The Irresistible Appeal of Rags-to-Riches Stories
Social psychology explains why we never grow tired of hearing about an entrepreneurs' rise from poverty. In Pour Your Heart Into It, Starbucks executive chairman Howard Schultz wrote, "The more uninspiring your origins, the more likely you are to use your imagination...
What The Most Admired Brands Can Teach United About A Culture of Service
Culture is a narrative that starts at the top with leaders who share and reinforce the brand story every hour of every day.
Books Make Leaders Better Speakers, Says A Navy Admiral And Commander
Retired four-star Navy Admiral James Stavridis has 4,000 books in his home library. On one side of his business card his title reads: Dean, Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University. On the other side, his favorite quote by Thomas Jefferson: “I cannot live without books.”
Why Visuals Play A Crucial Role in Changing Hearts and Minds
Neuroscience proves that changing minds requires more pictures than words on PowerPoint In the time it takes the average person to read this article, Instagram users will have uploaded 140,000 photos. Facebook users are uploading 300 million photographs every day....
How To Present Data To Win Arguments, Change Minds And Save Lives
Which of the following warnings would send you running for the hills? “The California Department of Water Resources says flows into lake Oroville are just under 45,000 cubic feet per second. Outflows remain high at nearly 100,000 cubic feet per second. If the top 30...
Prepare For A Job Interview, The Way CEOs Rehearse For The Media
Facing the camera on CNBC or sitting across from reporters at The Wall Street Journal can be intimidating for even the most seasoned business leaders. The methods used to coach executives for high-stakes media appearances can easily be adapted to a job interview because the goal is the same — to inspire confidence and to persuade your audience to buy in to your vision.
7 Top VCs Say These Communication Skills Will Set You Apart
The New York Times and CB Insights partnered this week to publish a list of the top 20 “winningest” venture capitalists in the world. I’ve personally interviewed some of the investors who made the New York Times list and I’ve followed the others. Seven of the top 20 have made notable remarks on the role that communication skills play in a startup or brand’s ultimate success.
Big Ideas Are Best Kept Short According to Venture Capitalists
Condense your key message to 140 characters or less and it's more likely to stick. "If you can't fit your idea on the back of an envelope, it's rubbish," Richard Branson once told me. The Virgin Group founder is on to something. In fact, most of the famous...
This Soft Skill Makes You More Persuasive And There Is Data to Prove It
Storytelling in business presentations is more likely to move audiences to action.
Thanks to advances in neuroscience, brain scans, and data-driven studies, we’ve learned more about persuasion in the past decade than we had ever known previously. We know what works and why it works, and we can prove it scientifically.
Businesses And Nations Thrive When Every Day Is ‘Happiness Day’
The UN’s International Day of Happiness is a coordinated effort in 160 countries to shift attitudes around the world. Creating a happier world is certainly important. In my experience, leaders who are the most effective happiness drivers make every day happiness...
How Passion Helped Jo Malone Build A Multi-Million Dollar Empire
Passion and creativity are the two essential qualities driving successful entrepreneurs Successful entrepreneurs are deeply passionate about their chosen field. Passion and creativity co-exist. It's nearly impossible to have one without the other. Here's an example. A...
Like the Best Speakers, Make this a Habit Before You Hit the Stage
New neuroscience research says this one habit will build your public speaking confidence. At 20 million views, Dr. Jill Bolte-Taylor's TED Talk called "My Stroke of Insight" is one of the most popular TED presentations online. As a result of her talk, the...
At Walmart, Every Receipt And Every Leader Has A Story To Tell
Companies with a strong mission and purpose have a competitive advantage. Storytelling can help you find the messages to inspire customers and employees.
NASA Delivers A TED-Like Presentation To Announce Earth-Size Planets
When two astronomers bump into each other in the hallway, one doesn’t say to the other: “We’ve discovered seven Earth-sized planets in the Goldilocks Zone just 40 light years away.” The astronomers might say: “The transiting configuration of seven temperate...
The Key to Airbnb and Uber’s Competitive Edge
Successful entrepreneurs like Brian Chesky and Travis Kalanick are effective persuaders because the demands of the market require strong communication skills. An upstart, by definition, is a newly successful person who bucks the established way of doing things. Author...
Five Presentation Tips We Can All Learn From Snap
Snapchat represents the intersection of communication, creativity and storytelling. So does its 35-minute IPO presentation
Winning Pitches Follow The 18-Minute Rule
If you can’t get your point across in 18 minutes, keep editing your presentation until you can.
Bill Gates: ‘Melinda Is A Great Storyteller’
The world needs optimists like Bill and Melinda Gates, and it needs communicators like Melinda who bring us the stories behind the numbers.
The Answer to This Question May Transform Your Career
Transform your business by answering this empowering question Steve Jobs brought up in a famous keynote. At the conclusion of his last major public presentation, Steve Jobs paused and said, "It's technology married with liberal arts, married with the humanities, that...
TED Talks Star Hans Rosling Taught Us To ‘Edutain’ Our Audiences
After hearing about the passing of Hans Rosling, Melinda Gates wrote, “he used numbers to educate us, to entertain us, and to share his special brand of big-hearted, evidence-based optimism.”
Warren Buffett Explains How He Conquered Stage Fright
“I had been terrified of public speaking. I couldn’t do it,” billionaire Warren Buffett admitted on an HBO documentary that chronicled his life. Buffett conquered his nerves by enrolling in a public speaking course. He knew that if he couldn’t speak in public, it would end his career.
Four Easy Tips On Using Video To Make Your Presentation Stand Out
Each and every day people around the world watch hundreds of millions of hours of video on YouTube. It’s a staggering statistic. One hour of new videos are uploaded to YouTube every second. People simply love video. It’s likely that the people watching your presentation love video, too. Are you capturing their attention?
7 Essential Elements Of Stories That Inspire Employees And Motivate Customers
What’s your signature story? Every person has one. Every company, startup or brand has one, too.
A Good Story Is Irresistible Even to Sharks
Storytelling is the key to winning entrepreneur pitches because professional investors like Barbara Corcoran and Robert Herjavec are moved by them. "Storytelling is everything," Shark Tank investor Barbara Corcoran once said. "Show me an MBA and your sales numbers,...
Barack Obama’s Final Speech: Five Valuable Lessons For Communicators
(Photo by Darren Hauck/Getty Images)
Words have the power to move us. Words have the power to inspire us. Words have the power to unite us. The great speechwriter, Peggy Noonan, once wrote, “When big, serious, thoughtful things must be said, then big, serious, thoughtful speeches must be given.” On Tuesday night President Barack Obama gave a big, thoughtful speech about serious things.
3 Tips To Wow An Audience Like Under Armour’s Founder And Chief Storyteller
Under Armour CEO, Kevin Plank at CES 2017 (Photo: Patrick T. Fallon/Bloomberg)
“Every great brand is like a great story. Every great story is made up of chapters in a book,” Kevin Plank told an audience gathered at CES in Las Vegas. The billionaire chairman and CEO of sports retailer, Under Armour, delivered a keynote at the 2017 conference to show off his company’s new gadgets, including a smart-shoe and a line of sleepwear to help athletes recover after intense exercise.
How Megyn Kelly Discovered Her ‘Zone Of Genius’
Megyn Kelly became a star when she decided to leave a job and pursue a calling. This week the Fox News star announced that she’s jumping from Fox News to NBC, where Kelly will reportedly command one of the highest salaries in television news.
The One Skill That Will Raise Your Value by 50 Percent
Billionaire Warren Buffett told business students that this is the most valuable skill they can learn.
Three Books That Remind Us The ‘Golden Age’ Is Today
If you’re a leader people look to you for guidance, wisdom and inspiration. And that means you need to see the world as it is and not as it is perceived by the majority of others. Read these three books and you’ll never complain about [almost] anything again.
How Bono, Apple And LinkedIn Make Presentations Engaging And Memorable
An estimated 350 PowerPoint presentations are given every second around the world. How many are ‘boring’ is impossible to know, but as a communication advisor who watches presentations every week, I’ll make an educated guess—the majority of them.
These 5 Public Speaking Tips Will Make Your Next Pitch Sound Like A TED Talk
The most popular TED Talks share five qualities that any entrepreneur or speaker can — and should — adopt in their very next pitch or presentation.
10 Leadership Lessons From 2016’s Bestselling Nonfiction Books
Many of 2016’s bestselling nonfiction books can set you up for success in 2017.
How Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz Inspired Us To Dream Bigger
On a cold January day in 1961, Fred Schultz, a diaper delivery serviceman, fell on a sheet of ice and broke his hip and his ankle. Fred’s son, Howard, was seven years old and vividly remembers the accident.
How Successful Charities Leverage The Neuroscience Of Giving
In 1997 Phil Wall visited a children’s home in Johannesburg, South Africa and met a toddler named Zodwa. Her mother was suffering from HIV/Aids. For eight months Phil and his wife, Wendy, tried to adopt Zodwa. The process was ultimately unsuccessful, but it sparked...
Small Business: The Best (And Free) Customer Service Strategy You’re Not Using
Small businesses, now 28 million strong across America, face challenges exacerbated during the holiday season: seasonal hiring, tight labor markets, discount pricing, social media strategy, and small business Saturday marketing promotions. Often these issues take...
Airbnb’s Brian Chesky Leads A New Generation Of Brand Storytellers
Product launches and business presentations rarely impress me because they fail to reach minds and touch hearts. There are plenty of good communicators who can design a reasonably attractive PowerPoint slide and speak to it confidently. But leaders who can captivate...
How Steve Jobs And Bill Gates Inspired John Sculley To Pursue The ‘Noble Cause’
Former Apple CEO John Sculley reinforces the point that every major innovation or advance—every “Moonshot”— begins with a noble cause, a vision by the founders to make the world a better place.
The Metaphors That Played A Role In Trump’s Victory
Donald Trump didn’t repeat the mantra “Drain the Swamp” in his victory speech early Wednesday morning, but the metaphor may have played a small role in helping him to win the 2016 presidential election.
Hall Of Fame QB Steve Young On Leadership, Character And Conviction
Steve Young once left $4 million in uncashed salary checks in a nightstand next to his bed.
At the end of the 1989 NFL football season, the San Francisco 49ers beat the Denver Broncos 55 – 10 in Super Bowl XXIV. Joe Montana was named MVP and threw five touchdown passes. Montana’s backup, Steve Young, played the final four minutes.
Great Communicators From Steve Jobs To TED Speakers Are Made, Not Born
First, the bad news. There are no shortcuts on the path to becoming an exceptional public-speaker. Now, the good news. Anyone who puts in the work can radically improve their communication skills.
Why Campfires Spark Richard Branson’s Best Ideas
Virgin Group founder Richard Branson says the best ideas for taking his company into the future are found when he’s practicing the ancient custom of storytelling by a campfire. “Telling a story is one of the best ways we have of coming up with new ideas, and also of learning about each other and our world. It’s been happening since humans first inhabited the earth,” says Branson.
The Mental Habit That Turns Everyday People Into Extraordinary Speakers
As I sat next to Joel Osteen in the bleachers overlooking centerfield hours before one of his sold out stadium events, I asked the world-famous pastor if he had ever imagined himself speaking in front of 50,000 people. His answer may surprise you.
Google CEO Launches New Products With Remarkably Simple Words And Slides
Google chief executive Sundar Pichai is one of the smartest technologists on the planet, but he earns high marks for communicating extremely complex ideas in very simple terms.
Vin Scully’s Masterful Balance Of Stories And Statistics
Baseball is a game of stats. A cascade of numbers is presented as players approach the plate: strikeouts, saves, batting averages, runs batted in, and a dizzying array of ratios and percentages. But in a game of numbers, it’s a storyteller who is celebrated today....
The JW Marriott Brand Partners With Ballet Dancers To Gain A Competitive Edge
It’s no longer sufficient for any business to meet or even exceed expectations. By partnering with the Joffrey Ballet, the JW Marriott recognizes that customers are looking for an experience that stands apart.
5 Astonishingly Effective Ways This Healthcare Leader Is Reinventing The Hospital Experience
Employees in nearly every organization want to feel as though they are part of something remarkable. The program C.I. CARE is one of the most effective communication techniques devised to train employees to offer exceptional service to every patient (or customer) every time.
Working For Steve Jobs And Johnny Cash Taught This Leader Two Valuable Communication Secrets
Carmine Gallo interviews Cameron Craig, Senior Global Communications Director for Polycom. Having worked for Johnny Cash and Steve Jobs, he tells Carmine what the two had in common.
This Five-Star Hotel Builds Fantastically Loyal Customers With Seven Memorable Techniques
At the Sanctuary Hotel in South Carolina’s Kiawah Island, a focus on the soft skills makes all the difference. It’s one of only 154 hotels in the world awarded Five-Stars by the Forbes Travel Guide. But, as I discovered on a business visit this summer, it stands out...
Fifteen Minutes Can Launch A Movement And A Business
“How long should my presentation be?” It’s one of the most common presentation questions I’m asked by sales and marketing professionals as well as CEOs and business leaders. I won’t offer the “right” answer, but I’ll give you a good one. There are few right answers...
Why You Should Dress 25% Better Than Everyone In The Office
The actor Matt Damon appeared on The Tonight Show a few weeks ago to promote a new movie. He wore a nicely tailored dark suit, vest, and tie. For another interview earlier the same day, Damon dressed more casually in a V-neck sweater. Damon dresses appropriately for...
Ten Reasons Why The Apple Store Was Never A ‘Store’
When you touch hearts, profits follow. In this Forbes column Carmine explains why the Apple Store was never a ‘store.’Read article on Forbes.com. Apple opened its first retail locations in 2001 and did not hire cashiers. It hired concierges instead. Think about it....
The Simple, Proven Technique That Instantly Boosts A Product’s Value
I returned to my journalism class at Northwestern University empty-handed. My instructor had assigned a small event to cover and I was quite bored. I left early and told him, “There was no story.” “There’s always a story, Gallo!” he yelled, loud enough for the rest of...
The Simple, Proven Technique That Instantly Boosts A Product’s Value
VIDEO: How To Triple A Product’s Value In Under 2 Minutes returned to my journalism class at Northwestern University empty-handed. My instructor had assigned a small event to cover and I was quite bored. I left early and told him, “There was no story.” “There’s always...
The Tony Robbins Interview: How ‘Raw Communication’ Changed My Life
“The number one reason people are ineffective speakers is because they’re focused on themselves. If you’re focused on yourself, then you can’t possibly connect with the audience,” Tony Robbins told me in a recent interview to discuss the new Netflix Original film,...
The Joe Biden Speech: Passion And Presence
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Dollar Shave Club VC: How An Improv Comic Schooled A 115-Year-Old Brand
When the announcement was made that Unilever would buy the Dollar Shave Club for $1 billion, experts cited the Southern California startup as yet another example of a business coming up with new ways of selling to consumers, without the overhead of bricks-and-mortar....
Five Techniques That Made Michelle Obama’s Speech Emotionally Appealing
Michelle Obama’s speech at the Democratic National Convention is earning high marks for its “emotion.” The word—“emotional”—appears in about half a million links to articles about the speech. There are several ways that speakers can incorporate emotion into their...
The 3-Part Formula For A Winning Sales Pitch
VIDEO: Hit Movies And Winning Sales Pitches Follow The Same Formula If you’ve found yourself singing along to Taylor Swift’s “Shake It Off,” then you’ve been attracted by a formula. Hit pop songwriters follow a formula called track-and-hook that make songs almost...
Why Storytellers Are Attractive In Life And Business
In the last ten years neuroscientists have learned more about storytelling than we’ve known since our ancestors drew story pictures on cave walls. We know what stories work, how they work and we can prove it. As the House of Cards actor Kevin Spacey once told an...
Don’t Give A Presentation Until You Do This 10 Times
The CEO of a large company lost the audience—his top salespeople—in the first two minutes of his presentation. I was there to witness it. Slides were out of place and financial data was wrong.