Patrick Winston's How to Speak Lecture

Every year, MIT professor Patric Winston gives a popular lecture on how to give presentations. I have always been an advocate of the importance of public speaking to an effective leader. If you are new to public speaking, and even if you are old hat, this hour-long lecture is well worth your time. While you probably won't see it in person, you can see an old video of the lecture at Cameron Marlow's blog Overstated. (via boingboing)

Assume the Relationship You Want

The tone of a relationship can be set the first time you meet someone. With that in mind, it's important to set the right tone from the start. You can be a friendly peer, respectful adversary, junior employee, angry customer or possibly the big boss. Before you walk into that first meeting, decide the kind of relationship you prefer to have, then act as if that relationship exists. You may not get your preference to stick, but if you leave the kind of relationship that you form up to the whim of the other guy, you will probably end up as the junior employee. Take the lead in acting the way you want the relationship to form, and you are more likely to make it so.