Welcome to the Smartt Blog
How to Not Zone Out on Zoom
If Zoom meetings have you stressed out and unfocused, check out my tips for staying present through endless online meetings.
3 Ways to Make Your Virtual Meetings Shine
Three hints to help you own the room when you have to run a meeting virtually.
Speak Up to Move Up
Check out 3 ideas to up your communication game at the workplace - even when you’re working virtually!
3 New Years Resolutions to Up Your Game At Work
Make a resolution that will up your game at work in 2021.
How Your Unique Background Can Help You Land the Gig
It can be difficult to articulate what makes you the best fit for the job, here are some things to think about to help you prepare.
How to Use Storytelling to Gain an Advantage at Work
Stories allow others to engage with you and the information you share. Even if they don’t remember specifics, they’ll walk away remembering your story as we're naturally hard wired for storytelling.
A Step-by-Step Guide to Giving Good Feedback
One key part of communication is knowing how to give useful feedback. If you’re struggling with how to share what you’re thinking (either positive or negative) keep reading for a quick step-by-step guide.
Echoing Green - Pitching Big Ideas
Echoing Green invests in social change organizations that impact the world. Through virtual and live coaching, I help these founders tell inspiring stories in just 60 seconds that enable their organizations to grow and thrive.
Legrand - Women Learning to Take Up Space
I worked with Legrand to address the challenges facing women executives there: nervousness speaking in front of groups, lack of confident body language, and how best to deal with interruptions while speaking.
Kenneth Jansson - The Art of Storytelling
One of the most powerful ways to connect with audiences is to get personal. Even if the content doesn’t seem directly related at first glance, you can pull out themes or lessons to make your point.
Shutterstock - Recruiting Top Talent by Speaking
One of the most effective ways for companies to stand out, build their brand and attract top talent is to have their employees share their knowledge and speak at conferences.
CNN - Owning Your New Role
Being a leader isn’t just about making decisions and acting with authority. It’s about being collaborative, supportive, and genuinely empathetic—truly listening to your team.
Credit Suisse - Empowering Women to Succeed
Establishing confidence and credibility is key. If you want to lead meetings and inspire teams with that gravitational pull, volume is the secret weapon that many women (and men) don’t realize they have.
The biggest hazard when meeting virtually and how to avoid it
COVID-19 is on everyone's minds. Many businesses have asked staff to work from home when possible. Video conferencing might be the primary way many of us will be meeting for the next (hopefully) short span of time.
Kill the Slides and Watch New Business Skyrocket
Once you’re clear on their needs, you can speak specifically to their concerns, and leave out anything that’s not relevant.
The Mind Blank Nightmare & What You Can Do
Ask any actor and they'll tell you the story of blanking out, and how they lived through it. Don't let it freak you out or define who you are.
How to Avoid Sounding Like a Robot
Within 30 seconds, it was hard to pay attention to what he was saying because he was speaking in the most monotone voice we’d ever heard.
Gotta Present With Little Time? Here's How To Prepare FAST!
Anytime you’re going to be speaking in front of anyone, speak through your content at least 5 times out loud.
How to Transform Your Presentations
Whether you're presenting at a conference, to senior management, or to your team, nerves are a normal part of the experience. You should expect them to show up every time.
The Least Popular Secret to Public Speaking
After many years of leading presentation skills workshops, I’ve found that the number one thing people DON'T do when preparing to speak is rehearse. The majority of presenters spend 95% of their time working on their slide deck and just 5% practicing their actual talk.