Messaging Skills Archives

Hosting a Virtual User Conference? Prepare Your Speakers to Succeed

by Kelly Reeves

If your 2020 user conference plans were impacted by the pandemic, you’re not alone. And if, like many, you’ve chosen to move forward by converting to a virtual conference, you’ll be relying more than ever on your speakers’ skills. Share these 8 tips with your virtual conference speakers to help them prepare to impress.

by Kelly Reeves

Event Preparation, Messaging Skills, Virtual Presentations

Influencing Others Through Story; A Valuable Lesson from Game of Thrones

by Brad Holst

What inspires and motivates people to action? Here’s a hint: it’s not a PowerPoint deck filled with data points and analytics. Learning how to share a powerful story can positively influence others and help your ideas become memorable. Perhaps you need to promote a new idea or close that crucial sale. Learn how some of the most successful business ventures today got their start from sharing a powerful story and how you can make your own narrative work for you.

by Brad Holst

Business Transformation, Communication Skills, In-Person Presentations, Influencing Skills, Messaging Skills, Selling Skills, Storytelling

Want Your Presentation to Be Memorable? Follow the Rule of Three

by Brad Holst

Memory almost full. Imagine that warning flashing brightly on the forehead of every audience member. A successful presentation isn’t just about the speaker’s dynamic energy or their confident manner in front of an audience. Without compelling, easy to follow content, it doesn’t matter how comfortable you are in the spotlight. You and your topic will quickly be forgotten. So how do you ensure lasting, memorable impact? Learn how to be remembered by leveraging the ancient, globally relevant, and scientifically proven rule of three to focus your content, motivate your listeners, and make your executive presence shine.

by Brad Holst

Communication Skills, Critical Thinking Skills, Event Preparation, In-Person Presentations, Messaging Skills, Presentation Skills, Presenting to Executives, SCIPAB, Selling Skills, Slide deck, Storytelling

Conference Room Bullies and How to Present to Them

by Brad Holst

Have you ever encountered an unfriendly meeting participant while presenting? Maybe you know someone who constantly interrupts, asks aggressive questions, or worse, tries to take over your meeting. Believe it or not, you have more control over these conference room bullies than you think. Learn how to recognize these strong personalities, the things you may be doing to trigger their behavior, and what you can do right now to strengthen your command of the room and feel more confident in front of any audience.

by Brad Holst

Briefing Center, Executive Presence, Messaging Skills, Presentation Slides, Training Evaluation

The Little-Known Secret to More Productive Meetings

by Brad Holst

How many meetings have you gone to this week? Were they productive, or did they just create the need for more? Now think about how many meetings happen every day in your organization. Companies lose millions of dollars each year on wasted employee time in meetings and, as a result, employees become increasingly stressed and unhappy. Believe it or not, part of the problem is the meeting invitation. Learn how a simple, quick addition to your meeting invites can help you and your organization have consistent meeting success every time.

by Brad Holst

Briefing Center, Collaboration Skills, Communication Skills, Critical Thinking Skills, In-Person Presentations, Messaging Skills, Project Management, SCIPAB

How to Communicate to Break Through the Noise in 2018

by Ed Musselwhite, CEO

In 2018, you matter, and...it may be harder than ever to “be heard and understood.” We all want 2018 to be our “best year ever!” professionally and personally. Fortunately, this new year looks like it offers great potential for record-setting successes. Yet, this moment in time presents some serious hindrances for you, if your job description includes words like “communicate,” “lead,” “manage,” “sell,” “influence,” or “collaborate.” Here's why and what you can do to make 2018 your best year ever.

by Ed Musselwhite, CEO

Critical Thinking Skills, Influencing Skills, Messaging Skills, Presentation Skills

How To Get Your Best Ideas Heard

by Heather Muir

A recent MIT Sloan/Deloitte study named innovation the second most important issue companies are grappling with today. Most organizations aren't lacking for ideas—the challenge is making sure the best ones get heard and funded. Unfortunately, too often, even great ideas get lost when poorly communicated. If you can't make a clear enough case for your idea, it ends up ignored, shelved, abandoned— or it may even get defeated by a weak idea, better presented. Don't let your best ideas get lost in presentation. Here's how.

by Heather Muir

Business Transformation, Conversation Skills, Critical Thinking Skills, Messaging Skills, Presentation Skills

How Many Women Are In Your Leadership Pipeline?

by Beth Boone

Companies perform better financially when women are well represented in the workforce, in management, and on corporate boards. The problem is when a woman speaks, she can feel like she’s walking a tightrope. Many women report feeling like they’re either not heard at all at work or are judged as too aggressive when they speak. The research backs this up. As a result, women may decide that saying less is more. But this hurts them and their organizations. So what can your business do to tackle this problem head-on and build a stronger pipeline of women leaders? Read the blog to find out.

by Beth Boone

Conversation Skills, Executive Presence, Messaging Skills, Presentation Skills

The Two Types of “Brain Freezes” We All Experience (and a Few Quick Tips on How to Cure Them)

by Bob Sherwin

Ugh, another brain freeze coming on. There are two kinds of brain freezes we've all experienced, both probably more often than we'd like. If you despise them like I do, here’s my take on both types, their causes, and a few quick tips on how to cure them.

by Bob Sherwin

Conversation Skills, Messaging Skills, Presentation Skills

The Secret to Connecting on LinkedIn

by Heather Muir

If you want to connect with more people on LinkedIn, I have a foolproof tip: Make a real connection. What I mean is, if you want to productively connect with someone—whether virtually through a social network or in-person—don't send a generic invite. They don't work. Read the blog to find out why, and what you can do instead to craft irresistible LinkedIn messages or networking emails that get results.

by Heather Muir

Conversation Skills, Messaging Skills, Presentation Skills, Selling Skills

3 Reasons You Should Follow Us on Social Media

by Heather Muir

Are you one of the 2 billion people on Facebook? Then, we want to connect with you! Here are 3 reasons to follow Mandel Communications on social media. Plus, don't miss your chance to win a complimentary seat (a $1495 value) in one of our open enrollment presentation and public speaking workshops!

by Heather Muir

Messaging Skills

Prepare for Success: Pressure Test Your Presentation

by Heather Muir

You worked really hard on your presentation. You practiced it multiple times end-to-end. You feel good. You look great. You got this. Suddenly, your presentation time gets cut from 60 minutes to 10. Uh-oh. Moments like this can catch anyone by surprise—and they happen all the time. When the squeeze is on, will you be ready? Can your presentation pass the Pressure Test? Read on to find out.

by Heather Muir

Event Preparation, Messaging Skills, Presentation Skills, Presenting to Executives

How Storytelling Makes a Presentation More Influential

by Brad Holst

Has this ever happened to you? You’ve got a brilliant idea, one you know could deliver huge value. All the data supports it. But when you present it to others...they're just not that interested. Why? It could be that your presentation spoke only to their brains and not to their hearts. Learn how storytelling can help your audience emotionally connect with you and your ideas, making your presentation more memorable and influential.

by Brad Holst

Messaging Skills, Presentation Skills, Storytelling

World Class Communication Really is a Marathon

by Kathleen Redd

What does it take to transform smart and skilled subject matter experts into world-class communicators? Consistent practice and application of these three principles. Read the blog to learn what they are. With training and persistence, anyone can become a world-class communicator—someone who is able to move ideas, decisions, projects, relationships, and businesses forward.

by Kathleen Redd

Briefing Center, Conversation Skills, Messaging Skills, Presentation Skills, Sales Readiness, Technical Professionals

Think Before You Speak: Engineering the First 60 Seconds of Conversation

by David Mears

Securing an initial conversation with decision makers is tougher than ever. When you do finally get someone's attention or time, the first 60 seconds of your interaction are critical. Which is precisely why it's so important to think before you speak. To get the results you want, you must be intentional about how you engineer the first minute of your conversation. Read the blog to learn more.

by David Mears

Conversation Skills, Messaging Skills, Presenting to Executives, Sales Readiness

Lessons Learned From Exceptional Business Communicators

by Brad Holst

What do wildly successful business people have in common? Multiple studies confirm they tend to be exceptional communicators—people who excel at moving information and insight into action. What can you learn from these communication superheroes? In all my years’ experience working in the business communication field, I’ve observed that two behaviors set exceptional communicators apart. Read this week's blog to learn what they are.

by Brad Holst

Conversation Skills, Messaging Skills, Presentation Skills

Attention. Grab It!

by David Mears

The average person’s attention span is shorter than a goldfish’s. That can make grabbing and keeping the attention of busy professionals a challenge of epic proportions. Here are 5 strategies to help you win the attention of an easily distracted audience. (Hint: Providing better information than anyone else isn’t enough.)

by David Mears

Conversation Skills, Messaging Skills, Presentation Skills, Presenting to Executives

What Is the Antidote to Business Anxiety?

by David Mears

Business anxiety is high. Geopolitics. Trade. Cyber security. Uncertainty reigns. One former White House economist suggests we're living in an "age of anxiety." Ready-aim-fire approaches to addressing the disruptive changes ahead won't work. Instead, businesses need to be proactive. How? Equip your people with the skills needed to create clarity from chaos and decisiveness from uncertainty. Learn why clearer thinking and speaking is the antidote to business anxiety and what 3 skills your talent needs to not only survive this new era, but to thrive in it.

by David Mears

Conversation Skills, Executive Presence, Messaging Skills, Presentation Skills

How to Get in the Habit of Being a Great Listener

by Brad Holst

In this attention-anemic world, we humans are rapidly losing the ability to listen. One thing we've learned from the thousands of people who attend Mandel workshops every year is that most people have 3 damaging habits that disrupt their ability to express themselves—and also impede their ability to listen to others. This week's blog explores how to break those bad habits and replace them with ones that can help you become a truly great listener.

by Brad Holst

Briefing Center, Collaboration Skills, Conversation Skills, Eye Contact, Messaging Skills, Presentation Skills

Want to Be a Better Listener? Then Learn How to Be Heard

by Brad Holst

I think most of us would agree that nothing good happens when people stop listening to each other. So, how can you be a better listener? It may sound counterintuitive, but to be a good listener you have to learn how to be heard. This week, I want to talk about how not feeling heard sabotages effective listening and what you can do about it.

by Brad Holst

Conversation Skills, Messaging Skills

Better Decisions Faster: 3 High-Performer Strategies That Get Results

by Naomi Price

What do unproductive meetings have in common? Poor or delayed decisions and decisions made too slowly. In meetings where you must share information to support critical business decisions, what can you do to get better results faster? In our experience, high-performers approach meetings differently. Here are 3 high-performer strategies you can use right now to get better results.

by Naomi Price

Messaging Skills, Presentation Skills, Presenting to Executives

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