Megan is standing on a stage, in the middle of the most important presentation of her career, facing a sea of perplexed and unengaged faces.

Megan is an expert, and therein lies the problem.

Speaker SoundbitesKurt MacDonaldOctober 1, 2022Business Communication, Experts, Technical communication, Curse of Knowledge, Corporate communication, The Professional Communicators

Hybrid Meeting Help

There are communication solutions to make hybrid meetings more effective, engaging, and less frustrating. Rethinking how hybrid meetings run helps everyone, remote and in-person, have their voice heard.

Speaker SoundbitesKurt MacDonaldSeptember 1, 2022Hybrid meetings, Remote communications, Virtual meetings, Remote presentations, The Professional Communicators, Business Communication

Your Visual Open

Right there on my TV was a critical lesson--that engaging an audience requires careful orchestration of what your audience hears and sees.

Speaker SoundbitesKurt MacDonaldApril 1, 2022Visual communication, Business presentations, Business Communication, Public speaking, PowerPoint, The Professional Communicators

Like...Illustrative Examples

“Like” has gotten a bad rap.

“Like” has become a pariah of the English language.

But don’t be too quick to entirely discard it from your vocabulary. It’s often the gateway to engaging and persuasive content.

Speaker SoundbitesKurt MacDonaldMarch 1, 2022Illustrative examples, Presentation coaching, Business communication, Public speaking, Professional Communicators

New Year's Communication Resolution

While personal New Year’s resolutions are wonderful, consider adding a professional resolution, as well. And if you do, consider resolving to enhance your communication skills.

The recommendation has a chorus of support:

Speaker SoundbitesKurt MacDonaldJanuary 1, 2022Business communication, Public speaking coaching, Professional Communicators, Presentation training

Information Overload

Imagine you’re at a Thanksgiving festival and a helicopter is circling above. Suddenly little slips of paper start to fall from the sky. On them are single words and small phrases. You race around furiously trying to grab as many slips of paper as you can to decipher the code.

What’s the message?

Speaker SoundbitesKurt MacDonaldNovember 1, 2021Presentation content, Business presentations, Board reports, Presentation coaching, Corporate communication, Professional Communicators

The Corporate Communication Trap

It’s lurking and pervasive. It rears its ugly head during business presentations—project updates, board reports, and investor meetings. It happens during team meetings and webinars. CEOs and new hires are equally guilty of it.

It’s the corporate communication trap!

Speaker SoundbitesKurt MacDonaldOctober 1, 2021Business communication, Business presentations, Corporate communication, Strategic storytelling, The Professional Communicators

Posture, Poise, & Gestures

“Across 12 studies [an associate professor from University College of London School of Management] found that people could predict VC funding decisions based not on the actual content of entrepreneurs’ pitches but on how they were presented, especially body language and facial expressions.”

Speaker SoundbitesKurt MacDonaldSeptember 1, 2021Business Communication, Business presentations, Public Speaking, Confidence in Communication, Gestures, Nonverbal communication, The Professional Communicators

Communication Firebreaks

On the afternoon of July 6, a bolt of lightning pierced the Oregon sky and struck the ground near the small community of Beatty. If you were in the vicinity, it most assuredly caught your attention, but what happened next would catch the country’s attention.

…

But what does a 400,000-acre forest fire have to do with effective communication?

Speaker SoundbitesKurt MacDonaldAugust 1, 2021Public speaking, Talking too quickly, Business communication, High stakes presentations, Presentation coaching