TALLsmall Productions

10/17/2026

People ask what it's like teaching communication with your spouse. Honest answer: we disagree in front of the room on purpose. You get to watch two people navigate a disagreement well, live. That's the lesson. No slide deck can do that.

10/16/2026

Delivering bad news? Lead with it. The longer you warm up, the more anxious everyone gets — including you. "I have bad news, and here's what we're doing about it." Thirty seconds of courage beats thirty minutes of throat-clearing. What conversation have you been warming up too long?

10/15/2026

New research: the exact same feedback lands weaker when people think AI wrote it. When a human wrote it — even lightly polished by AI — it hits harder. Translation: your people don't need better scripts. They need you, in the room, saying it like a human. When's the last time feedback actually changed someone on your team?

10/14/2026

Quick poll: what's harder — giving difficult feedback to an employee, or telling a client no? Drop your answer below. The results always surprise me.

10/13/2026

The most expensive word in business is "yes" said to the wrong thing. Try this: "I can't take that on and do it well. Here's what I can do." Saying no isn't rejection — it's how you protect your calendar, your team, and your credibility. Who needs to hear that from you this week?

10/12/2026

One coach can tell you how to communicate. Two can show you. That's the whole idea behind TALLsmall — my wife Rebecca and I teach communication live, as a pair. You don't just hear what good communication sounds like. You watch it happen. What's the hardest conversation happening on your team right now?

10/04/2026

09/06/2026

TALLsmall fall tour kicks off with the Sheet Metal and Air Conditioning Contractors' National Association (SMACNA)’s Evansville, Indiana chapter at The Broadmoor in Colorado.

Teaching a workshop this week here on how to use ChatGPT as a power tool to analyze, brainstorm, produce and delegate.

07/23/2026

Yes, metrics matter. But I’ve found another way to get raw audience feedback after a TALLsmall keynote or workshop. It happens in a place where truth is bared and not spared…

Here's a conference secret. Once our keynote or workshop ends and the side conversations wrap up, I make a beeline for the bathroom, slip into a stall, lock the door and listen.

07/18/2026

"I just wanted to follow up…”

Avoid using this phrase. It is doormat language. It sounds apologetic, insecure and invites people to walk all over you.

Instead, ask where the project, proposal or decision stands.