- An Interview With Emiko Rasmussen, Higher Education Professional and Founder of the Her Confidence Her Way Podcast and Community I "met" Emiko Rasmussen when she contacted me via Facebook messenger. She had seen my TEDx Talk and wanted to connect and know more about...
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How To Kick Out Nervousness And Put A Punch In Your Presentation
I recently took up karate again after being away from the dojo for a while. It feels GREAT! I realized that what helped me to win a gold medal in the 2009 Itosu-ryu Karatedo World Championships in Malaysia was exactly what helps us to become champion presenters:...
What To Say At Networking Events
Do you feel awkward at networking events? Not sure how to approach someone or what to say? In Japan, at least the formalities of exchanging business cards give us something to do and say, but what else? At the networking event following TEDx Roppongi, a gentleman came...
4 Tips To Deal With Difficult Audience Questions
“When I’m giving a presentation, what should I do if I don’t know the answer to a question or need time to think?” People ask me this a lot. So let me share four tips here. 1. Paraphrase “Paraphrasing” means repeating in your own words what someone else said....
Communication Lessons From The Big Leap
Essentialism has been my favorite book for a long time, but I’ve now found another that I’m obsessed with. I read it and then immediately started rereading it: The Big Leap by Gay Hendricks. I’ve been quoting Gay Hendricks for a while after I heard him say on a...
Why Speaking Correct English Can Confuse Your Audience
Picture this: A talented Japanese businesswoman is updating an executive from global headquarters on the progress of a new project. She has good news, but the executive thinks things aren’t going so well. Or picture this: A Japanese businessman is presenting to a...
How This Japanese CEO Prepared For His First English Keynote Speech
I'm thrilled to share this interview with Toru Nishikawa, president and CEO of Preferred Networks, Inc., in which he tells us how he prepared for a keynote speech in the United States. We talk about overcoming nerves how not to go blank building confidence the...
How Your Expertise And Enthusiasm Can Lead To Miscommunication
An Interview With Divya Kato, Founder and Author of When in Doubt, Draw Divya oozes enthusiasm. I met her at a FEW (For Empowering Women) meeting. Then, when I heard that she ran art workshops, I decided to give my family a couple of hours of drawing together as a...
The Power Of The Pause When Giving Presentations
I’ll never forget my first presentation skills training as a participant. We each had to give a short presentation in front of the group. I was so nervous. I spoke my first few sentences. Then my mind when blank. I stopped talking. Couldn’t remember what to say next....
If You Want To Be A Better Communicator, Relax!
An Interview With Ashina Saiki, Founder of Yoga Buddhi One of the highlights of my week is Ashina’s yoga class (often followed by a great chat over lunch). I love the way she welcomes everyone at the beginning of each class with a few minutes for us to share how we’re...
Avoid The Mottainai Of Miscommunication
This month marks one year since I published 英語の仕事術 (Eigo no Shigoto-jutsu) - wahoo! I’m thrilled that the book is now reading material for both Tokyo University’s Executive Management Program and Waseda Business School’s Strategic Thinking and Communication class....
Make It Easy For Your Audience
Years ago, I was translating some PowerPoint presentation slides from Japanese into English. My Japanese was good, but I couldn’t understand what the presenter wanted to say. So I asked him. He said the slides were supposed to be difficult to understand... I was...