How to Make a Memorable (and Meaningful!) Toast
Preparing a toast (or not preparing) can be a bit, well, daunting. How can we be funny, charming, witty, and memorable? Amber will show you 5 easy tips! Read more
Amber will tell you that her passion is learning — in all its forms. “I believe it happens when we bump into something different,” she says, “Whether it is experiencing a different culture through travel or helping a team work through conflict. Growth is a life-long process, and there’s a wise saying that when the student is ready, the teacher will appear. I get a kick out of being the student as much as being the teacher.”
How to Introduce a Speaker
When you must introduce a speaker on short notice, these five tips will help you do so in a memorable fashion. Read more
Why Storytelling at Work Matters
While it can be helpful in decision making, data is dry. Strong leaders use the data as a foundation, and then they wrap a compelling picture around it. Read more
How to Make a Virtual Introduction That Inspires Heads and Hearts
Have you ever been asked by a friend or colleague to be introduced to another friend or colleague? I have, and it’s an honor to connect great people with each other! I always wrestled with how to do it…until I received one from my friend and mentor, Lou Solomon. She was introducing me to the the Read more
How to Create a Culture of Appreciation (Instead of Entitlement)
Have you ever met someone who felt they receive too much appreciation at work? Recently I was in a big box store — you probably know it: it’s the place I plan to run in to grab toothpaste and tube socks and leave with enough supplies to keep the entire state of Texas fed and Read more
Building Trust as a New Leader: Six Key Communication Secrets
Recently one of my coaching clients, Corey*, landed THE BIG PROMOTION he’d been seeking in his consulting firm. We’d been working on his skills, both in and out of the interviews, and his announcement was cause for celebration, complete with high-fives and happy dances. His new role as an I.T. executive was full of opportunity Read more
How to Coach Co-Workers: 5 Steps to Success
Do you have a co-worker who is under-performing and it’s affecting the morale and results of the team? Or perhaps a prickly teammate who is savvy at completing tasks but leaves a path of bodies in her wake? If so, you’re not alone—nearly all of my clients have asked me at some point during our time together Read more
Step Out With Courage: 6 Steps for Living Your Dream
My dad has a saying for everything. Sometimes it’s comical, sometimes it’s serious, but most time it’s both. Like this one: “Go do something you hate. It builds character.” While I resist the negative undercurrent of this message, I do admire the underlying principle: CHOOSE COURAGE. Choose courage over fear to make a positive change Read more
A Case Study: How to Coach through Change
One of my coaching clients, whom I’ll call Donna, came to me at the peak of frustration. Her organization was moving to a new Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system, and her team was lagging behind others in using it. I asked her what she had already done to foster adoption of the new CRM tool, Read more
5 Steps to Get a Meeting Back On Track
Have you ever been in a meeting that derailed so badly that you felt frustrated, anxious, or (gulp) apathetic about the outcome? Or perhaps a more relevant (and shocking!) question is: How often have you been in that type of meeting? Let’s explore 5 steps to get a meeting back on track Step 1: Know Read more
What Should I Do With My Hands When I Speak? 5 Tips
One of the most common questions I hear is this: what should I do with my hands when I speak? And I have good news for you, the answer is easier than you might think. Picture the last time you saw a compelling speaker—it may have been during a TED story, a keynote address, or Read more
How to Close a Meeting: Four ways to Create Buy-in, Get Results
Recall, if you will, the very best meeting you’ve ever attended. The kind of meeting that you left feeling both “YESSSSSSSSSSSSSS” (with an emphatic fist pump) and saying “I can’t wait to do this again soon!” Go ahead and picture it – I’ll wait. Now, what percentage of your meetings would you say give you Read more
Facilitate Instead of Train: Four Ways to Make Learning Stick
Think about all the formal learning experiences (aka “classes”) you’ve ever led—how often did you facilitate instead of train and make learning stick? The goal is fully-engaged participants, but how do you do that? How often did you try to tell the students everything they’d ever need to know about the topic—otherwise known, as my Read more
How to Facilitate Like an Expert: A Case Study
A coaching client, Thomas*, recently came to me for some help. He’d just been identified by his organization as a “high potential,” and he had been enrolled in their leadership development program. What an honor! Reshaping a boring, dry and un-inspiring event And then reality hit. They expected him to facilitate a four-hour course on Read more
How to Lead a Meeting (and Leave ‘em Wanting More)
Have you ever attended a meeting that meandered, led to more confusion, and ultimately led to another meeting to tie up the loose ends from the first, unsuccessful one? Me, too. Would you like to learn how to lead a meeting and leave the attendees wanting more? Of course you would! Meetings Are Expensive Years Read more
How to Blow Up a Boring Meeting (In a Good Way)
Do you have regular meetings that inspire more agony than action? Do you find yourself and others checking out even though you’re all in the same room or on the same conference call line? Keep reading to learn how to blow up a boring meeting—and give yourself and others the gift of a return on Read more
Authentic Communications: Being in Concert
Have you ever been to a concert for an artist whose music you already owned? Me too. Many times. So the question becomes this: Why? We gladly “over-pay” for concerts for good reasons From a purely logical and financial perspective, it doesn’t make much sense. We easily pay north of $100 (more if we Read more