The Blog / Archive

Gratitude practices and journals have been taking off in recent years, for good reason. Taking a little time to focus on what’s going well, what we appreciate about our lives and each other, can reframe and elevate our experience and even our mental health.  For many reasons, some productive and some less so, most of us spend a lot of our time looking at what’s not working, what’s out of whack. That relentless spotlight on the negative or what’s lacking can make us lose our sense of proportion. In our communication coaching practice at Ignite CSP, we start with what’s … Read more

There are so many things that can go wrong when you’re giving a talk. Let’s look at just three: 1) Your tech. The number one thing that throws speakers off their game is when the microphone or PowerPoint doesn’t work.  2) The room (real or virtual) isn’t what you expected. 3) Your time is cut short.   I’ve had each of these things happen to me, multiple times, sometimes at the same speaking event. The good news is, you can assert some control in all three of these situations.  To avoid being derailed by tech issues or room surprises, always … Read more

A question I get a lot when coaching public speaking is: How do I reach everyone in my audience? What can I do to make sure every single person receives my message? Short answer: You can’t do it. Even in a small group, everyone there has different priorities, interests, and backgrounds. If you try to create a message that reaches them all, chances are that you’ll reach no one. Longer, hopefully more helpful answer: Instead of focusing on how to reach everyone, think about how to get your message to a specific someone. Who is your message really for? What … Read more

Sometimes clients are referred to Ignite CSP because of negative feedback they received in a performance review, 360 survey, or client comment. The person hiring us passes this feedback along as if it is one of the Ten Commandments, carved into a stone tablet. “This negative thing happened! We need to go into immediate action!” When I get to talk to the client about the feedback, two things often surface. First, they are really distressed by the negative comment. They think about it a lot, and sometimes it even causes them to leave certain projects or teams. Second, and this … Read more

What do you do when there’s an elephant in the room?  The project went badly. The leadership made a mistake. There’s a lawsuit the company is going to have to deal with.  Do you address it yourself, or wait until a questioner brings up the lurking pachyderm? My advice, in most cases, is to go ahead and address it yourself. That way, you get to set the terms of the discussion. Think through exactly how you want to talk about whatever your elephant is: how can you frame this topic to lead to a productive outcome? What can you share … Read more

When your conversation spreads across more than one medium (from email, to text, to Messenger) When you find yourself asking, “What am I supposed to say to that?” When you wonder, “Wait, what happened here?” When you feel your blood pressure rising When you’re sure the other person is thinking annoyed thoughts about you When each additional text simply adds to the confusion Stop texting. Stop emailing. Pick up the phone.  Choose real-time communication, the kind where we can connect to each other, ask questions, and explain ourselves. The kind where we can remember that the person on the other … Read more

When you’re delivering a speech or presentation, what should you do first? Here’s my suggestion, and it may seem counterintuitive. Don’t start talking.  Stay quiet. Take your place at the front of the room. Look around. Smile. Wait. Let everyone settle. See them looking back at you. Remember your intention: what are you here to do? Now breathe. When you exhale that breath, it’s time to start to speak.

I have been getting a lot of questions lately about what to do when you are teaching a class virtually, or leading a meeting on Zoom, and you simply can’t read the room. You look out and see faces staring back at you, and it’s impossible to tell if you’re getting through at all. Often we tend to have a “show must go on!” mentality about this, pressing on with our prepared material regardless of the blank faces.  I want to suggest that, instead, you ask. Come clean about what the experience is like for you! “I want to take … Read more