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4 in 10 adults say that public speaking is their greatest terror. And the Association of American Colleges and Universities listed public speaking as the most in-demand job skill that employers need but can’t find in job candidates. Those of us who are self-employed aren’t exactly off the hook either. Strong speaking skills are a necessity for many of us as we work to represent our businesses and attract new clients to our services. Communication skills are fundamental to our success and those who invest in building theirs are ahead of the game. Meridith Grundei helps good speakers become great speakers. As a speaking coach and trainer she’s worked with every kind of individual and organization; from the woman executive who needs to deliver a high-impact report to her board of directors, to small nonprofit agencies, to teams within the most well-known Fortune 500 companies. Meridith brings her decades of storytelling, stage performance, professional directing, and education to help vis...

I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about the importance of including more intentional and personalized ways to recognize and appreciate clients’ business. This was triggered by the surprise of winning an award from the local SBDC offices where I offer consulting. My thinking has also been influenced by the book, Giftology, by John Ruhlin who goes to great lengths to learn about the passionate interests of his clients and then sending gifts that are significantly more personalized that the SWAG that is so often given as a way to promote businesses.   I share a couple of examples of people I know who show their customer appreciation in meaningful ways. Renee Shaw’s realty group offers frequent family friendly and cultural events, and they include everyone on their client list. Jose Guerrero and his wife deliver freshly made tamales during the holiday season to customers he serves in his cleaning business.   Thanks for watching! I invite you to subscribe, follow, or send a m...

  I've hosted the Artist 2 Artist concert series for over seven years now. The idea for this series happened when I participated in the former Arts Incubator of the Rockies Evolve program. It wasn't the project I ended up doing for the program, but after the program ended it was the project that actually survived. For the first several years the series was held in various galleries, cafes and creative spaces around Northern Colorado. Despite my best efforts the series never quite achieved the goal I had set for it of expanding the audience for both art and music by presenting both in a setting and manner where each enhanced the other. The few people who did attend really got it. We had some great experiences but I was starting to think that it had run its course. In 2018 that all changed when Elizabeth Morisette from Museum of Art Fort Collins reached out and asked me if I would consider hosting the series at the museum. While I was skeptical that it would be successful I still...