Increasing Your Energy Before You Present

I recently gave a presentation on presentation skills, and there are two things I always come back to: executive presence and the ability to present to executives. Those two elements shape how people experience you long before they remember a single slide.

Most of us walk into a presentation thinking about our PowerPoint, how we look, or what we hope the audience will take away. All important. But there’s another layer that changes everything: your energy.

I use a simple practice that helps me show up with clarity and intention. Before I present, I write out what I want participants to walk away with. Then I write a short “testimonial” as if a participant were describing my session afterward. That exercise alone raises my energy and sharpens my focus.

You can use the same approach in your meetings, even when you’re not leading.
-What do I most want to say in this meeting.
-What would I want someone in the room, or even my boss, to say about my contribution.

Energy changes delivery. It changes presence. It changes how people hear you in a presentation, a team meeting, or even a family conversation. Try it and see what shifts for you.

Rethinking Comparison

I was listening to a physician interview recently and tuned in late but heard him quote someone else: “Don’t compare me to the Almighty; compare me to the alternative.” How is comparison going for you? I’m noticing with myself and with my university students as well as with my physician and nurse clients that the tendency to compare is all too common with pretty disastrous results.

Any time we compare we engage in ‘vertical’ thinking, someone is ‘up’ and someone is ‘down’. This seesaw of superiority and inferiority is not only bad for the diminished one, but also for the one on top too. Elite athletes may be competing ‘against’ someone or some record, but when they let their hair down the real competition is withing themselves. This is probably a useful way to compare but when we are in constant competition with others mentally, we run the risk of diminishment happening every day. “I have to be better than you, and you, and you. Simply saying that puts me I an inferior position every day scrambling for a superior position.

Finding the Balance in What We Share

“In conversations, we all tend to lean one way or the other. Some of us share everything and overwhelm the other person. Others hold back so much that people have to pull information out of us.

In this video, I talk about what it looks like to land in the middle, to disclose just enough. If you want to communicate with more clarity and intention, this one’s worth a watch.

Choosing the Pace That Serves You

I’m making 2026 business travel arrangements and for as many as I can, I’m not rushing home in rush hour or worse on the red eye but rather taking that extra night with a mid-morning return. I’ll have a dinner or two with a nearby friend or past customer, take a walk, write my notes, maybe even be free to have dinner with my client. Yep, that’s what I’m going to do in 2026!

Say the Good Things Now

I’ve been to a bit more funerals lately than I’d like. I’m Irish and we see death as a time to celebrate…Irish wakes! And with each funeral I attended I wondered if we all told this person how fabulous they were when they were alive! With your customers and friends and employees…how about doing just that. A quick “I was thinking about you today” and I want to tell you what I was thinking about you. Then consider any one of these openers: What I liked, learned, or appreciated about you. Don’t leave it on voice mail…make them call you back! Don’t say it all the time in an email, write a thank you note or card, handwritten. And do it with absolutely no intention of another deal or contract as a result. You might even try it with your children or extended family. We all have plenty of time in the car to make a spontaneous call. And just think of the responder’s very good vibes from your thoughtful call.

Finding the “Me Too” Moments That Bring Us Closer

I recently read Greenlights by Matthew McConaughey, and one story in particular has stayed with me. At the height of his fame, confused, overwhelmed, unsure of how to navigate it all, he sought out a monastery for spiritual direction.

Walking through the desert with a monk, he poured out everything: his mistakes, disappointments, the moments he wasn’t proud of. The monk listened silently. And when McConaughey finally finished, the monk simply said: “Yeah… me too.”

How often do people come to us with their own burdens, losses, and fears. And when we meet them with empathy, we create connection. “Me too” doesn’t mean sameness. It means humanity.

In a world that often rewards quick judgments, what would change if we looked for the places where we can say “me too” instead?

From “To‑Do” to “To‑Be”: Filling the Blank Spaces of 2026

When I received the wall calendar for our home for 2026…it was blank. Usually, we fill it in as the year progresses with events…but I noticed from the 2025 calendar we didn’t fill it in with hopes and wishes and dreams. We keep looking at it to forecast what we have to do, but not what we want to be this year. Notes in blank places about our wished trip soon back to Iceland (when the sun is out!), or Paris again, or better that ‘never been there yet’ place. On my business calendar I can do the same with new businesses to meet, old clients I’ve lost touch with, and new skills I’d like to acquire. We look at these everyday calendars enough for our ‘to do’ list, but as President of High Point University, Nido Qubein taught me many years ago the shortest ‘to do’ list is called the ‘to be’ list.

The Power of a Three-Minute Message

In high school, one of my teachers was a priest who founded the chapels at Midway and O’Hare. Despite being deeply spiritual, his homilies never lasted more than three minutes—he used a clicker with a timer and stuck to it.

It makes you wonder: how much clarity, focus, and impact could we create if we treated our updates, reports, or requests the same way?

Instead of talking at people, what if we shared the essentials… and then paused long enough for them to respond

?Watch the short video and see how a three‑minute mindset can change the way we communicate.

AI Can Support Your Work, But It Can’t Replace You

Have you used AI in your work? Consider using it in your pre-work, look it over, set it aside, and then write or develop your plan, PowerPoint, or meeting from your inner expert. Let AI remind you or help you break the barriers of your thinking, but beware using it as your expert. You are the expert the audience or the team or your boss wants to hear from. Going from AI to your boardroom presentation will look shallow and a bit fake simply because it is not tapping what the audience wants from you…they want YOU…especially your ‘take’ on things, your way of thinking about the issue, and your recommendations. Even planning a trip with your family…sure AI will give you a great routing…your job is the side trips, the songs in the car, and the adventures yet to happen because you used YOU.

Soft Guarantee

I was in my suit shop the other day getting measured for some shirts and I mentioned that I used magnetic stays in the collars to make them stand up a bit without a tie.  As she measured, my favorite customer helper asked, “How do you like them?” I was happy with them. She said, “Here is an alternative with a hidden button that does just the same thing. Want to try it on a shirt or two? And if you don’t like it, we can just switch out the collars.” Now, how do I say ‘no’ to that? It was an inevitable sale since either way I’d be OK. Then I remembered all the times in the past she’d ‘suggested’ …and I never had to bring anything back to switch out! When you suggest to your clients, do you also provide a soft guarantee such as this? (This can even work with your children!)

Who Helps You Keep Pace?

In marathons, pacers help runners stay steady, focused, and on track. I recently entered the Chicago Marathon lottery, and when my trainer offered to pace me if I get in, I had a bigger thought.

In business, and especially in fields like medicine, do we have pacers too?

Physicians can look at a scan and immediately understand what matters most. Their expertise guides decisions that can change someone’s life. But even outside healthcare, we all need people who help us identify priorities, maintain momentum, and stay aligned with what truly matters.

Who are the experts, mentors, or partners who help you keep pace in your professional life?

Watch the full video to dive deeper.

The Power of Human Connection

When responding to a customer who knows you well, consider asking about how their family is and then give about 4 or 6 lines in the email to how your family is doing. This humanizes your relationship and invites them to disclose more to you also. You do this not to sell or persuade or to get the deal…you do this out of human connection, real human connection. And sometimes the byproduct is a cooperative secured working relationship.

Hope Is the Fuel That Moves Teams

Hope might not be a strategy, but it is an emotional transmission that fuels movement. Just like that old college car stick shift that you had (or have a better model now!), movement happens when the clutch and the gear shift work in harmony. Hope may not be the plan and certainly is not the strategy, but it is the one thing to prevent the worst part of a team progress: discouragement. Your team will not tell you when they are discouraged but it you are alert you will see it in their eyes, in the way they come late, delay, or have no life in their voice. Paint hope, picture hope, talk about hope…it is all about movement.

Billboards, PowerPoints, and the Art of Less

Driving the other day, I passed a billboard packed with text. At 55 miles per hour, I couldn’t even tell what it was about—let alone remember how to contact them. That’s the problem with clutter. And here’s the truth: PowerPoint slides are just like billboards. They’re not the main event. We are. The slides should be wallpaper—background that complements our wisdom, not competes with it. If your audience is reading, they’re not listening. Keep it simple, keep it clear, and let your voice be the message they remember. What this short video for my take on how to use PowerPoint slides effectively so your audience leaves with the wisdom you came to share.

Flip the Script in Your Next Job Interview

Interviewing for a job or a promotion? Normally it will begin with “Tell us a little bit about yourself.” What if you turn the tables and say, “Would you like to know something that is not on my resume?” Then tell them something interesting from your deep personal past. How many marathons you have run or countries you’ve been to. Or when did you decide philosophy major would be a great fit for this job! How you met your fiancé or who talked you into two covid dogs! This question that you ask them does three things: It provokes interest, it turns the question asking on its head, and it humanizes the interaction. Don’t think of a job interview as a final exam even though it might be! Keep asking them questions: “May I give you an example of that?” is much better than “Here is an example”…keep them attentive to your questions as you are to theirs. If you are online, lean in slightly from time to time…and look in the camera not on the screen. And at the end when they ask if you have any questions say, “I really hope you will seriously consider me for this position (not ‘job’) and after today’s interview if your company is anything like what I experienced here today, I know I will do great work for you.” I coach executives and physician and pharma leaders, and I cannot tell you how many forget or are afraid to ask for the position. Interviewers I’ve spoken to are also amazed. One said, “Why don’t they just ask?”

The Power of Invitation

Hypnotists often say, “Close your eyes.” This for some of us can be a kind of command that some of us will resist. When we teach our students at Chicago’s Loyola University a meditation or relaxation sequence we now use, “You can close your eyes or not close your eyes, you decide.” This sets up an inevitable cooperative experience so that no matter what they choose to do they are not resisting but cooperating. How does this apply to your clients? It is always helpful to set up an inevitable cooperative experience to avoid open or quiet resistance.  Consider asking questions first with your clients even when you are making a statement. “I’ll give you an example” is OK. Better “May I give you an example?” This requires a response from the other either verbally or mentally to elicit cooperation. You can do this! I mean “May I ask if you will do this?!”

Recipe for Life

In this video, I share Muhammad Ali’s powerful answer to the question of how he wanted to be remembered. His “recipe” is simple yet profound. Ali’s words remind us that legacy isn’t built in grand gestures, but in everyday choices of service, respect, and courage.

Watch the full video to hear his recipe in his own words.
What’s your recipe for how you want to be remembered?

Remember Our Lady of the Angels

On a personal note: I neglected to remind myself of an important anniversary last week. On Dec. 1, 1958 there was a school fire at Our Lady of the Angels Catholic School in Chicago that killed 92 children and 3 nuns. Chronicled in the book "To Sleep with the Angels" this tragedy led to significant changes in fire codes, especially for schools. My aunt was a surviving nun who lost her best friend Sister Mary Clare Therese Champagne. My aunt's classroom was saved by a priest who made his way up the smoky stairway to unlock her classroom door. Yes, in those days locked doors. As a child I knew Sr. Mary Clare and many of the nuns. The day after the fire my father and I walked through some of the ruins. That's a memory that remains. Maybe that's why I missed remembering the anniversary last week.

Stand Out This Season: The Power of a Handwritten Holiday Note

If you have a customer of any kind (MSLs have KOLs…Sales Client…etc) Consider writing  your holiday thank you note now to send prior to Dec. 12 or after Jan. 11…both avoid a rush. Here is a way to stand out. Write in your own handwriting, the note and the envelope…more likely to be opened and more likely to be kept! Remember in  your note something that happened this past year that they would remember you for with them (party, birth, marriage, special lunch, some new partnership, even a funny mistake, etc.) This note should be as unique as the recipient. Avoid generic…that will get pitched. Use your best penmanship! Enclose your card. If you have a picture with them even better. Use these slower professional weeks to really make these communications special. Trust me, even if your competition reads this…you will be the only one who does so!

Metaphors and Stories

• “Think of it as….”

• “Sort of like…”

• “It is as if….”

• “I remember this one time when…”

• “I once noticed…”

• “One of my professors remarked that…”

In your meetings and presentation keep using metaphors and stories to keep the audience in alignment with you, to keep them interested, and to turn your expertise into useful information. One of my attorney clients said with some exasperation, “How many ways can I explain the term ‘negligence’?” To all of us non-lawyers it is worth the effort. Your audience will always be polite and nod in agreement but retain nothing! So, check at the end of any technical explanation with the simple and powerful, “I’m trying to get better at this. Please tell me in your own words what you think negligence is.” You will be amazed how clear you were…or maybe you’ll have some clearing up to do!