeches a bit dry? Having trouble connecting with your audiences? Maybe it's because you're trying too hard. Here are six ways you can lighten up so your speeches and presentations are more appealing and enjoyable.

The audience plays a big part in a speaker's success or failure at an event. If you're going to see someone speak or give a presentation, follow these ten tips to help your speaker out, and to be sure you get the most out of it, too.

PowerPoint can be an excellent tool for keeping your presentation interesting, but it can't replace the good old standby of handouts. Here's why you should continue using handouts and a surprising tip about the best time to distribute them to your audience.

You might think that incorporating some of the styles and habits of your favorite speakers into your own speeches will improve your presentation. Unfortunately, the opposite is probably true. Here are three pitfalls of imitation in public speaking.

One thing that the best public speakers have in common is that they keep their speeches and presentations simple. Rather than trying to impress their audience, great speakers put their efforts into delivering a clear, compelling message.

When you're preparing the checklist for the speech you're giving, you'll naturally include the big, important items. There are also several seemingly minor things that will make a big impact in how your message is received, and you shouldn't overlook any of them.

When you've been asked to speak in front of a large group, it's bound to give your ego a boost. And though speaking invitations do show the confidence others have in you, you'll fare much better with your audience if you check your ego backstage. Here's some advice on how to be a confident speaker without being cocky.

When you deliver a presentation, does your audience believe what you're saying? Follow these tips to build your credibility and deliver your message with authority.

Whether you're standing in front of an audience for the very first time or have been giving public speeches for years, stage fright is something you'll have to deal with. Read what several professional speakers say about managing stage fright.

Whether you're posting to your company's blog or giving a speech in front of thousands, using the wrong word can make you look foolish and harm your credibility. Watch out for these three frequently misused words.

Speaking at a civic club meeting puts you face-to-face with businesspeople that you might otherwise never have the chance to meet. Next time you're invited to give a talk at one of these community groups, consider these five steps to make your appearance a success.

One of the pitfalls of being an entrepreneur is trying to run the business entirely on your own. While only you may be able to get the job done to your standards of perfection, you will eventually burn out if you keep trying to do it all yourself. Here's how you can save yourself from becoming a martyr-preneur.

Variety is the spice of life, as the saying goes, and it is also what keeps your presentations and speeches interesting to your audience. These suggestions can help you add variety to your public speaking engagements.

Dont let the author of the next bad report in your company be you. Learn five simple rules to increase the impact of your business reports on the job, become better at business writing, and transition to writing for business success.

Having a low turnout for a speaking event can be disappointing. You might even feel like it's a waste of your time to give your full presentation. Here's why you should put your best effort into even the smallest audiences.

In today's working environment, where customers and employees are demanding more, instilling the use of soft skills in your team members is something you simply can't survive without.

Would you like your business to be more prosperous? Would you also like a more harmonious work environment that both invigorates and supports you and the people you work with? If you answered yes, then consider the use of Feng Shui in your business.

What would you expect to be more important in the business world: your knowledge of an important topic or your people skills? A recent survey suggests that it's how you interact with others that has the biggest impact on your success.

Ever noticed how some entrepreneurs get way more done than others without working themselves to the bone? If you ever want to be able to have more time for things you enjoy, working smarter is critical. Here are five things you can start doing right now to become more productive without working longer hours.

It's easy to get stuck in a negative mindset during tough times. But focusing on the bad doesn't help bring about things that are good. Here's why you should seek to keep a positive outlook in spite of your current circumstances.

This year, as the economy is beginning to recover, is your small business poised for growth? If you're not sure, take this quiz. It has seven questions that'll help you prepare your business to grow.

If you're going to survive this season of turmoil, you must innovate your way out of it. Here are some tips that can have your whole company lighting up the economic darkness with one bright idea after another.

Has your business slowed because of the economy? If so, youve got two options. Keep doing what youve always done and hope it turns around on its ownOr, do something different. These three tips can help you get your business growing even in today's economy.

People take on roles for different reasons. Sometimes it's because it's what is expected of you. Other times it's because you think it will help you get ahead. If you're playing a role that doesn't suit your natural talents, you could be undermining your own success.

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