I’m a super-fan of Dr. Nick Morgan’s (Nick). His book, Give Your Speech, Change the World, is a speaking bible for me, and my year working with Nick as my speaking coach was and remains transformational.

During the past few years, Nick has graced us with two fabulous books, Power Cues—The Subtle Science of Leading Groups, Persuading Others, and Maximizing Your Personal Impact, and his most recent publication, Can You Hear Me? How to Connect with People in a Virtual World.

For a treasure trove of free resources on all things communication, check out Nick’s blog, Public Words.

Highlights:

In this fast-moving, fun, and far-ranging (on communications) conversation, we cover:

How the toboggan incident almost cost him his life and how it contributed to him developing a unique ability to read the non-verbal cues of others. 04:10

Why we all need to work as hard at preparing our body language as we do our messaging for high-stakes communications. (09:50) and a powerful example of managing your body language in action. (12:15)

A simple trick to avoid being self-conscious of your hands when speaking. Yes, it’s a thing for some people. (15:30)

The greatest example I’ve encountered of that thing we call “presence” or “charisma” (18:00) and Nick’s perspective on developing this critical, elusive quality.

How to show up and occupy your full height and project non-scary, draw-all-eyes-to-you power, and presence when you walk into a room. (23:00)

Why every communication is two conversations. (24:30)

Introduction to the idea of “power cues” (30:34) with a powerful example.

How to gain insight into how and what you are projecting with your body language. (35:53)

How we can use power cues and how to use your body language to win the moment in a difficult communication situation. (39:30)

Why the audience is on your side under challenging settings and how you can win the day. (44:15)

Why you should put this question on your mind to improve your ability to read the body language in the room: “Are the people in the room for me or against me?”

Why webinars are an evil form of human communication! And since we’ve lost the battle to ban them from the world, how to make them bearable and even useful. (50:00)

—

Art's Signature