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Tip: #1 Do you or someone you know struggle with ADHD and find it difficult to explain how or why you have done something?As an Executive Communication Coach, I have noticed more and more clients sharing their struggles with ADHD. Often, this can lead to not receiving credit for their work or having a hard time explaining to others how to replicate their process.

If you resonate with this, try using a pen-and-paper mind map or audio recording app to capture your thought process in real-time. This can be a game-changer for those who struggle with the traditional method of writing updetailed plans or processes. Remember back in math class when you had to “show your work”? It may have been infuriating at the time, but it can be a helpful reminder to document your process for future reference.    ADHD people bring innovative strategies to the workplace (awesome!), but you can’t expect others to think the exact same way you do.

As coaches, we deeply respect and provide confidentiality regarding any communication challenges, so don’t hesitate to share any struggles or concerns with us. Let’s work together to help you communicate with confidence and ease!

Tip #2: Use Reflective Listening. Listening is critical in both personal and professional settings, yet it remains an elusive skill. However, cultivating deep listening skills can give you a superpower with colleagues, job interviews, direct reports, and even family and friends.     In our workshops, we teach a technique called Reflective Listening, which helps the speaker feel heard and understood. (There are always lots of laughs and personal stories in these breakouts, aka venting, about when people don’tlisten to us, from kids to dogs to spouses to direct reports!)

To practice Reflective Listening, start with a transition phrase like “I hear you saying…” or “From your perspective…” and then add verbatim or connect the dots to show that you’re truly listening, e.g.,” From your perspective, we need to have performance reviews monthly, not yearly.” This technique can improve communication in any scenario, from job interviews to family conversations.

If are interested in exploring advanced communication skills, save this post and tag a colleague who might want to practice with you. And if you think your team could benefit from this superpower, let us know. Our clients have found success in offsite events that build morale, team building, and communication skills. Over the next few months, I’ll be coaching in Boston, Los Angeles, and Toronto for client programs. Let us be part of your event to master updated communication skills!

Tip #3: Don’t get ambushed!Have you ever been put on the spot and didn’t know how to respond?

A C-level executive recently shared a frustrating experience she had during a group meeting with an outsider. While preparing for a Management Presentation, the banker put up a revised slide deck she hadn’t seen before and asked her to talk through a few specific slides. Feeling flustered, she stumbled through a response and later regretted how she handled the situation.

But what if there was a way to prevent this from happening? If you ever find yourself in a similar situation, try using this response: “Great, let’s take a look at this updated deck. Since this is the first time I’m seeing it, talk me through what we’re looking at and the type of feedback that would be most helpful to you.”

By taking a moment to process the information and respond in a helpful, brief, and polished manner, you can avoid being ambushed and stand up for yourself. Remember, only you can control how you respond in these types of situations. Confidence is key!

Tip: #4 Aim for the no-look pass in team presentations.Passing the ball back and forth smoothly, gracefully, and with ease is critical to any successful team game. And, it’s also crucial for team presentations.

In fact, one of my favorite sports moves – the no-look pass – can be a valuable technique for team presentations. Whether planned or spontaneous, passing the ball around (aka the content) can keep the listeners engaged and prevent one person from monopolizing the spotlight.

Remember to aim for that no-look pass next time you’re presenting as a team. Making team presentations look easy and conversational takes work!

Tip: #5 Three quick tips on Management Presentations. Preparing for (and surviving) Management Presentations can be one of the most difficult situations as a speaker. (Management Presentations are typical when a company is preparing to sell. They are often four hours long with a 50-page deck)

Recently, our team was brought in to help two companies prepare the leadership team for Management Presentations. Both teams performed exceptionally well, with one company having all nine potential buyers wanting follow-up meetings. Impressive!

Recently, I’ve spent time in Chicago and Boston for these clients and helped them with messaging, speaker style, brevity, clarity, and managing nerves.

Here are three quick tips to help you thrive in these fast-paced, all-hands-on-deck situations:

1. When in doubt, leave it out. If someone wants to know more, they will ask.

2. Be more succinct and specific. Use brevity in stories and answers. You must make your point quickly and then STOP TALKING unless you want the presentation to go from 4 to 6 hours.

3. Be conversational. On occasion, talk about your kids or how you personally look at the situation. Avoid getting right into the micro of the market growing at 7%, etc. The more conversational you are, the more you come across as a comfortable, dynamic C-level asset.

Welcome to my second annual blog on the best use of humor at global annual meetings across investment, private equity, and financial services. (For the first blog from 2025, click below)

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/eight-moments-got-big-laughs-annual-investor-meeting-sjrme/

As always, I spent most of May with some trusted colleagues, helping with speaker coaching for their annual investor meetings. After the coaching, whether for solo presenters, pairs, or business‑unit groups, we’re often onsite for the dry run and the event itself, timing each talk and capturing specific feedback for every speaker.

Even though most AGM speakers I meet with have been presenting for many years, even decades, the most impressive presenters are the ones still looking for feedback on small ways to add polish or impact.

What gets a room of smart investors- people who attend hundreds of meetings a year- to laugh?

Luckily, it’s not stand‑up comedy, telling a joke, or something random you found on the internet. I’ve done the analysis for you below to break down what gets a laugh and why. Use these ideas to add levity to your next update or presentation.

Here are eight of the best laugh‑out‑loud moments I witnessed at various 2026 AGMs. Details have been changed for client confidentiality, but the heart of each example is exactly what got the big laughs.

1. The callback to history

A leader opened by joking, “I presented this same slide to Jack more than a decade ago.”Why it works: shared history + institutional memory + self‑awareness + everyone loves a joke about slide decks.

2. The unexpected confession

A highly accomplished industry expert admitted he would never have predicted this career path given his poor grades. The room loved it.

In another segment, a speaker asked a difficult question and said, “So what’s the answer? (pause…) Well, even I had to ask Claude.”Why it works: competence + humility is an extremely likable combination.

3. Admiration disguised as teasing

“I was hoping she wouldn’t be at this meeting today.” Translation: this person is terrifyingly smart or a high performer, so we can joke that we don’t want her around while we’re presenting. Why it works: it gives a colleague public credit without sounding overly fawning.

4. The oddly specific origin story

Not the same old vague “we built a great partnership,” but the strange little story about where it actually started: “Tampa lightning storms, three delayed flights, a random introduction over $47 airport burgers…”Why it works:specificity makes people smile and remember.

5. The elephant in the room

“I’m aware we’re a bit behind schedule, and also that I’m the only thing standing between you and lunch.”

If the room is freezing, everyone knows. If lunch is late, you can feel the fidgeting. If your session title sounds like a doctoral dissertation, everyone is worried it will be dry. Why it works: a quick acknowledgment creates an instant connection.

6. The ‘we’ve all done this’ moment

“I was told by one highly esteemed CEO back in 2023 that ‘AI will always be completely unfit for professional use.’”

We laugh at outdated attitudes (smoking on airplanes?!), at how wrong we were about a deal, or at universally embarrassing human behavior. Why it works: shared recognition builds immediate trust.

7. The visual surprise

Unexpected old photos. A bingo card of impossible tasks. A before‑and‑after video. Rooms are visually starved, and most slides read like awful eye charts. Why it works: a smart image, video segment, or physical item immediately changes the energy.

8. The rule of three

This works because rhythm is effective, and using three items is effective in many settings.

“I didn’t want to pay airport coffee prices. I didn’t want another 4 AM alarm. And I definitely didn’t want to be the final speaker of the day.”

Why it works: catchy structure + acknowledging we’re all tired + unexpected confession = laugh opportunity.

I could have easily added more, but it’s a good challenge to stick to eight observations. Humor in senior rooms is rarely about “being funny” or telling jokes. We want to hear about your fears, missteps, inner dialogue, thought process, challenges, and failures. We want to be surprised. We want to learn. We want to feel connected.

If you can add humor successfully as a presenter, you’ve tapped into the thrill of true human connection. Give some of these a try and let me know how it goes.

I’m sitting in a meeting, internally rolling my eyes, because “Chad” has hijacked it again. At this point, his voice is like fingernails on a chalkboard to me, as he repeats the same tired axe that he always grinds. This meeting isn’t even about what he’s talking about! And I can’t help noticing that he’s wrong about some of the things he’s saying. I choose not to engage because I’ve learned from past attempts that it’s better to just sit through it than try to correct him and start an argument.

Have you ever worked with someone like this? Poor communicators such as “Chad” actively waste time and money due to their ineffective communication.

Effective communicationinvolves many skills, one of which is following the unwritten rules of communication. These rules are known as Grice’s Maxims, and they look like this:

Maxim of Quantity: Give as much information as required, but no more.

How it works: Avoids wasting the time of high-level decision makers. Keeps detail-oriented discussions at the right level of the organization.

What to do: Calibrate in advance on how much information the listener needs or wants to make a decision or move forward. Aim for less information when dealing with high-level decision makers.

Maxim of Quality: Try to be truthful and avoid giving false information.

How it works: Builds psychological safety and trust. Strengthens your credibility.

What to do: Do not “fake it till you make it.” Learn how to say “I don’t know” effectively.

Maxim of Relevance: Say things that are relevant to the current topic of conversation.

How it works: Keeps the meeting/conversation on task, allowing you to get things done.

What to do: Do not “hijack” the meeting/conversation with your own agenda. Use a “parking lot” for items that are not relevant now but need to be revisited later.

Maxim of Manner: Avoid ambiguity; be clear, brief, and orderly.

How it works: Eliminates confusion about what is meant in conversations and meetings.

What to do: Avoid jargon and “word salad.” Use plain English that everyone can understand. Plan ahead to organize your thoughts and how to say them.

The next time you’re glazing over while someone speaks at work or in a meeting, ask yourself: Is it the right amount? Is it truthful? Is it relevant? Is it clear? And then be a friend and share your feedback with the speaker at another time. Or send them to a good communication coach who can help them implement some changes! (I might know one.)

This is how you save time and money with communication—become more effective and help those around you do the same.

Bonus: It also saves you the pain of listening to the “Chads” of your office.

Just as breakfast is often considered the most important meal of the day, analyzing who is listening to us speak is one of the most important parts of speech preparation. Unfortunately, as with breakfast, analyzing who is listening to them is a step speakers often skip.

Generally, when an executive is asked to be on a panel, give a keynote, appear on a podcast, or even present to a board of directors, they go straight to content. While this is not incorrect, if you do so without considering the listener’s needs, your impact will not be as strong.

You may be asking, “So, how do I make sure I get this right?” Here are some simple tips for understanding your listener.

Think about the listener, not yourself.

Much like grabbing a coffee on the go seems like a good breakfast replacement, it’s easy to fall into a trap of obsessing over the content you believe you need to cover. The time that it takes can cover as much as doomscrolling on social media.

Aristotle gave some great advice: Focus on the people you’re addressing.

Ask yourself: Who are my listeners? What is their demographic *age, race, gender, orientation, education, etc. How many will be listening? What is their prior knowledge of my topic? Why should they listen to you? What’s in it for them? How will what you are speaking about help them?

Before you begin preparing, consider your overall goal. Do you want to inspire? teach? inform? persuade?

Taking all of this into consideration before you write will help you focus on the listener rather than yourself.

They connect with their listeners’ emotions.

That coffee on the go may bring you happiness, but how does it impact those around you? When preparing for a presentation, in your mind, the subject of your talk may be quarterly sales, company policy, or your amazing invention. Your audience, however, is focused on an entirely different topic; why does all this matter to them?

Aristotle identifies pathos as one of the three essential modes of proof by his statement that “to understand the emotions”.

To be a successful speaker, you need to add the persuasive element of Pathos into your presentation, rather than rambling about what you feel is important. Talk with your listener. Bring them into the subject. Make them feel the benefit you’re giving them through your presentation. Make an emotional connection with them.

Using emotional connection through your word choice will give you a greater impact on your listener.

They speak in their listeners’ language.

Whether you order an Espresso, a latte, or an Americano, there’s no arguing that it is created from coffee beans. Getting your audience to accept your words and ideas depends on how credible they find you.

“When speakers behave inappropriately,” wrote Aristotle, “their credibility is questioned even when they speak the truth.”

Credibility not only comes from status and source citations, but also from word choice and physical presence while presenting.

If your listener thinks in kilometers, don’t explain something in miles. If they work in spreadsheets, don’t speak in metaphors alone. If they’re parents, show them how it affects families. If they’re scientists, show them the data.

It’s less about changing your message and more about translating it.

In the end, great speaking isn’t about having the most slides, the smartest data, or the sharpest soundbite. It’s about resonance. As Aristotle understood centuries ago, persuasion lives at the intersection of logic, credibility, and emotion, but all three only matter if they land with the listener.

A balanced breakfast fuels you. A listener-centered message fuels impact.

Credibility is a building block for many communication goals, such as persuading, educating, and informing others. Whether you are pitching to a VC, working to develop new partnerships, or convincing a patient to listen to your medical advice, establishing and strengthening your credibility lays a strong foundation to help you reach your communication goals.

In a previous blog, I explained how to boost your credibility through the content you deliver. A second way to boost your credibility is with your delivery of that content. You can demonstrate the elements of credibility: your expertise, trustworthiness, and goodwill, simply by the way that you speak, move, and gesture.

First, delivering with confidence will show your expertise. Speaking with the confidence you have rightfully earned as an expert in your subject will go a long way toward being viewed as a credible source. For example, learning to manage the nerves that lead to a shaky voice can make all the difference in sounding confident. One of the most important things I do with clients is to watch them speak and identify elements of their delivery that we can strengthen together.

Second, speaking comfortably and confidently in front of others shows that you are trustworthy. Recently, I saw a new dermatologist and although he seemed to know his stuff about skin, he also seemed nervous talking to me. If I had been coaching him, I would suggest he practice making eye contact. Appearing nervous can take away from a speaker’s trustworthiness.

Third, goodwill can be shown in delivery by employing the proper tone, showing your passion for the subject, and nonverbally demonstrating care for the listeners. If you are a financial planner, you need to choose when to take a serious tone. For many people, money is a serious topic, so ensuring that your passion for this topic takes on a serious tone will establish that you have goodwill toward the listeners.

There are many ways to build credibility. Consider how you can demonstrate expertise, trustworthiness, and goodwill in the way you speak and move. If you aren’t sure what elements of your delivery need to be changed or improved, a communication coach makes an excellent partner in identifying and strengthening how you come across to listeners.