Category: The Voice of Influence

The Voice of Compassion

My best friend’s wife died recently. Suddenly. Nothing can explain a tragedy like this. But in the midst of bottomless grief and sorrow, I learned something important about voice. No words sufficed. Nothing I or anyone could say really mattered. Not in a situation like this. My words didn't even...

To Pitch an Idea, first you must Connect

One of the biggest reasons why so many pitches fail is that we fail to CONNECT with our listeners. Connection is where it all starts. Connect, and it’s easier to get people to buy-into your ideas. Fail to connect, and it’s an uphill battle all the way. So here are...

How the Voice of Emma González Saved me

I saw the news and I felt numb. Yet another cruel shooting in my home country of America... in sunny Florida even. Yet another senseless slaughter of innocent children. And what followed was just as disgusting. Instant denial and deflection from spineless right-wing politicians. I'd lost hope. Maybe there is...

As soon as you speak, you will instantly be judged

With first impressions, your voice is more important than you may realise. It takes less than 1 second for people to judge your personality. Yes, less than 1 second. That’s the time it takes to say the word “Hello”. There was a famous line in the movie Jerry Maguire. Renée...

What I learned from 3 days of complete silence

When I was a rowdy kid (yes, just ask my 4 brothers), my mother would (often) send me to my room. Being forced to sit alone was the punishment. Now imagine that I registered for a 3-day silent retreat where I’d be locked alone inside my head! I was not...

A Silent Retreat: Who are you without your Voice?

One of my life’s biggest missions is to help other people to find their voices. Not their singing voices, but their speaking voices. Learning to become a better speaker/communicator is profitable and great for your career, but discovering your Authentic Voice - your life’s calling - is one of the...

The Power of Pitching

Just before Christmas I competed in the Finals of the Techtour European Venture Contest. Oddly enough, I was one of the category winners (this surprised me, but never underestimate the power of a good story). Since I am a serial entrepreneur and back after 9 years, Techtour interviewed me in...

Learn from the Speakers You Admire

I just listened to an old speech by Martin Luther King Jr. from April 4th, 1967 at the Riverside Church in New York City. It wasn’t his most famous speech, but perhaps one of his most underrated. In this speech he changed his course and for the first time spoke out...

A Tolerance for Silence 

Right now I am on an airplane. I’m flying home at 20,000 feet from Kuopio, Finland. I’m decompressing. Imagine a town dropped right in the middle of absolutely nowhere. Imagine being surrounded by a thousand miles of flat and nondescript landscape with nothing but seemingly endless trees and lakes… then...

Entrepreneur Success Factor? Words-Music-Dance

  Many entrepreneurs struggle. Some fail, yet some entrepreneurs succeed beyond their wildest dreams. What is the difference? What is the one key success factor that separates the winners from the losers? (more…)