Practice makes perfect. Practice speaking and listening – and use technology to analyze your skills and measure the progress. Sounds sophisticated? Not at all. All you need is a simple speech recorder or just your smartphone. Make it a habit to record all substantial conversations that you have during the day, then allocate ample time […]
Tag: coaching
What are the best tips and tricks for increasing productivity and time management?
Here are a few off the top of my head. I am glad you’ve asked because it’s good to go through the list every once in a while. 1. Always have a plan. Thinking before doing requires some time and internal discipline but gives you an edge over the “doers” who act without thinking.
A Gentleman’s Manual for Becoming a Good Man
“Read before bed every night.” If you want to read something really special this weekend and perhaps be able to share it with your kids, try “Rules for My Unborn Son” by Walker Lamond. This book has never made it to a bestseller list but is a real gem that deserves more attention. It offers […]
“Am I Paranoid?” Client Seeking Advice
What would be your advice to this client? This story sounds like a job-interview business case – but it is not. My client Alex (not his real name) is asking me for advice. He thinks that his boss, a senior manager in their company, has lied about his background and experience. Connecting on LinkedIn, Alex […]
Weekend Easy Reading – Healthy Quote from the New York Times
Good article in The New York Times: “A Positive Outlook May Be Good for Your Health” If you are too busy to read it in full, here are the skills one must learn, and practice each day: ■ Recognize a positive event each day. ■ Savor that event and log it in a journal or […]
Negotiate Out of Anything
Ever realized that negotiations play a major role in your life? What to eat for breakfast, where to go for vacation and how to get a discount, as well as your starting salary, your promotion, and eventually your severance package – those are but a minor sample of the items that you have to negotiate […]
What Makes Life Worthwhile? Good People Made Better
Once in a while you get news that makes your life worthwhile. Last week a colleague sent me a text with the phone number of a former client: “He wants to speak with you.” I called the new mobile number right away and learned that Vlad has been promoted to the top position at an […]
Coaching Ourselves May Be the Way Forward
I attended an interesting webinar – “Peer-Coaching Groups with CoachingOurselves: A modern approach to developing leaders.” Peer coaching with professional facilitation is an interesting concept. Although I did not hear Henry Mintzberg ever mentioning this, but it reminds me of the Quality Circles. They were popular in Japan in 1950s-1960s, made popular in the West […]
17 Points of Effective Presentation: Delivery
This is the sequel to “7 Points of Effective Presentation: Killer Powerpoint Slides.” Last week, we started work on a presentation with a client. We identified 7 important areas for improvement, and the client created a very effective slide stack as a result of our effort. However, the delivery of the material is equally […]
7 Points of Effective Presentation: Killer Powerpoint Slides
I am going through a “killer presentation” sent over by a client, and I am excited…. I am excited because I see that we have a good topic for a successful coaching session: it will bring immediate result. Actually, I see two successful sessions coming, because every presentation is built on two pillars: the slide […]