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Looking for the Sasuga! Podcast? After over 4 years and 219 episodes, the podcast is on pause.
The good news is you can still enjoy them here: Apple Podcasts | Spotify

Below, you’ll find my latest blog posts to help you do brilliant work without sacrificing your personal life – less effort, more impact!

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What do you like about your presentation?

What do you like about your presentation?

“My jacket,” replied one workshop participant when I asked her what she liked about her presentation as we reviewed a video of it. We all laughed. At least she told me something she liked. Frequently, people immediately respond with what they don’t like when I ask...

Telling your story at FEW’s Career Strategies Seminar

Telling your story at FEW’s Career Strategies Seminar

I’m delighted to have been invited to give a workshop – Telling Your Story – at the 18th Career Strategies Seminar held by For Empowering Women (FEW). FEW is a women’s networking group in Tokyo supporting and empowering women to achieve their goals personally and...

How to move to move your audience

How to move to move your audience

No, that’s not a typo in the title. I’m talking about how you can move physically as a presenter to help move your audience emotionally and get your message across. This follows last week’s post “An easy step to presenting with more confidence,” which highlighted the...

An easy step to presenting with more confidence

An easy step to presenting with more confidence

Some of you have asked for presentation tips. Here’s one: think about where you’re standing when giving a presentation. It affects how you come across to your audience and can boost your confidence. Let’s take three typical settings in business and public speaking: No...

Welcoming Yumi

Welcoming Yumi

As part of the intensive training to become a facilitator for the Dale Carnegie Leadership Training for Managers (of which I am no longer affiliated), I tracked how I spent my time in 30-minute segments for two weeks. Around 40 percent of my time fell under the...

IJET-25 – a Big Success at Tokyo Big Sight

IJET-25 – a Big Success at Tokyo Big Sight

More than 560 people attended the 25th International Japanese-English Translation (IJET) conference at Tokyo Big Sight on June 21 and 22. Huge thanks to Cathy Eberst and her hard-working committee of volunteers who organized this amazing event. The conference was a...

Difficult to get to workshops?

Difficult to get to workshops?

Much as you want to build your skills, you may find it difficult to get to workshops. Maybe you’re just too busy or live too far away. Webinars could be your answer. I hosted my first webinar last Saturday. After my presentation for participants of the Japan Exchange...

Sasuga! Communications is one year old today!

Sasuga! Communications is one year old today!

Many thanks to clients, friends, and family for your support during the first year of Sasuga! Communications. Image courtesy of Serge Bertasius Photography, FreeDigitalPhotos.net

To “er” is human

To “er” is human

Coaching a Japanese executive in presentation skills a few weeks ago, the first time I asked him to stand up and speak he began with, “I, er, would, er, like, er, to, er…” It was the worst case of the “ers” that I’d ever heard. People often claim that they say “er” or...

Something for all translators

Something for all translators

I’ve just been putting the finishing touches to my materials for the Tokyo meeting of the Japan Association of Translators on Saturday, April 19. Even though the focus is children’s book translation, my guess is that this session will offer something for all...

How to improve your business communication with improv

How to improve your business communication with improv

Last Friday, I went to an improv show. I like a good laugh. At the same time, I hoped to learn something about communication. In To Sell is Human, Dan Pink recommends taking tips from improv: 1. Hear offers, 2. Say “Yes and,” 3. Make your partner look good. Number...