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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...

Franklin Taggart, 2019 Ordinary Extraordinary People Awards I am honored to be one of the six awardees for the Ordinary Extraordinary People Awards for 2019. Created by Ann Baron of Northern Colorado Community, these awards recognize people who contribute their time and energy to making our community a better place. It's an honor to be included among some amazing people. Thanks to Monique Renee for the nomination and for all who voted! L to R, Brad Hoopes, Franklin Taggart, Ann Baron, Mary Elizabeth Lenahan, Carrie Thompson, and Kristen Watts. 2019 Ordinary Extraordinary People Awardees.

100 Ways is a brainstorming exercise that use for myself and with clients to help generate ideas beyond those that are obvious. I find brainstorming for a designated length of time distracting because I get concerned about time running out and I don't focus on generating ideas. 100 ways is simple. Set a specific goal at t eh top of the page, and then write down 100 ways to attain that goal, with no regard for how long it takes to get to 100. Want to find a way to make $5000? Write down 100 ways and you'll probably find more than one way you can attain that goal. Some of your ideas will surprise you. Here's a simple worksheet that you can use.

The past few years I've seen scads of products and services targeted to introverts. Selling for Introverts, Marketing Strengths of Introverts, Dating for Introverts, The Best Businesses for Introverts ...the list grows daily. I find it very interesting that I have not seen ONE product or service that is targeted to extroverts, except maybe those few that have to do with How To Deal With Your Introvert kinds of articles and books. Not one. This is a curious thing. I wonder if there is a market for things like The Benefits of a Rich Inner Life , or maybe How to Recharge Without Having to Drain People , or even Alone Time: A Guide for Extroverts . Is anyone but me seeing how ridiculous this is? Based on a tool that's about as scientific as a newspaper horoscope, all of a sudden introversion is a thing, and not only is it a thing, it requires remediation in a world that is largely extroverted. I'm not completely sure why Myers and Briggs and their ilk decided to use the ...

My 'to do' list is an experiment in wishful thinking. There are things on there from a couple of years ago. Every day there are more things. The great thing about living in this world is also the greatest challenge; there are so many things to experience...so many things 'to do.' A while back I realized that an equally important list for me is the 'to be' list. It's not about goals, activities, or accomplishments; it's about presence, grounding and renewal. With all of my interests, I'm constantly doing, often to the point of overwhelm. Originally these moments of overwhelm were the reason I created the 'to be' list in the first place, as a reminder to check in with my core being from time to time. What's happened since is that I focus more on the 'to be' list and the 'to do' list isn't so overwhelming, and by golly, those 'to do' things are getting done more frequently and to a high level of satisfaction....