Picture a woman entering a meeting room, standing tall, walking with confidence and composure, and greeting the other attendees with a warm, engaging smile.

Picture this: You're part of a project team trying to come up with a solution to a critical challenge. Without a facilitator, the conversation jumps from topic to topic. Some voices are louder than others, and the team leaves without any clear consensus or actionable takeaways.

In the nearly 40 years since PowerPoint was released, there have been countless books, webinars, and workshops on how to use it (and other similar tools) to create eye-catching, effective presentations.

Decades ago, I worked with an incredibly articulate executive who was always cool and composed when he presented. He had a tendency, however, to click his heels periodically while talking. 

In her book, “Sum It Up: A Thousand and Ninety-Eight Victories, a Couple of Irrelevant Losses, and a Life in Perspective,” legendary women’s basketball coach Pat Summitt said, 

“A great coach can lead you to places
you never thought you could reach.”

Clear, strategic, authentic communication in the workplace is more important than ever, and it’s at the heart of what will help you succeed when interviewing for your next job.

According to a 2023 Axios research report, the cost of ineffective communication (from leaders and across the organization) adds up to more than $15,000 per employee, per year—or $2 trillion annually across the U.S. alone.

The report goes on to highlight the cost of poor communication in human terms:

“Every executive we have interviewed has told us, ‘Get to the point quicker. It’s not a murder mystery.’”  - PowerSpeaking Master Facilitator and Coach John Warren

Making a technical presentation to your peers is one thing. Pitching an idea or request to senior executives, a product review to clients, or a speech to non-technical decision makers requires a different skill set.

It’s a new day, a new year, and I’m wondering, where do you want your career journey to take you? I ask not so much with your “technical” skills in mind, but rather, your human skills.

Who would have ever thought we’d long to sit at a conference table and meet with colleagues in person five times a day again? Zoom fatigue is real, but fortunately, we’ve got some comic relief and tips to re-engergize.