Pass this on to east coasters hit by Sandy

Pass it on: Those hit by Sandy can power cell phones, shower or work out free at east coast sports clubs through Nov. 14. Read the article by Jack Neff of "Advertising Age" here.

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Public speaking skills: Get hungry for improvement!

I recently read an article that inspired me to practice my public speaking skills. 

And sing. 

And cook.

Denise Graveline at Ragan.com theorizes we can learn a lot about public speaking from Julia Childs in her early show, "The French Chef."

Apparently Ms. Childs was encouraged to talk a

 throughout the show, all while giving helpful hints and vivid descriptions to aid viewers in replicating whatever dish she was preparing. Combined with her enthusiasm and sing-song voice quality, she earned herself a captive audience.

Sadly I've only seen snippets of the show. I'm far more familiar with the Swedish Chef of "The Muppet Show" fame, whom I always thought of as a parody of Childs. I learned a bit more about the famous show from the movie "Julie & Julia"; maybe now it's time to track down some real episodes.

The main thing we need to be successful in our careers is a passion to improve ourselves and learn more. If we can beef up on public speaking skills while learning some culinary techniques, I'm all for it.

Hey, is anyone else hungry?

I'm no Julia Childs, but I can whip up
a pretty mean pan  o' scalloped potatoes.

Are you a smartypants?

I ran across a Ted Ed video today, "The Power of Simple Words," a concept with which I wholeheartedly agree. As a former journalist, I know it's a lot of hard work to communicate in a way that people can readily understand. I didn't always feel this way, though.

As a longtime lover of language, by my mid 20s, strings of words and sentences liberally rolled off my tongue.

Then one day an honest buddy reminded me that communicating with people at all levels takes far more skill than simply spouting off lots of fancy words. 

It's pretty offputting, I realized, to be stuck in the company of a smartypants, wondering whether the person is trying to impress you or attempting to pull the wool over your eyes. Down-to-earth communication skills are just as important for companies and organizations as they are in individual relationships. While it's crucial to provide the details people may want in order to choose a product or service, those details should be presented clearly, without taking away from the main points, and without trying to intimidate the other person. 

Regardless of the size of your vocabulary, sometimes it's just nice to be around real people who are smart enough to simply talk or write about what they need to say. No smartypants tactics required.

Sometimes fancy talk inhibits communication.

Promoting your company: To blog or not to blog?

Does your company or organization have a blog?
It's a great, low-cost way of not only getting your name out there, but letting people know who you are and what you have to offer.
After all, you're reading this blog, right?