Ep. 75. Getting back on track
Leadership communications with Rob Cottingham
Getting carried off on a tangent in an interview or Q&A session can be risky. At best, you spend the time you wanted to use getting your message across on some other topic. At worst, you end up talking about sensitive, damaging topics that endanger your organization's reputation. This episode, we look at how you get back on track — quickly, honesty and graciously. Music: All music is by . The theme music is "." Used under a Creative Commons license. Photo: on
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Ep. 74 Why you need to rehearse — and how
Leadership communications with Rob Cottingham
Rehearsal doesn’t kill spontaneity — it gives you the confidence that lets you be spontaneous. You don't just know the material: you know its emotional and literal meaning,nd you've made your big choices about how you're going to convey it. If you want to make the most of your speech, you need to rehearse. And to make that rehearsal count, behold: The Ten Commandments of Rehearsal. Links: , where I make my case for rehearsing Music: All music is by . The theme music is "." Used under a Creative Commons license. Photo: Photo by on
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Ep. 73 No more boring speaker introductions!
Leadership communications with Rob Cottingham
Before a speaker steps up to the microphone, there's usually somebody who introduces them. And that introduction could be helping to set the stage and prime the audience. But too many introductions are just tedious recitals of a speaker's biography. And they're so loooonnnng. Instead of revving an audience up, they put them to sleep. Let's kill those introductions off once and for all. This episode, we look at what an introduction can do for you and your audience, by promising some combination of six elements: authority, affinity, attraction, value, intrigue and entertainment. We'll talk about...
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Ep. 72 Dana Rubin is Speaking While Female
Leadership communications with Rob Cottingham
Pick up a collection of speeches or quotations from history, and chances are most of those voices belong to men. That's changing. More women are claiming their time at the microphone. And it turns out the oratory of the past was a lot more female than many of its curators would have us think. One woman in particular, Dana Rubin, is working to change our understanding of public speaking history — and the role women have played in shaping it. And she's my guest on this episode. Links: The — a tremendously useful resource for speakers, speechwriters and anyone interested in women's oratory...
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Ep. 71 Get out of your lane
Leadership communications with Rob Cottingham
You’ve probably heard the expression “stay in your lane.” And sometimes that’s good advice — but right now, we’re facing global emergencies on an unprecedented scale, and we need voices speaking out for truth, democracy, science and our very survival. If you have a platform, you can be one of those voices…even if you aren’t an expert. Here’s how to do it responsibly. Links: Music: All music is by . The theme music is "" Used under a Creative Commons license.
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Ep. 70 Find Your Red Thread with Tamsen Webster
Leadership communications with Rob Cottingham
There probably isn’t a speechwriter or speaker alive today who hasn’t heard the advice “Tell a story.” But you want them to do more than listen. You want to tell the kind of story your audience will turn into their story. Crafting that story is the heart Tamsen Webster’s terrific new book, Tamsen joins me this episode to talk about the five steps of an effective Red Thread — which just so happen to be a great way to outline your next speech or op-ed. And we talk about how great stories can move audiences and create change. Links: Follow Tamsen and Learn more...
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Ep. 69 Seven deadly sins of online presentation (part two)
Leadership communications with Rob Cottingham
Well over a year into remote presentations as the norm, people are getting pretty good at it... but some mistakes are still cropping up again and again. Last time, we looked at four of the seven deadly sins of online presentations. This time we tour the final three... and then we'll look at how to flip those sins into shining, saintly virtues. Links: My wife has co-written a terrific new book on making the most of remote work, called Highly recommended for making the most of the new workplace! 's new book is an absolute must-read for crafting messages that move audiences. And stay tuned,...
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Ep. 68 Seven deadly sins of online presentations (part one)
Leadership communications with Rob Cottingham
Well over a year into remote presentations as the norm, people are getting pretty good at it... but some mistakes are still cropping up again and again. In this two-episode series, we'll meet the seven deadly sins of online presentations — from not looking at the camera to not knowing your platform. And then we'll look at how to flip those sins into shining, saintly virtues. Links: My wife has co-written a terrific new book on making the most of remote work, called Highly recommended for making the most of the new workplace! 's new book is an absolute must-read for crafting messages that...
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Ep. 67. Avoiding plagiarism: Are your words really your own?
Leadership communications with Rob Cottingham
Sure, you and I would never take someone else’s writing and pretend it was our own. But not all plagiarism is deliberate. It can be surprisingly easy to steal someone else’s words by accident. Plagiarism scandals have caught up leaders ranging from presidential candidates to university officials. They’ve derailed campaigns and ended careers. Here’s how to keep that from happening to you — by making sure your words, really are your words. Links: Care to jog your memory? Here’s the background on ’s and ’s plagiarism issues. And in case you missed last episode’s notes: My wife ...
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Ep. 66. Keep the "thought" in thought leadership
Leadership communications with Rob Cottingham
So many leadership communications mistakes come down to one thing: not having a clear goal and a roadmap to get there. That’s especially true when it comes to areas where leaders aren’t as familiar with the subject matter. This episode looks at a high-profile communications failure: an op-ed that blew up in CEO's face, damaged the company's reputation and forced an embarrassing public about-face. We'll look at what went wrong... and how you can keep your communications on track. The important thing: Don't let stories like this discourage you from speaking up! You can make a positive...
info_outlineMost of us like to think of ourselves as basically honest people. But as speakers and speechwriters, it's surprisingly easy to find ourselves misleading our audiences: accidentally or (gulp) deliberately.
Find out how — even with the best intentions — you may be leading your audience astray... and how to get back onto the path of truth.
Warning: Contains traces of scolding and a glancing reference to the current American president.
Links: More about Albert Mehrabian and his work on non-verbal communication.
And about the aerodynamics of bumblebees.
One way that bumblebees definitely can't fly.
My favourite resource for checking quotations and their origins: Quote Investigator.
Music: Theme: "Good Times" by Podington Bear (http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Podington_Bear/).
Incidental music by Lee Rosevere (https://leerosevere.bandcamp.com/) including "Night Caves," "Everywhere," "Systematic," "We Don’t Know How It Ends," and "Saturn V." Used under a Creative Commons license.
Lee has released a beautiful album in honour of Apollo 11's 50th anniversary, and you can buy a limited-edition CD. I did and I'm delighted with it. Give it a listen here.
Photo: Jordan Madrid on Unsplash