Marsha Redmon 🚢

By now our new year enthusiasm to put new habits into place...
has probably waned.

That's why I'm so excited that James Clear - who wrote the amazing book Atomic Habits - has launched an app to help us all start and maintain new habits!

It's called "Atoms" and you can get it in the Apple app store, so far.

• It's easy to use + uses Clear's best practices for creating new habits

• The experience when you 'press the button' to log a repetition of your habit is very satisfying.

• There is a haptic buzz and you're rewarded with soothing bubble graphics.

• It sends timed reminders too.

• It includes short mindset articles by James Clear

Why am I crazy about habits? If you've been reading my posts lately, you'll have heard about my new habit of posting daily on LinkedIn (today is day 53). Two other new habits too, you can see in the image here.

If you checked it out - what did you think?

Also, what's your new habit for the year?

Do you memorize your speeches and presentations...?

Stop immediately.

Memorizing a speech is the most dangerous thing a speaker can do. If you forget a word or phrase - you could lose it all. I know from experience...mine and many others.

It's a very tough recovery.

The FEAR of forgetting everything will surely make you nervous.

And you can seem very distant from your audience - because you are basically looking up into your head - searching for the words.

Now if you're a very experienced speaker and that method works for you - keep at it.

But for the rest of the 99.97% of us, try this:

1- Use my 3 Buckets + 3 Bullets framework I talked about last Wednesday
• Simple organization = easy to remember for you + for your audience

2- Use a few slides or index card with your Buckets + Bullets as a prompt
• 5x8 index cards are stiff (not noisy) and you can palm them. Old school but super effective.

3- If virtual, use text document with Buckets + Bullets up under the camera

Finally, never use a teleprompter unless you are very experienced = a former: head of state, broadcaster, or CEO with lots of training.

A teleprompter, like memorizing, tends to separate you from your audience -> makes you robotic.

And remember... teleprompters can break and then you have nothing!

What works best for you: bullets, memorizing, teleprompter?

Do you avoid using 'stories' in a presentation or speech...because the idea of it seems too touchy feely?

It's a common reaction I hear from lawyers and other professionals.

⭐Try these 3 options to communicate complexity well to your audience⭐

“Set the Scenario, talk about Steps, cite a Statute or data"

⭐ S - Scenario = story to set up the problem at start of speech or workshop

• "Here’s where you are and here’s where you need to go"
• "Here’s what this new law will mean for you now + in next year or two"

⭐ S - Steps or application

• "Here are the steps"
• "Steps 2 + 3 are hardest. Here's why..."
• Client story = How you helped a client just like them handle step 2 + result

-> Helps audience see what the problem looks like, how it can be solved and shows your expertise in a relevant and helpful way. Not heavy handed.

⭐ S - Statute or other data

• Cite statute or regulation - but not too much
• Cite data
• EXAMPLE "Agency expects fines to go up 23% from last year’s record high of $23.4 million."

That's it. I hope it's helpful!

Thank you Christine for your question about using stories in a presentation on my post yesterday!

That's what I love about writing on social media every day - it pushes me to articulate what I teach in a short actionable framework. Fast.

And I got to use Alliteration. Again. Always. 🤣 Yes. I am a word nerd 🤓

I've noticed some lawyers and other professionals drastically misjudge how good or bad their presentation skills are...

As a result... they worry about the wrong things and sometimes try to FIX weaknesses they don't even have!

This came up with a law firm coaching client I worked with yesterday.

The bottom line is lawyers - and those who work with them - can be very self critical.

And from time to time, it's easy to become self conscious about our skills if we move to a new firm, or start working with different people.

I always assess a person's ability to communicate by looking at 3 sets of skills:

1- The most important skillset is knowing your audience - so you can frame your content to be relevant, interesting and easy to understand. Never over the audience's heads or boring. Using examples to make concepts easy to follow.

2- The second is concise and structured messaging.

3- The third is delivery. Do you project confidence and show your expertise in a way that inspires confidence and trust?

If you'd like to play along at home...

>>> Try this self test of your communication skills <<<

Which area, if improved, would have the most impact on your ability to communicate effectively when it matters most?

Sorry to give you homework on a Saturday! 🤣

Which of the three buckets do you think is most important - or do you want to hear more about?

Did I miss anything?

We always HOPE our retreats and trainings will be engaging and interactive... but it can be a lot harder than it looks!

Yesterday I spent some time working with a law firm client customizing my "How to Talk About Your Practice and Yourself Comfortably" workshop for their partner retreat.

70% of our time was spent tweaking the interactive exercise to get the most interactivity and learning - knowing how hard it is to get lawyers to really engage in exercises.

It reminded me how many engagement and timing challenges there are with interactive exercises with a large number of participants.

These details that can make all the difference:

1- Make the exercise about a skill the lawyers REALLY want to learn
(not just what the business or professional development folks want for them)

-> Something practical
-> That they can use right away

2- Have them do the exercise by filling out a worksheet

-> This is huge. Really works. Many lawyers hate a blank form.
-> Easier to manage a large number of people and stay on time.
-> Be sure: directions are clear, deliverable is clear.
-> Print worksheet out and provide pens AND pencils. 🤓 ✏️

3- Require them to speak or report out about the worksheet

-> This will make them realize they actually need to do it.
-> Talking about what they wrote brings another level of learning.

I have more best practices for delivering engaging and interactive exercises with lawyers - but this should get you going!
--
If your firm is keen for lawyers at any level to learn how to speak or present better - or talk about their practices - at a retreat or academy feel free to message me or visit my website to see my workshops.

Do you ever struggle getting started on a speech or presentation... because you just don't have the time?

Well, you're in luck...if you have 15 minutes.

Because it does NOT have to take that long to sketch out what you want to cover. Really!

You can outline your speech in 15 minutes max by using...

Marsha's 𝗕𝘂𝗰𝗸𝗲𝘁𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗕𝘂𝗹𝗹𝗲𝘁𝘀 𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗱 (not yet trademarked) 😆

Here's how this works:

1- You get 3 Buckets maximum

2- Each Bucket can have 3-5 Bullets

3- Some Bullets should be practical examples

4- Intro: What's the greatest impact of this topic on your audience? Why should they care?

5- Closing: What do you want the audience to do as a result of your presentation?

NOTE: Do a first outline in 10-15 minutes. Don't over-think it. Then let it sit for a day or two. Your mind will keep working on it.

DO NOT just start making slides. Always outline first, then let it marinate.

By the way, lawyers always make too many slides. I suspect the rest of us do too.

-> Save time - make fewer slides to start with.

**I'd love to hear how you quickly get started creating speeches and presentations. What works?**

Thanks for joining me for another episode of "why do we always make things harder than they have to be...?"  🤣

"I want to be seen as confident...what does it take to project confidence even when I'm not 100% feeling it? Do I have to just fake it 'til I make it like people say?"

That has to be in the top 3 questions I get from lawyers and other professionals... in the presentation skills 'confessional.'

It's not surprising. Watching yourself on video, with a small group of your colleagues, is bound to bring up your most pressing questions! It's a good thing.

I disagree wholeheartedly that the solution is faking it.

Coming across as CONFIDENT can become your default - If you adopt a few good speech habits.

Here are a few speech habits that make you sound confident:

• Volume = confidence to some degree. Be loud enough to be heard easily by everyone.

• Warm, conversational tone = confident and easy to connect with

• Avoid the worst filler phrases: 'kind of' and 'sort of'

• Ditch the monotone = perceived as disengaged or don't care

In the spirit of taking 5 minutes per day to improve your speaking skills (see yesterday's post)...Pick one thing on the list above and improve it during ONE call or meeting every day this week. This month?

I'm curious, which speech habit do you think makes the most difference in coming across as confident?

A lot of lawyers tell me they want to speak or present better...but they don't have the time to work on it.

How about if I said you can improve by spending 5 minutes per day?

Pick one of these things and do it every day at work for a month.

1- Make 5 bullets for one meeting or call each day. 1 sentence each.

-> By 9am: choose which communication for that day.

Bullet 1: Intro

• either status: "Here's where we are on ___"

• or list: "Three things matter most on x issue: 1, 2, 3

Bullets 2-4: your 3 points

• The three points. One bullet each

Bullet 5:

• Summary, still unknown or next steps.

2- Slow the heck down during most important meeting/call each day

-> 9am: choose your most important communication that day

• Focus on speaking slower during that meeting

• Add in pauses

• Grade yourself each day. Slower? Why? How much slower? Track it.

3- Use fewer harmful filler words - eliminate "kind of" "sort of"

-> 9am: choose an important communication that day

• Write out the most important 2-3 points you need to make

• Distill those points into 1-2 sentences each.

• GOAL is to not say "kind of" or "sort of" in THOSE sentences.

If none of the 3 jump out at you, making you think, oh yeah that's me...

Do 5 bullets once per day. It improves so many issues:

• You'll be more concise

• Fewer umms, likes and you knows

• You become an organized speaker with structure

• You'll seem more confident, project more authority

Final thing - track your progress. Check this off daily somewhere where you can see it!

I've seen lawyers give up too soon when using speaking at conferences to get clients...

They give up before they see results. But wait...

𝗛𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 "𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗺𝗮𝗻 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴" 𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗽𝗹𝗲?

I learned about it last week from productivity guru Ali Abdaal, of YouTube fame. He's a former UK physician turned productivity guy. 🤓

-> Many new podcasters never get past 3 episodes.
-> Even fewer get to 20 episodes.
-> If you post 21 episodes - you'll be in the top 1% of podcasts worldwide

So close...! Lawyers (and the rest of us) try these ideas to keep speaking just a bit longer:

𝟯 𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗽𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗚𝗲𝘁 𝗠𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗢𝘂𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝘁 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲𝘀

𝟭- 𝗧𝗮𝗹𝗸 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗮 𝗵𝗼𝘁 𝘁𝗼𝗽𝗶𝗰 - 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗮 𝗴𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗶𝘁𝗹𝗲
• What is the hottest topic you can speak to?
• Titles: 5 𝘔𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘴... or 7 𝘚𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘴 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵... or 5 𝘔𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘖𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴...
  You CAN create actionable titles. You'll stand out and get a better crowd.

𝟮- 𝗕𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗽𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗹𝗮𝘄𝘆𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲
• Use practical examples that show your recent expertise -> aimed at the clients you want who are likely attending the conference
• Clients love lawyers who offer actionable, practical advice, without legalese

𝟯- 𝗛𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗮 𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗼 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝗳 𝗽𝗼𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗲 -> 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗮 𝘄𝗮𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗰𝘁
• Offer something tangible you can send later (if they give you their card afterwards)
• Have a QR code or link on a slide to give them a checklist or other resource
• Mention you'll hang around to answer any follow up questions individually

𝗥𝗲𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗺𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗮 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗔𝗟𝗦𝗢 𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗰𝗹𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗳𝘂𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗰𝗹𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀. 𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝗸𝗲𝗲𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘂𝗽 𝘁𝗼 𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗼𝗻 𝗸𝗲𝘆 𝗶𝘀𝘀𝘂𝗲𝘀.

People are watching and listening... trust me!

I'm learning a lot trying to find DAILY interesting topics for LinkedIn.

Some of the lessons are quite unexpected...

The daily pressure was an obvious concern... how on Earth would I come up with so many things to write about...so regularly?

1st - I feel overwhelming gratitude for folks who read what I write + respond to it

-> I've put my ideas out there in workshops for lawyers for 25 years - most of that in person. Go ahead, challenge my ideas, I'm up for it!

-> On LinkedIn I feel much more exposed, unsure -> the gratitude.

-> I'm thankful to the experts of LinkedIn who have taught me so much already, commented, DM-ed with me. You're so generous!

-> Public writing -> I'm still thinking "this is going on your permanent record" 😬 🤣

2nd - Fastest way to find a good topic is to look around me

-> What caught my clients' attention this week that I said or taught?

-> What grabbed my attention or made me feel strongly = lesson?

-> Am I learning something new, relevant, I'm really excited about?

-> What single idea would be most helpful to lawyers right now?

TAKEAWAY: If a topic feels ho hum or everyday to me = NOPE

3rd - The 'forcing function' of writing daily is actually freeing

-> I'm FORCED to mine what I teach daily = re-discovering what I know

-> The LinkedIn format FORCES me -> to put tips in context, situations

-> I'm FORCED to show up for myself, no excuses = most valuable personally

Your turn!

How do you find topics to write about when the well seems dry?

So...you're a lawyer at a huge industry conference. Ready to network. 😬

How the heck will you find the people you want to meet? There may be 1,675 attendees. Or perhaps 11,239.

Your goal -> identify 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗼𝗽 𝟯-𝟱 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 at any conference you really want to talk to.

*** 𝟯 𝘁𝗶𝗽𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗱 + 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗮𝘁 𝗹𝗮𝗿𝗴𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲𝘀 ***

𝟭. 𝗟𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗿𝘀 + 𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗮𝗱𝘃𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗲𝘀

• ID the speakers you want to connect with
• ID any attendees you know / want to know

𝟮. 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝗮𝗱𝘃𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲

• Reach out to people you know - arrange to connect in a specific way
• Connect with a few speakers on their topic in advance:

-> why topic is important to you/your audience/clients
-> share any research or impact, examples
-> tell them what you're keen to hear about

𝟯. 𝗘𝗻𝗴𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗮𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗸𝗲𝘆 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗿𝘀' 𝘀𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀
(𝗽𝗶𝗰𝗸 𝟭-𝟮 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁 𝗯𝗲𝗹𝗼𝘄 -> 𝗱𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗹𝗹 = 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗽𝘆)

• Chat with speaker before, tell them why you're keen on their topic
• Sit near front, in middle, listen actively. Be a friendly face.
• Ask a thoughtful question during Q&A. Speakers appreciate that.
• Share before/after on social media topic + picture of the panel

𝗟𝗼𝗼𝗸, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝘁𝗼𝗼.

-> They want to be sure they know their audience
-> They get nervous before their speech or panel, like the rest of us
-> They may need a friendly face in the (often stone-faced) audience

This is another way you can show up as a friendly human, with common interests!

I started writing online on LinkedIn and X to raise my profile and get more workshop clients.

But until this moment...

I don't think I ACTUALLY believed a law firm would reach out to hire me to do a retreat for them...

By posting on LinkedIn and X.

Like literally reach out the minute I posted mentioning that workshop.

Check out the image...

That's exactly what happened!

FULL DISCLOSURE:

<rolling my eyes at myself>

Umm.

This 51st day of posting is the FIRST TIME I actually mentioned a specific workshop.

Duh!

Lesson learned there.

Don't be subtle. Tell people what they can hire you to do! Exactly.

Self promotion is OK for me to do.

So long as I also provide value.

Thank you @ship30for30 and our cohort!

"But I'm an ERISA lawyer...how can I possibly pick a topic that's interesting for a panel?" 👀



It's that time of year.

 Lawyers and other professionals...are choosing topics for client CLEs or panels - it can feel daunting.


You don't want to be boring...and you'd like to get some business from it.

 Honestly it IS hard to give value and 'stay out of the weeds' as a lawyer.



Ask yourself these 3 questions to pick a topic that will resonate with your clients:



𝗧𝗶𝗽 #1: 𝗖𝗵𝗼𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝗮 𝘁𝗼𝗽𝗶𝗰 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗮𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲



You'll want to be able to start your presentation by telling the audience why they should care about this topic.

Specifically - what's the actual impact on them?

 IF THERE IS NO IMPACT or it's weak - choose another topic



𝗧𝗶𝗽 #2: 𝗔𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗰𝘂𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗮𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝟮 𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗸𝘀 𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿



What one sentence do you want a member of your audience to say was your takeaway - two weeks later?

You need to boil down your message to be that clear.



Clients hire lawyers who are good at making complex ideas simple.



𝗧𝗶𝗽 #3: 𝗞𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗴𝗼𝗮𝗹 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻



What do you want your audience TO DO as a result of your presentation?

That's your WHY. It should be specific, doable. It should matter to you.



For lawyers: "I want compliance counsel at big tech companies to hire me to do a compliance audit regarding the new xx regulation."



What do you find makes it easier to find a HOT topic to speak on?



I'd appreciate it if you would let me know which lawyer communications topics you'd like to see me write about in the comments or DM me.

It's not their fault...

Lawyers speak about complex topics - often to tough audiences.

One the hardest audiences for lawyers to engage is at industry conferences.

Why is an industry conference audience a tough one?

• It's a mix of business people, technologists, CEOs, scientists, sales people

In training lawyers who speak at industry conferences, here's my best advice:

1- Start with an example - get everyone on the same page

• Describe a likely scenario in every day language.

• This buys goodwill. They decide to listen - because they see it is relevant to them.

2- Shape your topic as a business issue - not a legal one

• Focus on the business aspects. They aren't interested in legal issues probably.

3- Start with the impact on them - story + statistic

•Articulate the likely impact of the issue by telling a story.

• Include a number or other measure of the possible breadth of impact or cost.

What challenges have you seen for lawyers speaking at industry conferences?

How did you solve them?

I've always been a reader.

My mother's constraint refrain was: "Marsha Anne put the book down and go outside and play like a normal child!"

When I read this quote - my whole life up to that moment suddenly made sense

Our job in this lifetime is not to shape ourselves into some ideal we imagine we ought to be, but to find out WHO WE ALREADY ARE and become it.

The War of Art - Steven Pressfield (emphasis mine)

These 6 books have impacted me immensely. I come back to them over and over.

#1-The War of Art - Steven Pressfield

• Also the idea that our fear (resistance) is a beacon drawing us to our gifts or purpose.

#2 The Book of Beautiful Questions - Warren Berger

• ASK YOURSELF questions: they guide you, help you grow, self-discovery

• ASK OTHERS questions: connect, learn, teach, support, persuade, build trust, sell, stall for time

#3 Atomic Habits - James Clear

• Habit stacking. Compounding 1% better/day/year = ~38% improvement.

•"I didn't start out as a writer. I became one through my habits."

#4 Effortless - Greg McKeown

• "What if this were easy?" "Unique knowledge produces perpetual opportunities."

#5 Deep Work - Cal Newport

• Remove distractions, mostly us, to do deep work. Rhythmic deep work = write every morning 6-8am. Track progress on the wall in front of your face. Jerry Seinfeld "don't break the chain" story.

#6 The Brain that Changes Itself - Dr. Norman Doidge

• Science does not know all. Yet. The amazing plasticity of the brain - discovered only lately. It is amazing what the brain (and we people) can do.

What is your favorite book of all time - or right now?

What did you learn from it?

Recently I had the great fun of working with two amazing lawyers to prepare for a call with a New York Times reporter.

The reporter wanted to dig deep on a very narrow - and hot - area of law.

Which topic to choose to pitch to the reporter?

If you've ever been in that kind of brainstorming session - the ideas flow quickly. Everything sounds great. There are so many possibilities.

AI to the rescue. Umm. Really?

3 Ways to Use AI to Speed Up Lawyer Thought Leadership Creation

1- Record brainstorming and have AI highlight key themes

• Record audio of the brainstorming session using @otter_ai - which makes a transcript. Use your firm's AI tool or Otter, to highlight key themes. Easy.

• You can do this DURING the brainstorming session - and discuss the key themes and work on the quotes you want to deliver.

• This is safe because these are topics 'ready for public consumption'

2- Record story ideas while you walk

• I use this a lot. Exercise seems to generates ideas. Especially if you identify 2-3 topics to explore before you start walking.

• I use @otter_ai to record my ideas. Then I use its new AI function to organize, summarize and otherwise format them.

3- Record presentations, panels other speaking

• You can feed audio or video files into Otter to get a transcript

• Then use Otter or your firm's AI tool to pull out 3-5 takeaways. QUICKLY turn an hour long CLE into a short client alert or other useful form of legal Thought Leadership.

How are you using AI for Thought Leadership?

Anyone using AI to create images to go with Thought Leadership? That's my learning edge.

Getting your clients together in a room can be wonderful for business development.

It can also be very risky...

When it works well...

You and your clients truly connect

You share ideas and tell stories

You find out what their needs are

When it does NOT work well...

At least some of your colleagues probably 'lectured'

Clients may feel 'talked at' rather than engaged with

To your clients - it felt like a law school lecture

Here are 3 ways to ensure a more engaging client roundtable:

1- Choose compelling narrow topics that suit this specific audience

• Clients want to hear the most important, narrow business issues they are facing now or will face soon. What will have the most impact on them?

• Ask yourself "How can I narrow the topics so each client feels it was created for them?"

2- Use business examples (not law examples)

• When you talk about similar problems you solved for similar clients - that's not bragging. That is an example that is relevant and useful. Mine those stories and use them.

• DO NOT DO a case by case review of last year in X area of law. Stunningly boring.

3- Have a conversation with the audience

• Be as conversational as possible in the presentations and panels.

• Be sure to build in time for people to catch up with each other. Long breaks.

What other questions come up when your firm does client roundtables?

“This year I want to figure out what I want to be when I grow up...”

I’ve heard it several times in the last month talking with very accomplished, truly impressive women.Their work in companies + law firms is draining them. They want to reinvent their work, but don't know how.

First and most important is this mindset:

🌟Ground yourself in your past successes - they are clues to your path forward🌟

Here are 4 questions I used to reinvent my work + life

1- Which clients do you love working with and why exactly?

2- Which problems do you love solving and why exactly?

3- Which skills do you love using and why exactly?

4- EXACTLY when do you light up and feel energized in your work now?

-> Focus on NOW, then answer these 4 questions again for all past jobs, work, projects.

WHY LISTEN TO ME?

The one about ‘skills you love using’ is how I reinvented my work nearly 25 years ago.
I had noticed it over a decade or so before 🙄 ... but ignored it.

I ignored that I came alive - and felt 100% myself - when I was speaking in public. That when I finished speaking, I felt 20 feet tall. So energized and alive.

So it took me many years, and several other careers, to realize the significance of that skill that I loved.

Eventually I created my current business - from the inside out. So that I could be a speaker as many minutes per month possible. I used the answers to the other 3 questions to build out my business where:

I AM A SPEAKER who helps law firm lawyers to succeed by: speaking with presence, feeling confident, demonstrating their expertise, and BEING HEARD.