Why Are You Here…

Seems like we’ve all been to that meeting where much was discussed and very little got accomplished. We may be able to offer some encouragement.

Most of us get in trouble in meetings and presentations because we are all trained to view communication as a “one-way” thing (where we say what’s on our mind); or as a “two-way” thing (where everybody says what’s on their […]

Audience Analysis

Right Going Forward!

“A cat who sits on a hot stove top, will never sit on a hot stove top again.  And that is well.  But she will never sit on a cold one either.”
— Mark Twain
American Author, Humorist and Philosopher.

Yeah, you really messed that up!  It was understandable of course.  You were young, and aggressive and knew it all… But some […]

All Talk

“More than words is all you have to do to make it real.
Then you wouldn’t have to say that you love me.
‘Cause I’d already know.”
More Than Words — Extreme

Despite the omnipresence of cute little screens and the preeminence of video, the go-to method of corporate presentation is still all talk, all text, all […]

The Tie Break

“Well we all have a face that we hide away forever.  And we take them out and show ourselves when everyone has gone.  Some are satin some are steel.  Some are silk and some are leather.  They’re the faces of the stranger but we love to try them on.”
“The Stranger”
– Billy Joel
American musician and pianist (1949– )

It’s a Conversation

“I’m having a conversation with my
audience, and we’ll both be dead by
the time we’re done.”

– Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen “The Boss”
American Songwriter, Performer, Rock & Roll
Star (September 23, 1949 – )

Speeches […]

Incremental Improvement

“You can always be a little bit better.”
— Drew Brees
Former Quarterback, New Orleans Saints

Everyone’s nervous about public speaking, at first…

It’s not your stock-in-trade.  So, it’s not unusual that you find it odd to stand up to speak.

Archie, Harold & Sam

Archie Bunker was the lead character from the 70’s sitcom, All in the Family. In lengthy discussions with his wife, Edith, he frequently resorted to the epithet, “Get to the Point, Edith!”  Wouldn’t it be heaven to have a red flashing light “Get to the Point!” with a switch by every seat in the conference room?  No better way to tell the blowhards, the detail fanatics, and the self- appointed […]

It’s Just Draperies

“When you look good, you feel good Johnny! And you look marvelous!” — Billy Crystal as “Fernando”

“When you look good, you feel good. Confidence with what you’re wearing is very important. If you feel good, you will always perform your best without worrying about anything.” — Maria Sharapova

Rite of Passage

“When the light finds you kid, Glow!”
—Director’s charge to a young actress

Can a Career turn on a single moment in the spotlight?  A single presentation?  Is it that simple?

Well, yes.  And five year’s preparation…

Seeing the Big Picture

“To see the big picture, sometimes you must rise above the puzzle!”
– Anonymous

In our experience, some clients acquire a training seminar and go home happy.  But others, a few, go “All In!” and acquire, install, operate, manage and evolve an entire complex winning system.

This Call is Being Recorded

“Let thy speech be better than silence or be silent!”
—Dionysius of Halicarnassus
Greek historian, rhetorician
BC 60 — BC 7
(Flourished during the reign of Caesar Augustus)

If you knew that the entirety of your phone conversations were to be recorded, wouldn’t you conduct yourself differently?

Fragments, Triggers & Practice

“I’ve missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games.
26 times, I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot… and missed.
I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life and that is why I succeed.”

Ancora Imparo

“And still I am learning!”
– Michelangelo

“Learning on the job is essential to judging!”
– John Paul Stevens, Associate Justice United States Supreme Court (1920- 2019)

“The New” is upon us! […]

Speech or Presentation

“If you ain’t got no axe, you can’t cut no wood!
Gentlemen, you got to use the right tool for the job!”
—John Henry Eaton (1790 – 1856)
American Politician, Diplomat

Today let’s focus on the two different mindsets that you might employ to solve two different communication assignments: the Speech and the Presentation.

An “Art” to Beginning

In the beginning, there was a bad joke.
And no one remembers what came after…

There’s an awkward, dark moment before a presentation begins – whether in person or virtual… Disaster lurks there. The audience is wondering how to spend the next forty minutes…

Not everyone in […]

Shovel & Pink Tights

The circus came to town. Dad and I made the trip to see the parade down 4th Avenue. Later that night we saw the Main Event under the Big Top!  The Elephants were my favorites — a long line of them. There, sitting atop the leader, at the head of the column, was a girl in pink tights and a satin leotard, her blonde hair pulled tightly back in a jaunty pony tail!  She had the best job in the world!

The Blues, Pattern Recognition and Fusion’s “Ready, Set, Go!®”

“You can get anything you want, at Alice’s Restaurant.
You can get anything you want, at Alice’s Restaurant.
Walk right in, it’s around the back.
Just a half mile from the railroad tracks.
You can get anything you want, at Alice’s Restaurant.”
– Arlo Guthrie
American Songwriter and Singer
(1947 – )

Enough Already!

The Sales & Counselor Selling Series

“When You’re Done, Stop!”

The Presentation isn’t the Point!

One can be forgiven for thinking so, given the […]

Too much starch?

The Sales & Counselor Selling Series

“To be free, you must have power. And to gain power, you must have structure.”
— James Brown (1933 – 2006)
The Godfather of Soul and
The Hardest Workin’ Man in Show Business

Self-Important

The Sales & Counselor Selling Series

“The ‘I’ does not see itself.  Among the Great Teachings, there is a surprising consensus that ‘self,’ is that which looks… the witness. So, not the ‘Self-Image,’ not the false construct of Ego, not the Voice […]

One Discipline

The Sales & Counselor Selling Series

“Once you start thinking this way, it’s really hard to switch it off.”
— Fusion Participant

What if there was a discipline, simple really, that would direct our […]

Probing Wrap-Up, Bridge to Presenting

The Sales & Counselor Selling Series

“The challenge isn’t knowing what to say, or sell, but to “withstand the silence” that comes when you ask a thoughtful question.”
– Jennifer R. StJohn
Speaker, Consultant, Executive Counselor
Founder of The Fusion […]

Shut Up and Sell

The Sales & Counselor Selling Series

“You can tell whether a man is clever by his answers.
You can tell whether a man is wise by his questions.”
—Naguib Mahfouz
Egyptian Author & Nobel Laureate
1911-2006

It’s […]

Interchange

The Sales & Counselor Selling Series

“We know how important it is to listen!”
— Ad campaign for Sperry Corporation

“Everybody is talking at me.  I don’t hear a word they’re saying…”
— Theme […]

How Do You Know It’s Good?

The “Back to Basics” Series

“You like it.  Your friends like it.  Their peer group likes it.  The public likes it.  Many people buy it.  It’s all very subjective. But you want lots of approval and lots of sales.”
– Sir Michael Philip “Mick” Jagger
English musician, singer-songwriter
(1943 – […]

How Do You Get to Carnegie Hall?

The “Back to Basics” Series

He’s cool! He’s hip! He’s with it! He’s a young man with a trumpet case in one hand while the other snaps out the beat as he sashays down the street. Sporting a beret and shades, he’s the embodiment of jazz. Whoa, he stops – comes face to face with an elderly couple (Tourists!): “Excuse […]

A Stronger Message

The “Back to Basics” Series

“A crazy person Says one thing, Does another and Believes something else.  (Especially in Politics… but that’s another matter…) Sanity (and ethics) are usually described as the alignment of Thought, Word and Deed.” — Jennifer R. StJohn

Getting a Win!

The “Back to Basics” Series

“So whatcha gonna do?”
Jim Brown addressing Richard Pryor
You’ve got this presentation coming up…

How exactly do you propose to turn this assignment into […]

Freeing the Angel

The “Back to Basics” Series

“I saw an Angel in the Marble, and I carved until I set him Free.”
– Michelangelo Buonarotti
Florentine Architect, Painter, Sculptor
(1475-1564)
Speech.
Writing.
Sculpture.

Speech or Presentation

A Tale of Two Minds

The “Back to Basics” Series
“If you ain’t got no ax, you can’t cut no wood!
Gentlemen, you got to use the right tool for the job!”
– John Henry Eaton (1790 – 1856)
American Politician, […]

What’s Your Point?

The “Back to Basics” Series
There’s been a lot of “empty gesturing” going on in politics and public life of late. In so many cases, some big ego makes an outrageous statement, or takes a moment on the stage to make a grandiose gesture — which is never followed up with an actual result. This is all about making your actions, […]

Get Up and Wail!

The “Back to Basics” Series

“You’ve got to learn your instrument. Then, you practice, practice, practice! And then, when you finally get up there on the bandstand, forget all that and just wail!”
—Charles “Charlie” Parker, Jr.
August 29, 1920 – March 12, 1955
Also known as “Yardbird” and “Bird”

Practice Creates the Master

The “Back to Basics” Series

“Practice Creates the Master.”
— Don Miguel Ruiz
At first, you can’t do it at all.

Then you summon up your courage. Take a run at it. Make a mess of it.

Spirit (Purpose) Wrap-Up and Bridge to Mastering the Back to Basics Series

“One piece of the puzzle does not make the whole picture; nor does communicating only on one channel. You need all the pieces for someone to get the full picture.”
— Lucy Lanzar
In this Back to Basics Series, our focus has been on Body, Mind and Spirit as the underlying principles of communication — with practical applications.

Let Your Aim…

The “Back to Basics” Series
All world cultures recognize that we have a responsibility to do more than look out for ourselves.

The ability to genuinely engage and perhaps influence another human being is truly a gift – which carries grave responsibility – […]

Presence

The “Back to Basics” Series

“You don’t have to Do anything. Just Be with me.”
Deanna Troi
Star Trek, Next Generation
The Schrodinger Equation suggests that the mere observation of a particle physics experiment is sufficient to […]

Of Course, it’s Acting

The “Back to Basics” Series

General Patton: “If we’re not victorious, let no one come back alive!!”

Lt. Col. Codman: “You know something General? Sometimes they can’t tell when you’re acting and when you’re not.”

Incomplete

The “Back to Basics” Series

“One piece of the puzzle does not make the whole picture; nor does communicating only on one channel. It’s incomplete. You need all the pieces for someone to get the full picture.”
— Lucy Lanzar

Walking Your Talk

The “Back to Basics” Series

“The neck bone connected to the back bone,
The back bone connected to the thigh bone,
The thigh bone connected to the knee bone,
The knee bone connected to the leg bone,
The leg bone connected to the foot bone
Dem bones, dem bones gonna walk a-roun’!”

ONE thing!

The “Back to Basics” Series

“Body, Mind and Spirit are ONE thing!
When you attempt to remove any part,
the gestalt is shattered.”
— Chungliang Huang
There’s something wrong with that speaker over there…

Signature & Visual Aids Wrap-Up,
Bridge to Spirit (Purpose)

The “Back to Basics” Series

“A human being is a composite of Body, Mind and Spirit. So is a presentation.”
— Jennifer StJohn
In this Back to Basics series, our focus is on Body, Mind and Spirit as the underlying principles of communication — with […]

Low & Common? Lofty & Rare!

The “Back to Basics” Series

For want of a Nail, a Shoe was lost.
For want of a Shoe, a Horse was lost.
For want of a Horse, a Rider was lost.
For want of a Rider, a Battle was lost.
For want of a Battle, a Kingdom was lost.
And all for want of a nail.
— Proverb

If it Needs to be Read, it’s a “Reading Assignment”

The “Back to Basics” Series

“The word is about, there’s something evolving,
whatever may come, the world keeps revolving.
They say the next big thing is here,
that the revolution’s near,
but to me it seems quite clear
that it’s all just a little bit of history repeating.”

Thirty Hours to Art

The “Back to Basics” Series

“He who works with his Hands is a Laborer.
He who works with his Hands and his Head is a Craftsman.
He who works with Hands, Head and Heart is an Artist!”
— St. Francis of Assisi
In our experience, a lot of business […]

Magic Carpet Ride

The “Back to Basics” Series

“Art is a doorway out of our comfortable mental neighborhood and into someplace totally different… It disrupts our cherished modes of perception, our considerations about color, shape, content and spatial relationships. It takes us where we’ve never been, and to places we cannot actually, physically […]

Getting Seen and Getting Remembered

(Surface/Substance)

The “Back to Basics” Series

“Owning Your Moment in the Light is what Signature is all about.” — Jennifer StJohn
There’s so little to see in the public […]

The Big Venue

The “Back to Basics” Series

“You’ve got to know the territory!”
The Music Man
Meredith Willson
(1902–1984)
In a Big Venue, the sheer volume of space becomes a challenge.  Stepping up on the riser, out of the dark, into the spotlight, then […]

Never in New Clothes

The “Back to Basics” Series

“Never compete in new clothes!”
—Joan Brown, American Speech Arts Teacher and Distinguished Toastmaster
Next time you watch a professional football game, take a close look at the ball. Chances are, it won’t look shiny and […]

Hitting Your Marks!

The “Back to Basics” Series

“Always leave the other guy a place to stand…”
—J. E. Morrow
American Philosopher and Social Commentator
So, where do I stand?”

It’s a question […]

Hands, Pockets & the Limits of Rules

The “Back to Basics” Series

“Hell, there are no rules here, we are trying to accomplish something.”
—Thomas Alva Edison
American inventor
(1847 – 1931)

“It is a good idea to obey all the rules when you’re young just so you’ll have the […]

It’s Not Your Job to be Brilliant

We are pleased to share an interview with The Fusion Group’s Vice President, Danielle Bolla, published by finews.asia.

In the interview, Danielle discusses being aware of your own communication habits:

• Are you speaking more than you’re listening?
• Share on Facebook Share

Facing the Fear

The “Back to Basics” Series
Public Speaking!  Perennial Winner of the “Top Ten Fears” Poll.

Short of leaving the country, or filling a prescription, is there a way to Vanquish this Fear?

“Trading Up” on Received Wisdom

The “Back to Basics” Series

“To avoid looking directly at someone, focus on the bridge of their nose. They’ll never know you’re not looking right at them! And, in a full room, never look right at anyone! You’ll just get confused and lose your train of thought. Instead, look at the clock on the back wall, and you’ll be […]

We Call it Signature!

The “Back to Basics” Series

“It’s easy! Get the ball through the zone. Avoid the bat! But some guys make it beautiful!”
— Rollie Fingers

So, this guy throws his leg way up high in the sky. As it comes back down, he transfers the momentum and […]

Composition Wrap-Up, Bridge to Signature

The “Back to Basics” Series

“Going back to the basics strengthens your foundation.”
—Anonymous

“A human being is a composite of Body, Mind and Spirit. So is a presentation.”
— Jennifer StJohn

Imposing Limits

The “Back to Basics” Series

“I don’t need time. What I need is a deadline.”
Duke Ellington
American jazz pianist, Composer Conductor
(1899 — 1974)

“When will you make an end?” Pope Julius
“When it’s finished!” Michaelangelo

The Circle Game

The “Back to Basics” Series

“We’re captive on the carousel of time
We can’t return, we can only look
Behind from where we came
And go ’round and ’round and ’round
In the Circle Game.”

— “The Circle Game”
Joni […]

An “Art” to Beginning

The “Back to Basics” Series
There’s an awkward, dark moment before a presentation begins… Disaster lurks there. The audience is wondering how to spend the next forty minutes…

Not everyone in that vast audience is silent […]

The Number Three

The “Back to Basics” Series

“Today’s column is brought to you by the number Three!”
— Spoken by Big Bird on “Sesame Street”
Children’s Television Workshop
It’s odd.  And yet, it’s evenly balanced […]

Last Things First!℠

The “Back to Basics” Series

“Children, we’re taking the play on the road next week. This week, we pack the set and the costumes. Each of you has your own “tub” to pack. Make sure your character name is on the tub; and pack your entire costume and prop set! Listen very carefully now! The first thing you’ll put on during […]

Do Your Homework!

The “Back to Basics” Series
“Rommel, you magnificent bastard, I read your book!” *
– General George S. Patton, U.S. Army
Spoken by George C. Scott, playing the general, in the movie “Patton”
In this classic war movie from 1970, General Patton […]

Then What?

The “Back to Basics” Series
“A truly good book teaches me better than to read it. I must soon lay it down, and commence living on its hint. What I began by reading, I must finish by acting!”
— Henry David Thoreau
American Philosopher, Author of Walden

One Discipline

The “Back to Basics” Series
“Once you start thinking this way, it’s really hard to switch it off.”
— Fusion Participant
What if there was a discipline, simple really, that would direct our communication practice?

The “Back to Basics” Series

“Going back to the basics strengthens your foundation.”
—Anonymous

“Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.”
—Mahatma Gandhi

Over the next several weeks, we will publish the “Back to Basics” series focusing on Body, Mind & Spirit as the underlying […]

Speech or Presentation…

A tale of two minds

“We all have the same tools, but some people seem to use them better.”
— J. E. Morrow

Let’s focus on the two different mindsets that you might employ to solve two different communication […]

Pitch a Conversation

“I went to a presentation once and a conversation broke out!”
— With apologies to Professional Hockey

Something goes haywire in the mind when you’re invited to “Pitch…” The normal intelligence which drives your business behavior short circuits and you fall back to the basic question: “What am I […]

One, Two, Three

“One, Two Three.
You got the rhythm show it!
You and Me. We can get on, I know it.
It’s easy! Like takin’ candy, from a baby…”

Len Barry — Leonard Borisoff
American Pop Singer & Songwriter
1942 —

Much heat has been generated over “Ready, Set, Go!®” In our thirty […]

Fun Works!

“If it ain’t fun, it ain’t worth doing!”
—J. R. St.John

Somewhere in childhood, the campaign to sap every shred of fun out of life begins in earnest:

• Hallways are not for running or sliding!
• Hair […]
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Then What?

“A truly good book teaches me better than to read it.
I must soon lay it down, and commence living on its hint.
What I began by reading, I must finish by acting!”
— Henry David Thoreau
American Philosopher, Author of Walden

“Then what happens?” It’s enough to drive a parent to distraction. As kids, we soon learn to leave parents well-enough alone or […]

Dress for Dismissal

“The most perfect technique is that which is not noticed.”
—Pablo Casals
Cellist, Composer, Conductor

So maybe you’re a watch nut. (As are many of us…) There’s a world of conversations to be had on the subject of fine timepieces. Knock yourself out! Have fun! Be an insider!

Just don’t for a second think that the timepiece, the tie, the suit or the briefcase are going to do anything but get a mental check mark from your listeners. (Check: He looks like […]

Forgiving Faster

“I concluded a particularly humbling foreign assignment and came home to lick my wounds. The Boss, after a solicitous interval said, ‘Are you going to be laughing about this in 20 years?’ I responded, ‘Well, yes…’ He smiled and said, ‘Why not laugh now?’”
—J R StJohn

There’s a lot of time wasted in self-flagellation over momentary failures. The one thing we know for sure about mistakes, confusion or misfires, is that they are in the past.

An […]

Add Nothing

Thirty Spokes share the wheel’s hub.
It is the center hole that makes it useful.

Put up timber for a room,
Where the room isn’t,
There’s room for you!

Shape clay into a pot.
Where the pot’s not
is where it’s useful.

Therefore, the profit in what is
Comes from the use of what is not.

Tao Te Ching
Lao Tsu
Asian Sacred Text

We see people furiously […]

An “Art” to Beginning

In the beginning, there was a bad joke.
And no one remembers what came after…

There’s an awkward, dark moment before a presentation begins… Disaster lurks there. The audience is wondering how to spend the next forty minutes…

Not everyone in that vast audience is silent yet… They’re still scattered, still buzzing, shifting, looking around, sizing up the location, their seat, their colleagues, the program. They’re bored… Maybe a little bit […]

Thirty Hours to Art

Thirty Hours to Art

“He who works with his Hands is a Laborer.
He […]

A Stronger Message

“A crazy person Says one thing, Does another and Believes something else. (Especially in Politics… but that’s another matter…) Sanity (and ethics) are usually described as the alignment of Thought, Word and Deed.”

Should text and graphics align with, support, and underscore each other? What about delivery? Should it […]

A More Inclusive Model

“I was raised to be charming, not sincere…”
– The Handsome Prince, Into the Woods

It’s not surprising with the decline in ethical behavior around the world of late, that we find ourselves opting for shorter presentations, and longer periods of materials review. We spend less time listening, looking or engaging with a speaker, and more time paging through […]

The Unseen Power of Transitions

“And We’re back!”

-Johnny Carson
American Television Personality and Entertainer
Host of “The Tonight Show” for thirty years
(1925 – 2005)

And we’re back, from a relished break; borrowing Johnny Carson’s […]

The Unseen Power of Transitions

“And We’re back!”

-Johnny Carson
American Television Personality and Entertainer
Host of “The Tonight Show” for thirty years
(1925 – 2005)

And we’re back, from a relished break; borrowing Johnny Carson’s […]

Last Things First!

“Children, we’re taking the play on the road next week.  This week, we pack the set and the costumes.  Each of you has your own “tub” to pack.  Make sure your character name is on the tub, and pack your entire costume and prop set!  Listen very carefully now!  The first thing you’ll put on during costume change is packed LAST!  So the Actors’ Rule for Packing is: ‘Last […]

The Number Three

“Today’s column is brought to you by the number Three!”

-Spoken by Big Bird on “Sesame Street”
Children’s Television Workshop

It’s odd.  And yet, it’s evenly balanced — on three legs.  It’s symmetrical, and strangely […]

Speech or Presentation

Speech or Presentation…A Tale of Two Minds
Part Two of Five
of the “What is Fusion?” series
(for people who already know about Fusion…)

“If you ain’t got no axe, you can’t […]

Seeing the Big Picture

“To see the big picture, sometimes you must rise above the puzzle!”

– Anonymous

In our experience, some clients acquire a training seminar and go home happy.  But others, a few, go “All In!” and acquire, install, operate, manage and evolve an entire complex […]

Think & Do!

“I can see that there’s a lot going on here, General, but does it make any sense?”

– Dr. Stephen Falken
“War Games”

What happened?  Is this the ultimate outcome of the 60’s rebellion?

Following the rules — well that’s […]

An Excess of Taste

“Less is More!”

-Ludwig Mies van der Rohe
German Architect, Artist, Bauhaus Designer
(1886 – 1969)

“Ability should not become Compulsion!”

-Robert Howard Thomas
American Philosopher, […]

Shane, Stagehands & the Power of Black

“He came into our valley that spring, a solitary figure, loping silently down the rutted dirt highway, seemingly at one with the stallion who carried him effortlessly closer to our homestead.  As he neared the porch where I sat, savoring the afternoon, his slim figure took on shape and dimension.  He paused for a moment at the gate to our farm, gazed at me, contemplating the choice; then turned and proceeded down our lane.  Dressed […]

Master Class

“The Only difference between a groove and a grave, is the depth.”

-Lena Horne
American Singer
(1917 – 2010)

You’re good! You’re in the groove and you know it! You may also […]

The best way out is always through

“The best way out is always through.”

– Robert Frost
American Poet
(1874 -1963)

We could resolve the deficit – if we had a dollar (and they say there’s no inflation…) for every time someone has said, “I just want to get to the meat, the good stuff – […]