I am gratified by the 249 comments to this post I wrote for Harvard Business Review and seek your specific tips on quotability, the first step to connecting in this increasingly complex, information-flooded, and connected world:
You can feel the tension in the compressed smiles, quick nods and pointed questions at the annual Morgan Stanley Global Healthcare [...]

After a priest moved to a new parish he approached his superior one afternoon to ask, “Would you mind if I smoked while praying?” and was, not surprisingly, turned down.
Yet how one makes a request has a huge impact on whether it will be  granted. For example, the priest might have said, “Would you mind [...]

Become an opportunity-maker for the member organization that most matters to you. Imagine that your association or special interest group kept innovating to create more value and meaning for members.
That’s what TED has done and we can too by taking three collaborative steps over time:
1. Offer a single major conference  – as most associations already [...]

What’s one of meeting planners’ biggest fears? A frowning audience – or worse. They need speakers who energize their audience.
They love speakers who motivate attendees to practice what they learn and eagerly share their successes with each other all year long – and at the next conference.
In this wobbly economy any organization needs their people [...]

Does most advertising irritate you? Do you sometimes find that companies aren’t creating products for people like you? David Wolf thinks he knows why. For most of us, many (but not all) companies are out of sync with our worldview and self-image. At least for the majority of Americans, those who are 40 or older.

Wolf’s insights may interest you as the gap between [...]

Leading a small workshop?  Like to find out, upfront, how much they already know? Or how they feel about your topic?  Try a fun, audience involver called the Spectrogram. This exercise also helps them feel heard, learn a bit about each other and get closer. Plus it is simple to set up and to do [...]

That question sparked the start of an image-based, international social network that millions use yet, unlike Facebook, few people know about.  The peculiarly-named name PerfSpot started by co-hosting small events with photographers who took pictures of the partygoers.  Attendees get cards at the gatherings, inviting them to

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It takes a tenth of a second to form an impression. So imagine how difficult it is to hold their interest for five minutes.  That’s a short time for you and a looooooong time to them. For practice in being memorably brief, find or start an Ignite group.  They are popping up all over, including [...]

 … even when you have few resources. Or to make your small donation matter more.
Want to launch a campaign to spruce up your nearby park?
Like to share your expertise with others, for the greater good?
Like to track the success of a project you supported?
For your cause or club, like a user-friendly way find the best [...]

 

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In art class we were asked to draw a familiar object.  I picked something simple.  A tire.  No one could recognize it. And yet, after reading The Back of the Napkin: Solving Problems and Selling Ideas with Pictures I was able to draw a description of SmartPartnering and another on storyboarding.
Let people literally see your [...]