by Franklin Wordsmith | Jan 20, 2021 | Leadership
Don’t Just Listen for Content It was the ultimate in honesty. I was on a Zoom meeting. We reached the point of discussing next steps. One participant said, “Excuse me, but could you repeat that? I wasn’t paying attention.” We all laughed in...
by Franklin Wordsmith | Jul 24, 2019 | Persuasion
Maybe you’ve stood in the doorway to a meeting, conference or networking event—and wished to be anywhere else on earth. No matter how accomplished you are, suddenly you’re back at a middle school dance. You can almost feel the pimples erupting on your forehead. Your...
by Franklin Wordsmith | Dec 5, 2018 | Leadership
There are two types of listening.The first is the most common: listening to respond. You know this. You can see the person you’re speaking with is just waiting for you to take a breath, so she can tell you something. (Often a story that one-ups yours.)The second is...
by Franklin Wordsmith | Aug 9, 2016 | Culture, Persuasion
I can think my case for why a client should change a speech to make it more interesting to his audience makes this a no-brainer. But sometimes he still won’t do it.Before we start mumbling about clients having all of the money and none of the sense, it’s time to look...