JD Salinger died January 27. Not only was his book Catcher in the Rye a seminal novel for the Baby Boomers, it resurfaces in succeeding generations because of its clear voice and understanding of the human condition. The tragedy is that Salinger never wrote another full length novel. Instead, he retreated to the New Hampshire woods and lived as a virtual hermit; a ghost. Rumors abound, but his albatross could have been bad reviews, which started coming in after he refused all inquiries for interviews. What a loss, because he was the first major American writer to surface after the generation of Faulkner and Hemingway.

Bad reviews come in many forms; our clients all have a story about when they were embarrassed in front of a class, an assembly, or in church as a young person and still carry the scars. Some confront the challenge and go on to be masterful communicators and speakers, while others retreat and avoid public speaking for the rest of their lives. It is imperative that we develop a metric for assessing our communication skills, and also a trust in our ability to make the assessment, without the influence of others. Fine-tuning listening/awareness skills while presenting takes time, but once you can feel the reaction of the audience in the moment and adjust as needed, you will never again carry the albatross of a bad review about your neck.

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