This may seem an odd way to use visual aids, but you would be surprised at how effective it can be to brainstorm or even discover new ideas lurking in the audience. I discovered Ignite recently and was so impressed I put it up for my university speech students to see as an unusual way …

Would you be ready to respond? Google Plus Pages for businesses and brands are barely a week old, and already the neophyte social network appears to have its first identity crisis: Someone has created a Google Plus Page for Bank of America trashing the nation’s largest bank with a series of mocking photos, images and …

We never think much about our car battery until we turn the key and the car doesn’t start. It’s the same with training needs assessment. Companies and organizations want to take advantage of anticipated better times ahead. It’s good that there is an immediate call for the company or organizational needs assessments, probably because the …

While the Internet has not changed “everything,” it has changed how we shop, how we get directions, and most relevant to the CFC donors… and all nonprofit fundraising, it has changed where we get our news and information. And even though video is an increasingly important method of sharing information, the written word is how …

A major difference between leading and facilitating is that a leader often tells; a facilitator always asks. In my book, The Secrets of Facilitation, I described how I learned what I call the fundamental secret of facilitation. I began understanding the secret during my career with the management consulting division of what was then one …

Leadership Strategies has developed the Drivers Model, a method for taking a strategic approach to addressing a business situation. The model provides a simple communication tool for helping organizations construct a strategic plan. The model is fully scalable and applies to Fortune 500 companies, non-profit organizations, a field office, an individual department, a work team, …

Admit mistakes, create solutions, move on At some point every organization will encounter a crisis. What sets the greats apart is the way they handle the situation, and what path they take after recovery. In a recent Businessweek article, leadership expert Marshall Goldsmith hit the nail on the head with this suggestion: Ask each person …

Today, I start my first day as a professor of public speaking in a hybrid teaching environment. Oh, I’m not new to teaching–just the environment. Granted, it’s been awhile. It is both an exciting and daunting task. I won’t mention any names because it really doesn’t matter what institution it is; they are all relatively …

Winning teams aren’t created by accident. Rather, the team leaders or manager functions like a coach who recognizes special talents in people and gets them to work together toward a common goal. The following three steps will help you build a winning team and set it in the right direction. 1. Select the right team …

For many, meetings are viewed as a dreaded evil to be avoided at all costs: far too little gets accomplished, much of the discussion is unfocused and unproductive, and a lot of time is wasted. If you lead important group meetings, you know how difficult it can be to get a group engaged right from …