Providing constructive feedback to the people I coach can be challenging for several reasons. For my students, it can be difficult for them to receive feedback from someone they’ve just met! They know I’m going to point out areas in need of improvement. This creates feelings of exposure and vulnerability. Here’s how I approach the coaching in 4 steps. As a […]
When I walked into my training room, one student was already there. He looked up and asked, “Are we gonna cover smartphones? You know when you’re up there speaking and the audience is on their smartphone. Isn’t that just rude? I mean… how do I handle that when I’m the speaker?” I’m waiting for him to […]
I came home from a full day of working on projects, creating proposals, and talking to customers. When I walk in the door my wife asks me a question, “Hey babe, which color do you like for painting the kitchen?” And what did I say to her? “I don’t know. I think they all look good. Whatever you […]
Imagine an audience of 1,500 medical device salespeople in Las Vegas at their national sales conference. The speaker is introduced as a leading authority on cardiovascular disease. She begins with a request, “I want you to look around. Look at the people around you. In particular, look at the person to your left, your right, the person […]
First impressions can occur in as little as 1/100th of a second. While that speed may have served us well several thousand years ago, today it can cause us to jump to incorrect conclusions. In his book, Emotional Intelligence: Why it can matter more than IQ, Daniel Goleman points out that the amygdala part of our […]
My class asked for an example so I stepped to the front of the room, paused for a moment, and then… “Every day in the Greater Houston area, 300,000 children under the age of 5 go to bed hungry each night because their parents can’t afford to put food on the table.” Then I pause for […]
My student began her 4-minute-safety-moment presentation… “My sister-in-law was waiting for my brother to come home from work one night. It was getting dark. He must be running late. Finally headlights showed up in the driveway. But they weren’t his headlights. It was his manager and the safety manager. Three days later we buried my brother.” […]
Happy New Year! Most business professionals who attend my class will start snickering when I act out how business presentations often begin… “Hi everyone. For those who don’t know me my name is John Houser and I’m in the marketing department. Our VP of marketing asked me to come down here and show you guys some of the […]
My wife calls me at home and says, “Russ, I’m lost! Must be solar flares or something because neither of my gps devices are working. I need you to give me directions so I can get home.” Before I can give her any directions, what is my first question for her? “Where are you?” That’s right! It […]
