Many years ago I worked for a short while in the commercial real estate industry as an assistant to a successful broker. He would send letters and leave voicemails using what he called the “blood in the water” technique. Like…
Is Over-Branding Killing Your Authenticity?
There I stood at the check-out counter, waiting patiently as the cashier scanned my items. After the initial inquiry about my status as a Walgreens card holder, all conversation came to a screeching halt. I glanced lustfully at the bottle…
Communication Lessons Learned from International Travel
Yesterday I arrived back in Chicago after 2+ weeks in Europe. My trip consisted of both business and leisure activities, and my experiences in each made me think of a few rules of thumb to keep in mind when communicating…
The Five Second Rule
We all have a lot going on nowadays. Between work stuff, personal stuff, deciding what to wear, deciding what to eat, keeping up with the conversation on Twitter, stalking people on LinkedIn, and wondering why so-and-so posted that stupid link…
There’s Always Enough Time to Get Personal
One of the things I always stress to clients and students is the importance of getting personal in presentations. My reasoning for this is summed up well by the following quote: People don’t care how much you know until they…