Did you listen to or watch Dr. Christine Ford’s testimony in the Senate hearings for Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to the Supreme Court? We all know how that turned out, but do men in power realize what a galvanizing moment that was, even for the most complacent suburban woman? Time Magazine described it well: …for ordinary women … Read More

Let’s get serious about humor. Being funny is empowering. When women do comedy, they are in charge. But the same holds true for anyone delivering a presentation. Getting your audience to laugh means they are relaxed and open, which isn’t easy during times of great uncertainty when your listeners might well feel overwhelmed and distracted. Once they’re laughing, you … Read More

Did you see the video of teacher Kristen Mink that went viral? She confronted EPA Director Scott Pruitt in a café, telling him the reasons why she thought he should resign. Two days later, he did. But did she go too far? If you saw the recording of her reading her prepared notes, you likely lost … Read More

If you are asked to introduce the speaker or a panel for a meeting or event, you may not realize what an important role you have. The purpose of the introduction is to create a personal connection between the speaker and the listeners. You want people to feel privileged to hear the speaker and clearly understand … Read More

The actress Jennifer Lawrence recently wrote about a disheartening experience she had expressing an opinion to a man who worked for her (versus the other way around). She wrote: “A few weeks ago at work, I spoke my mind and gave my opinion in a clear and no-[BS] way; no aggression, just blunt. The man…said, ‘Whoa! … Read More

Without feedback, we live in our own bubble, unaware of how people see us. Consider this: You’re the same person at the podium that you are at the breakfast table, so whatever you learn from helpful feedback will transfer into everyday life. Think of yourself walking around a dark room bumping into furniture. Similarly, you want … Read More

In the book Lean In, Sheryl Sandberg asks, “What would you do if you weren’t afraid?” addressing the self-doubts that hold many women back. Unfortunately, at this moment Sheryl seems very afraid. How ironic that the “mother” of the Lean In movement has chosen to remain silent during Facebook’s present crisis. Sandberg’s silence is surprising because … Read More

If you’ve ever attended a retreat with icebreakers, you might have enjoyed a game of Rock, Paper, Scissors which is a hand game usually played between two people. At the count of three, the players simultaneously form one of three possible shapes with an outstretched hand. Each shape represents either a “rock,” “paper,” or “scissors.” It might seem … Read More

For the sake of this article, I refer to the most commonly used presentation software but there are other tools available, such as Powtoon, which is free, works best with Google Drive, and claims that PowerPoint software is “so twentieth century.” Perhaps you’ve heard about the book titled “Death by PowerPoint: How to Avoid Killing Your … Read More

Happy Holidays to my friends and blog-readers! This has been quite a month with the Thomas Fire consuming our attention. But keep in mind the holidays that most women were attending to: Chanukah began Tuesday, December 12th and ended in the evening of Wednesday, December 20th. Friends who were evacuated stayed with us through this holiday … Read More