Thought Leadership

Japan’s English Challenge: Why Companies Must Build Communicators, Not Perfectionists

For decades, Japan’s government has spent billions trying to raise English-language proficiency—with limited s...

Hybrid Presentations: The New Nightmare for Modern Speakers

Presenting in person is hard. Presenting online is hard.Hybrid presenting — a mix of both — combines the worst...

Presentation Disasters: How to Stay Calm When Everything Goes Wrong

An American professional once shared on LinkedIn how she spilled coffee on her blouse moments before addressin...

Presenting in Japan: How to Balance Western Simplicity with Japanese Data Hunger

When I exchange business cards in Japan, I use two versions — one for Westerners and one for Japanese. The Wes...

Microphone Technique and Voice Power — Why Your Audience Can’t Hear You

At a recent panel event, one speaker’s comments were completely inaudible, even though she had a microphone. T...

Presenting to a Japanese Audience in English — How to Truly Connect and Be Understood

Most foreign professionals delivering presentations in Japan assume that because the talk is in English, Japan...

Why One-on-One Presentation Coaching Transforms Executive Speakers

At Dale Carnegie Tokyo, we usually teach presentation training in small groups of fourteen. Two instructors, v...

Presenting in the Age of TikTok — How to Keep Attention When Audiences Expect Microbursts

TikTok, Instagram Reels, and other short-form platforms have rewired how people consume information.Twitter be...

How Much Passion Is Too Much? Balancing Energy and Emotion in Motivational Presentations

After giving a motivational talk to a room of managers — Japanese and foreign — I received confusing feedback:...

Style and Substance — Why Great Speakers Must Master Both to Build Their Personal Brand

During a company-wide presentation, a jealous colleague once sneered, “Greg is all style and no substance.”He ...

Personal Branding Through Presentations — Speak to Your Audience, Not at Them

The best personal branding isn’t about self-promotion — it’s about useful, interesting content delivered in a ...

When Experts Overwhelm Their Audience — Why “Less Is More” in Technical Presentations

When you know your field inside-out, it’s easy to go too deep. Experts have vast layers of nuance and knowledg...

Why Smart Presenters Fail to Engage — And How to Unlock True Audience Connection

A senior professional in his fifties once told me, “I’ve been presenting since I was 17, but I’m not good at e...

How Much Energy Is Too Much? The Fine Line Between Motivation and Intimidation in Presentations

During a training session for sixty managers in Tokyo, some feedback read: “too loud” and “too high energy.” Y...

Presentation Setup Mistakes — How to Ensure Your Audience Can Hear, See, and Feel Your Message

In Tokyo’s busy business scene, it’s surprisingly common for speakers to forget the basics: checking audio lev...

Balancing Facts, Data, and Opinions in Business Presentations — Dale Carnegie Tokyo

In business presentations, we juggle facts, data, research, and personal views. But how much direction should ...

Finding the Right Tone: Authenticity and Body Language in Presentations | Dale Carnegie Tokyo

We all know that being too formal makes us sound stiff and distant — but being too casual can make us sound un...

How to Bring Life to Rigid Presentations | Dale Carnegie Tokyo

In certain professions — diplomacy, finance, government, or global business — every word spoken in public is s...

The Power of Storytelling in Data Presentations | Dale Carnegie Tokyo

Why don’t more people use storytelling in their presentations?Even technical talks, full of hard data, can be ...

Eye Contact in Japan: The Cultural Challenge for Presenters | Dale Carnegie Tokyo

Making eye contact in Japan has always been complicated.In ancient times, meeting a samurai’s eyes could liter...