After a week in the bookstores, my new book, Boring to Bravo: Proven Presentation Techniques to Engage, Involve, and Inspire Your Audience to Action is receiving rave reviews!
Brad Hooper with Booklist, the premier book review journal says “The author’s qualifications are important for a book on public speaking (where authorial experience in practicing what is being preached is crucial). Arnold’s background as a facilitator and speaker is extensive, capped by her new role as the incoming president of the National Speakers Association. Her focus is on presentations in the workplace, but the fluidly presented and dynamically toned pages soon make it obvious that her techniques and methods can be used by all who are required to give presentations, whether it be in their public or private lives. Her ideas are underscored by the basic premise that a dull, sleep-inducing program is intolerable, not to say detrimental, to the effectiveness of the presentation. How to engage your audience is the key to speaker success, and the author presents a series of increasingly sophisticated techniques to involved the audience, from employing the right tone of voice to breaking the audience out into smaller discussion groups. Hers are not pat responses to the issue of good programming but are well-thought-out, robustly tested, and greatly practical techniques.”
Stephen Forte’s Blog, said “I was lucky enough to get my hands on an advanced copy of Kristin Arnold’s book Boring to Bravo and I highly recommend it. It stands out because it is the first book that I have seen that acknowledges the generational change of the audiences and what the consequences of those changes are (like embrace folks twittering in your meeting rather that have them switch off their cell phones.) I have been a public speaker for 15 years, a professional one for over 13, and found this book very useful. I learned several things while reading it, including many things I am doing wrong! Based on the advice in the book, I am going to use some of the techniques at my two talks at VSLive in Redmond next week.”
Ian Griffin commented in his blog Professionally Speaking, Arnold gives us a smorgasbord of techniques we can start using today. Tips range from straightforward suggestions on how to deliver a well-crafted introduction to more subtle hints about which side of the stage to enter (stage right, from the left side of the room). She lists a range of ways to break the mold of the “boring” presenter and become someone who will elicit “bravos”. Refreshingly, she does not attempt to bake all the references you need into the book. Instead, in current social media style, she links to her dynamically maintained website where references are continually updated and readers comment on their experiences using the book in her lively blog. You just know from how she writes that she has first-hand experience of all of the techniques she suggests. Checklists and chapter recaps provide an easy way to move from reading to implementation.”
Andrew Dlugan read the book on his recent vacation, saying “It’s a perfect summer read. Not only is it organized into easily digestible chunks (read a section or two while sipping lemonade on the deck), it is also packed with techniques which will energize your presentations. His verdict in his blog, Six Minutes is that Boring to Bravo will help you become a more complete speaker and will improve your ability to handle a diverse set of speaking situations. I recommend you get yourself a copy today.”
Public speech coach, Nick Morgan at Public Words said “Reading Boring to Bravo, I found myself agreeing with something on just about every page. The book is packed with tips for making speeches more interactive and memorable. I recommend it highly if you want to improve your speaking game.”
Thanks to all who are following our progress on facebook, twitter, and Linked In – and for those of you who have bought the book!
Potlucks have been a team-building mainstay for decades and what better time than during the holidays. A simple activity to orchestrate, potlucks are an occasion to bring food and people together in an informal atmosphere, usually around lunchtime. Potlucks are especially popular in office settings, (but any work environment will do) when you want to bring together the team, even if they work on different shifts or schedules. Potlucks are usually organized by team members rather than the team leader. 
First popularized by America Online, IM is a communications technology that basically does two things: 1) it tells you who else is connected to the network at that particular moment and 2) lets you exchange data – typically short-hand messages – instantly.
In these turbulent times, many workplace teams are feeling a bit “punky.” Funky, not exactly perky. Whether your team is just forming or has been around for awhile, bonding outside the workplace is important to build relationships between team members. 
Fortune Magazine once posed one of their all-time “Great Questions of Our Age: Do whiteboard markers cause brain damage?” The short answer is “no…unless they are purposely misused over a long time.” Hmmm…so an occasional whiff of your fruit-scented “Mr. Sketch” marker is okay (one of my favorite team activities is to guess the scent of the turquoise marker!); however, routine huffing or snorting markers during your meeting breaks will send you to the Employee Assistance Counselor!
There is not much difference between vision, goals and objectives other than the level of detail. Vision is an overarching goal, strategic in nature. It is used to inspire the hearts and minds of team members to see the “big picture” – the most desired final destination.
These days everyone has a cell phone glued to the ear. Used appropriately, they are absolutely wonderful. Used inappropriately, they are aggravating and downright annoying, especially in group settings.
There is a fine line between aggressive and assertive, and you may have crossed over that line before.