Lynn GrasbergArticles

Assume the Position

Want to increase your confidence and credibility when you're speaking to groups of people? Here are 5 things you can do INSTEAD of worrying about what your audience will think about you.

Brainstorming
Brainstorming is a way to use the creativity of a group of people to solve ANYTHING. It’s exciting to generate solutions to “impossible” problems, seemingly out of thin air.

Can Comedy Be Taught?

One thing I know is that in public speaking, humor works. In fact, it's essential. You do not have to be a stand-up comedian to hold your audience but you do have to be able to find and share the absurdities of life with them. And keep your perspective when little things go "wrong" (when the lighting, sound system, or your brain temporarily blows a circuit, for example).

Clowns of Prosperity
A few years ago, I jokingly told a friend that the sure fire way to make a lot of money would be to write a book about how to make a lot of money, even if you didn't know how. (Talk about teaching what you need to learn!) This was way before "The Secret" came out and everybody started talking about the Law of Attraction. I figured out at a recent program I did called Laughing all the Way to the Bank, that my expertise was The Law of Distraction - the one that causes me to bounce checks if I start playing video games and don't balance my checkbook.

Don't Hit Me Humor

Your Sense of Humor: How Hard Does It Hit?
Sometimes the audience's laughter has a nervous edge to it - when the speaker has targeted a particular individual or group for ridicule, especially someone who is perceived to have less social power than the one talking. As someone who was born on April Fool's Day, I know what it's like to be on the receiving end of a mean-spirited joke.

Full Voice Speaking
How you sound is as important as how you look. However, most of us spend substantial time and attention on our dress for success and almost none on our voice to express.

How High Is Your FCR (Fluff-To-Content Ratio)

Hey, Fluffy! If you're laughing already, you owe one to Mike Pearson, a Denver area software engineer who, as far as we know, coined the term. The Fluff- to-Content Ratio is ridiculously high in meetings, advertisements, political speeches, and all manner of day-to-day communications.

How To Recover From "Mistakes"

The reason so many people are afraid to speak in public is they’re afraid to make mistakes in front of witnesses. Of course, this happens all the time, and experienced speakers and performers learn how to handle the situation with warmth and poise. You can actually use slips of the tongue (or blips of the brain) to your advantage – and turn them into moments of shared humor and increased connection with your audiences.

How to Speak About Your Business (So You Get Some)

You've probably been doing what you're doing for a while. Or maybe you just wrote your four millionth resume or started you're tenth company. Whatever your situation, it's quite possible that you've become a little stale or uninspired about how you describe your business.

Humor Tips for the Office

“There’s so much change and stress going on in basic everyday operations, that if you can’t laugh, you’re working at an overwhelming disadvantage. Humor is essential just to keep your balance.”

Improvisation: Yes-and (The Art Of Making Things Up)

Improvisation is our ability to create something new in any given moment. It's the art and science of spontaneous problem-solving. We do it all the time, and we get better at it with practice. For example, we do it every time we carry on conversations: we have words and grammar, but we constantly put things together in new ways (including ways that sometimes surprise US).

Move Your Audience with Your Voice

Great singers do it and so do great speakers. They literally move their audiences with the power and resonance of their voices. These pros vibrate the bones and bodies of their listeners - giving a massage with sound, and adding to the emotional impact of what is said. Here are some ways to increase resonance with your audiences.

Sequencing Your Talk or When Should You Say What?

I'm committed to promoting humor that doesn't require jokes or remembering punchlines but I'm going to break my usual policy and actually use a joke to look at the importance of sequencing - the order in which you say (or write) things - and why it makes a difference.

Surprise! Unexpected Gifts for Speaking, Writing, etc.

Being able to handle unexpected events onstage is a key to good speaking. . .Some people think the essence of a good life is having everything UNDER CONTROL. But any parent in charge of diapers (and any civil engineer) knows that basically, EVERYTHING leaks. Whether you want it to or not. So, we have to plan for the unplannable and handle unexpected events with flexibility and humor.

Tell it AS IF it's Amusing

Maybe, you've been surprised when you tell a story to your friends and, out of the blue, they laugh. "What did I say?" you ask. "It's not WHAT you said," they answer. It's HOW you said it." Something worked, but you don't know if you can do it again. Now what? You can be the source of humor - intentionally - if you follow this basic principle: Tell the story as if it's amusing!

The Joy of Dealing with Hecklers

Q: What's a heckler?
A: Someone who gives you heck when you're speaking in front of a group.

Even if someone actually has an agenda of grabbing attention or being critical, you don't have to be a victim to their comments as long as you "yes-and" the situation -- i.e., accept the offer/opportunity they provide and build on it.

When You Have “No Time”

Sometimes a deadline creeps up on you and suddenly have to prepare and produce material when you have very little time. What can you do? I was in that situation this morning. It's time to get my newsletter out! But where's my new article? Better write one right now. Here are the principles I applied to get it done.

Wisdom of the Thumb

The morning of the concert, I was making fruit salad for breakfast when the knife slipped and cut deeply into my right thumb. Aaghhhhh! Blood on the oranges and grapes and bananas, and "Oh, no! How will I perform tonight?" . . . In any given performance or speech, I may have to throw out what I prepared in order to meet the needs of THIS moment.

Your Audience is Your Script

Your audience is your script. You are speaking in relationship and response to who is in front of you. You know what you are here to say and these people are here to hear it.