I live in a small studio in Manhattan. That means I have a small refrigerator. And an even smaller freezer. It’s the size of two shoeboxes. Enough for three bottles (gin, vodka, tequila) to lie horizontally, wedged next to a bag of frozen veggies, and some mummified food I don’t remember buying. My freezer is…
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How to Prepare Your Talk Without Starting from Scratch
READ MORE: How to Prepare Your Talk Without Starting from ScratchYou have a big talk coming up. So you say to yourself, I’m going to sit down right now and write it. You type one sentence: “Good afternoon.” You delete it. You wonder if you’re a fraud. You wonder why you’re doing this. You wonder what to have for dinner. Then: Oh would you look…
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3 Questions to Ask Before You Do Your Next Talk
READ MORE: 3 Questions to Ask Before You Do Your Next TalkThere’s nothing like getting tapped to speak at an event or conference—it’s not only nice to be asked, but it speaks volumes about what people think of you: That you have something of value to share with their community, and they want it. That said, there are three questions I ask myself before I accept,…
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4 Ways to Get Laughs on Stage (even if you’re not that funny)
READ MORE: 4 Ways to Get Laughs on Stage (even if you’re not that funny)Of all the people you’ve seen get up in front of a room to speak, how many do you really remember? Very few. And chances are the ones who made an impact probably made you laugh, too. Solid content gets a nod. But funny gets rave reviews. Funny gets asked to speak again. And again. Here’s…
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Happy Accidents: Why Staying Open Should Be Part of Your Plan
READ MORE: Happy Accidents: Why Staying Open Should Be Part of Your PlanAfter I finished my session on creativity at the How Design Live conference, a woman approached me and handed me a note. “I know now that I was meant to be here,” she said, dreamily. “I mean, I’m not even part of this conference.” Wait…what? But before I had time to call security, she was…
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Do you think for a living?
READ MORE: Do you think for a living?If you spend most of your time at a keyboard, you can count yourself among the 60 million or so professionals known as “knowledge workers”—a term Peter Drucker coined in the 1960s to describe academics, tech people, analysts, essentially, anyone who didn’t work a physically demanding job. You know. People who “think” for a living. What a…
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What You Can Learn About Yourself at a Naked Party
READ MORE: What You Can Learn About Yourself at a Naked PartyYou don’t really know if you would do a thing until you are in the middle of doing it. This is, I believe, how we find OUT whether we do things at all. We are often the last to know. The other night, a few friends and I decided to stop by a party of a…
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How Knowing Too Much Is Holding You Back
READ MORE: How Knowing Too Much Is Holding You BackMy family is big into board games. At around 8:30pm on any given holiday or a night when at least two people are holding beers, my brother in law rubs his hands together and asks, “Who’s up for a game?” Taboo is one of our all-time favorites. The goal of this game is to get…
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The #1 Way to Get Clear on Your Messaging
READ MORE: The #1 Way to Get Clear on Your MessagingSay what you will about holidays (Hallmark and otherwise)—they give us an occasion for doing a thing (exchanging gifts, drinking green beer, singing, etc). If you want something done, you don’t have to wait for a holiday, but you do have to give yourself the occasion for doing it. Things like: Writing a book. Launching a…