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“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....
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...
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...
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...
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....
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....
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...
The other day, Emiko Rasmussen contacted me. She had seen my TEDx talk and was excited that what I said was so aligned with her mission. Emiko helps Japanese women to be more confident. TED talks are a wonderful way to spread ideas. And they’re a way for you to get...
Of all the communication skills, the one I’ve been least comfortable with is influencing. It’s not that I’m not good at it. I must be able to influence people - otherwise I wouldn’t have been running my own business for four years. But part of me associates...
What's the point of PowerPoint? The slides are there to support your message as a presenter. Yet, sadly, many of the PowerPoint slides that we see in English business presentations in Japan distract and confuse the audience. Here’s an example that I’ll never forget....
A former colleague referred to it as the "bulls**t sandwich." Maybe you've heard these three layers of feedback: "You're doing really great at X. You made a complete mess of Y. You should have done Z instead. Keep up the great work!" This feedback model of starting...
An Interview With Rena Suzuki, Leader of Lean In Tokyo I met Rena Suzuki, co-founder and leader of Lean In Tokyo, when she was emceeing an event to promote the Global Summit of Women - known as “Davos for women” - which will be held in Tokyo in May. I was...