executive communications
In the Midst of COVID-19 Uncertainty, Trusted Leadership Is Critical
by Melanie Meador & Noah Zandan The novel coronavirus (aka COVID-19) continues to spread at an alarming pace, shutting down small businesses, moving classrooms and offices online, and (somewhat inexplicably) sending toilet paper flying off grocery shelves. But conflicting information, misinformation, and uncertainty are spreading as fast as the virus itself, stirring up anxiety and…
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Introducing Insights Into Influence
I’m thrilled to announce my book, Insights into Influence: The Strategies, Tactics, and Secrets of World-Class Leaders and Social Scientists, is soon to be released.
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Why Are Some People Extraordinary Speakers?
We all know how it feels to walk away from a speech—whether it’s a TED Talk, a conference keynote, or a presentation at work—and know that we just heard something extraordinary. We hear people speak all the time, in formal situations and everyday get-togethers. Some folks are good public speakers; others, not so much. But…
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How to Be a Paid Speaker
For many leaders, thought leaders, and experts, public speaking is an attractive opportunity to both share expertise and create an additional revenue stream. So how can you get started? Unfortunately, there’s no clear, one-size-fits-all process for breaking into the business. However, there are a few strategies you can take to build your personal brand and…
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Can We Use Computational Social Science to Detect Fake News?
In case you hadn’t heard, 2020 is an election year. And that means we’ll be inundated with political news from all sides (as if we hadn’t been already). But in this “post-truth” world of fake news and alternative facts, how can we ensure that what we’re reading, believing, and sharing leading up to the election…
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Looking toward 2020: 5 Predictions for Behavioral Analytics in the New Decade
Where has the year gone? It seems like just yesterday we were gearing up for 2019, and now here we are, getting ready to ring in 2020 and a new decade. This past year, many of our discussions have been around planning for “the future of work” and how technology will transform the way businesses…
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Leadership Communication Lessons from Professional Speechwriters
Last month, I had the honor of speaking at the Professional Speechwriters Association’s 2019 World Conference in Washington, D.C. The theme of this year’s conference was “Leadership Communication: Next,” and the program promised to shake up attendees’ ideas of executive communication best practices and challenge us to think more deeply about time-tested techniques. And boy…
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Should Leaders Apologize? Sorry, but Research Says Maybe Not.
These days, it seems like once a week, some public figure or another is making a controversial statement that’s met by many with demands for apologies and/or consequences. And general consensus would argue that, when a leader—corporate, political, or otherwise—realizes he or she has made an insensitive statement, a sincere apology is in order to…
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Why Emotional Intelligence Is Critical for Leadership—and How to Develop It
Why Emotional Intelligence is Important for Leaders and How to Build It When we talk about leadership capabilities, we often talk about book smarts, or IQ. “He’s a sharp guy.” “She’s got a mind for business.” But there’s another kind of intelligence that we don’t emphasize nearly as much, and in many ways, it’s even…
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What Is Executive Presence, and Can it Be Learned?
“Executive presence.” It’s one of those buzzwords we hear all the time when we’re discussing leadership abilities, and at a high level, it makes sense. But when it comes time to break down exactly what executive presence (much less talk about how to develop it), it’s not so easy. But executive presence isn’t just some…
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