Everyday Improvement

Many of us struggle with making our meetings or presentations more engaging. We also struggle with pushing through work and tasks we are not excited about. What's the result? Lackluster outcomes or loss of engagement. In this episode we talk about 1 tip to push past that and how to apply it in 3, different, everyday situations.

In this episode we explore two passages from great Stoics, Seneca and Marcus Aurelius. These passages give insight into how we can gain the confidence to be a better presenter or shake off a nervous situation. Are you looking to overcome the fear of public speaking or gain confidence to do something you're anxious to approach? Give this episode a listen and look at your situation differently!

When you have a conversation and someone gives you their opinion or an objection, are you HEARING them or SHUTTING them down? In this episode we look at the power of one word and why we should be more careful when we choose to use it. My challenge for you will be to stop.

We have all sat in that one virtual meeting to only sit in the next conference call to then jump onto another one. No? What about only having one call for the day, yet you still can't remember what they said or if you have anything to do after? Are these meetings not sticking with you. The good news is, it's not YOUR fault, the bad news is, it is YOUR fault when you're running the meeting!In this episode we take a look at two sections of your meeting, and 4 questions to answer to make your meetings stick with your audience. Now when they leave, they will not only remember what you said, but be glad they attended!

In a world where we are living in virtual meetings and calls, we see the effectiveness of these meetings slip. In this episode, we discuss 3 tips to help make your virtual meetings more engaging. Whether that engagement is increased participation or making it easier for your audience, we can make our meetings more efficient and achieve more.Get ready to set expectations, bring the energy, and hear the BEST word you'll ever hear in your life. Let's rock our next virtual get together.

How has the new year been treating you? Are you overwhelmed by too much? Do you feel like you're not getting done what needs to be done? Maybe our problem isn't that we're not productive enough, maybe we don't know what productivity really means let alone achieve it!In this episode, Todd breaks down 3 things - What is Productivity / A tool to become more accomplished / Building a culture around you.This podcast is broken into these three sections to allow you to go back and listen to what you need to without going through the whole thing again....unless you want to!Section 1- What is Productivity? time - 4:25Section 2 - The new tool to use. time - 8:35Section 3 - Building a culture. time - 23:28This is a great podcast to listen on your own, with your leader, or with your team! It is informative and action oriented. Buckle up and dive in to becoming more Accomplished with your productivity!Resources mentioned:www.ispeak.com/blogwww.artofmanliness.comFranklin Covey 5 Choices to Extraordinary Productivity - Book

Start your new year, project, or any vision with a simple goal. We all get confused, concerned, or "curfuffled" with complicated goals! Many of us make goal setting too complicated from the beginning. Join me in this episode as we learn a method for simplifying the goal setting process as I learned from another great organization.

As the New Year approaches (or is here now) we must Start Our Year RIGHT! In this episode I break down how to start your year, project, or meeting the RIGHT way to give you more confidence. I then go into 3 situations of how you apply this new mindset. Join me in kicking off 2020, The RIGHT Way!

Do you use filler words like um, uh, like, so, you know, etc.? We all know that we need to use silence instead of a filler word, bu do you?! In this edition we talk about a tip that will not only train you to stop using filler words but also increase cognitive and communication performance! Tune in to this short episode and find how you can improve your ability to not use fillers.

Join the co-founders of iSpeak, Kevin Karschnik and Russ Peterson Jr., in a webinar that was delivered in July 2019 about our newest workshop, Corporate Storytelling. This is a continuation of our Storytelling series. Previous episodes include an interview with Russ and the Two Paths template. This episode is the audio pulled from the webinar and gives you tools and ways to tell better stories with PURPOSE in your business environment. Follow to the end and find out how to get some Freebies!

Have you tried telling someone something only to have it fall on deaf ears? What about giving a direction to a team member and they completely miss what they are suppose to do? It's easy to blame them, but first we need to think, "Did I give them what they NEEDED?" How do you figure that out? In this episode, join Todd in learning a quick method of how to do an audience analysis to give the right information to the right people at the right time. Partner this tool with the purpose tool from the previous episode and you have completed your preparation for any message, conversation, conference call, or presentation.

Have you sat in one of those meetings that doesn't seem to accomplish anything? What about a conversation that seems scattered and you leave feeling confused about what you should remember or do? This happens because we as communicators don't always know the clear objective or purpose of our message. Yogi Berra said, "If you don't know where you're going, you may end up some place else." That some place else is the confusion, not accomlishing goals, etc. In this episode, I am going to walk you though a short but effective process to creating a clear purpose of your message, presentation, conversation, or meeting! These three questions you'll learn will give all your situations clarity and produce results. 

We found out in our last episode that Corporate Storytelling has entered as it's place to make a point and connect with your audience. As we continue our journey to be better storytellers, Russ Peterson Jr., co-founder of iSpeak, Inc., shows us how to use the Multiple Paths Template to help teams see a clear path, and make the right decision. With episodes like this, our Activity Episodes, we suggest you listen all the way through, then play again and pause it to do it with us. Buckle up, listen in, and get ready for your journey on becoming a better storyteller.

Storytelling is one of, if not the, oldest methods of transferring information and connecting with an audience. On this episode of Everyday Improvement, Russ Peterson Jr., co-founder of iSpeak, joins me to help us rediscover how to tell better stories in a corporate environment. Russ will share with us why now, how to, and even give us some quick tips on how you can be a better storyteller.If you want to know more, please reach out to us at www.ispeak.com or shoot us an email at info@ispeak.com.

In order to best improve anything you want to do in life, you find a coach or mentor, let her/him observe you, get feedback, and implement. Communication skills are no different as you want to be best prepared for any business opportunity that comes your way. At iSpeak, we love when our clients call us up for coaching opportunities or past students needing a little extra help. However, you don't always need a professional coach, you have YOU! In this episode I discuss how you can be a better coach for yourself so you can grow to the next level, without dragging yourself down. Thanks in advance for the listen and always feel free to reach out to us at www.ispeak.com!

Join one of iSpeak's Master Instructors, Todd Zwissler, as he introduces you to Everyday Improvement. This podcast is centered around personal development and improvement of soft skills for all our listeners.We began iSpeak in 1999 with the purpose to develop communication skills for improving people’s lives both personally and professionally. This podcast is another opportunity for us to make an impact on all of our students and listeners. We look forward to working with all of you and feel free to reach out to us at www.ispeak.com!