Blog Articles

By Diane Ripstein

Speaking On A Panel?

by Diane Ripstein • March 13, 2024

A Number Of My Clients are speaking on panels these days. A panel is a great example of our efforts to be efficient with audience time. In an over-booked, time-starved culture, speakers need to prove their worth. And four panelists with different viewpoints are more interesting to listen to than one, right? Well, Not Necessarily [Read More…]


Get To The Heart Of It!

by Diane Ripstein • February 21, 2024

Heart Comes First When you’re planning a presentation, it’s helpful to ask yourself: What’s the heart of the matter here? What am I really trying to say? Sounds simple, doesn’t it? But it’s the hardest darn thing to actually do. Forget the Preamble Preamble is everything we say before we start to say what we [Read More…]


Beginnings (Frozen Edition)

by Diane Ripstein • January 17, 2024

And So We Begin Again Welcome to January 2024. The New Year! Beginnings have boldness, power and freshness. They’re also hard. I Have a Regular Walking Route by the Charles River, not far from where I live. This morning it was 25 degrees out there, and this view mesmerized me. Officially it’s called the Moody [Read More…]


Happy Holidays: Finding The Joy!

by Diane Ripstein • December 13, 2023

“It is music and dancing that makes me at peace with the world and at peace with myself.” – Nelson Mandela On October 14, 2017 I was in the audience at the Berklee Performance Center in Boston overwhelmed by the joyous music being performed onstage. It was Johnny Clegg and his band on his “Final [Read More…]


Caution: Civil Discourse Ahead

by Diane Ripstein • November 15, 2023

Here’s A Dictionary Definition of the word “caution”: care taken to avoid danger or mistakes; prudent forethought to minimize risk. Ahaa! Who here is using caution about what they say or write during these fraught times? Me! Absolutely. I’m treading carefully. And Yet I feel the need to take whatever small steps I can personally [Read More…]


Stay On The Hay

by Diane Ripstein • October 12, 2023

(Please Note: this original post was written 3 days after the attacks. Now, 5 days later, we are facing a looming crisis of epic and unknown proportions in this tragic situation…) First, A Disclaimer This October NewsNotes was already planned, when two events occurred a few days ago, one on the world stage and one [Read More…]


What’s New??

by Diane Ripstein • September 13, 2023

Something About September Is it the back-to-school/work buzz that’s as familiar as fresh notebooks and crisper air? Or the arrival in Boston of some 350,000 college students for the new academic year? Not to mention the changes in traffic patterns, increased construction and congestion. Yikes! Capture That Different Feeling I’m grateful that living in a [Read More…]


Ahhhh…

by Diane Ripstein • August 16, 2023

This Photo Was My View a few weeks ago, relaxing in a deep Adirondack chair on the terrace outside The Clark Art Institute (fondly known as The Clark) in Williamstown, Massachusetts. Love The Outward Serenity that belies the rigorous landscape design and management underneath it all. This three-tiered reflecting pool is actually “…part of a [Read More…]


What’s The Question??

by Diane Ripstein • July 13, 2023

We Answer Questions all day long, right??? I’ve pretty much built my entire business on answering clients’ questions about how to communicate with more impact and success. I bet you do something similar in your work. It’s kind of like answering your personal “WHY?” question. Be Succinct These two words wrap up the whole concept [Read More…]


Less Is More

by Diane Ripstein • June 15, 2023

A Friend Is Moving and, as these things go, I now need to move the furniture that’s been stored in her attic and basement for the past decade. Since I downsized. Which has got me thinking. What Used To Be Important  no longer seems to be. I love my furniture, but I am liberating it [Read More…]