Here’s the very first of my planned series of blog reviews. I thought I’d start with the first blog on the Blogroll.

Bert Decker: Create Your Communications Experience

Blogging since: July 10, 2005
Posting Frequency: 4-6 times monthly
Post Length: Varies, 200 – 3,500 words
Aesthetic Appeal: Corporate consultant feel, hip picture of Bert looking tanned and healthy.
Graphics: Wide selection that really add to the blog. Thumbnail images of speakers. Other graphics.
Categories: Avoid PowerPoint Abuse, Be Creative, Books, Branding, Effective Presentation Skills, Insights in Behavior, Musings, Newsworthy, Powerful Content, Speakers
Blogroll: 12 speaking/communications blogs
Target Audience: Communications professionals and savvy executives
Comments allowed: Yes
Trackbacks: Yes
Alexa.com traffic ranking: 3,145,168
Sites that link to this blog: 46
Yahoo Links: 383

Review:

Bert is a player. He heads Decker Communications which offers executives programs on The Decker Method Communicate to Influence Program and one-on-one coaching for senior executives. He lunches with Guy Kawasaki. He’s a published author with a half-dozen books to his name. Titles such as Speaking With Bold Assurance and You’ve Got to Be Believed to Be Heard. Bert is clearly an established leader in his field.

I found dipping into this blog very rewarding. It’s firmly focused in his area of expertise. He writes thoughtfully about everything from the use of humor in speeches to non-verbal communication and current affairs. Bert wears his expertise lightly and we benefit tremendously from his insights. He’ll cover American Idol in one post and Handel’s “Messiahâ€? in the next.

I found one of his most valuable posts (I forwarded it to everyone in the Communications Department of the Fortune 500 company I work for) is his insightful listing of The Five Biggest Mistakes CEO’s Make in Speaking. This offers up not just a list of problems but also a series of innovative solutions:

Let your hands work for you. In personally coaching tens of thousands, I’ve seen maybe one out of 500 who over use their hands and gestures. The problem is we all tend to have a nervous gesture that we are comfortable with, like the fig leaf, but shows our nervousness. Don’t let your comfort be your guide, help the audience be comfortable with you be showing confidence and certainty in your gestures.

I was fascinated to read his various comments on President Bush. He’s both praised and criticised the commander in chief. He avoided the usual cheapshots about the “dumb Texan” and malapropisms made by the President. Instead we are given gimlet-eyed assessments like:

In tonight’s speech he looked like an actor on a stage. The problem is, he’s not a very good actor. And even if he was, that’s not a very good approach to leadership.

My technical wish list for this blog is a Search function so I could quickly mine more of this content.

As a final note I’d love it if Bert shared more personal stories of everyday life as an executive coach. His clients are the top CEO’s in the land. Without breaching confidentiality, it would be great to hear real-life stories from his travels in the C-Suite. Something along the lines of “I was coaching a top executive in the North-East last week when I who told me his biggest fear is…”. A good story makes for an engaging blog post.

We could all learn from Bert.