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Discovering Your Purpose Starts With Recognizing Who You Are And What You Care About Most forbes.com/sites/kathycaprino/2019/07/30/discovering-your-purpose-starts-with-recognizing-who-you-are-and-what- you-care-about-most July 30, 2019 Editors' Pick|Jul 30, 2019,10:00am EDT|9,926 views Kathy CaprinoSenior Contributor Careers I cover career, executive and personal growth, leadership and women's issues. Day 2: Establish what you have. This post is part of Forbes’ Career Challenge: Rediscover Your Purpose In 15 Days. 1/7

Are you longing for more purpose in your work, but don’t know how to get it? That was me for my entire 18-year corporate career. Meaning and purpose were continually elusive and impossible to attain, and I didn’t know why. Now, having transformed my own corporate career, running a business, becoming a therapist and serving as a career coach, I understand why I was blocked from experiencing purpose and deep fulfillment in my work. The first thing we need to address to get on the path to experiencing more purpose in our work is to answer this: Do you have a job or a calling? These are two distinct professional dimensions and they’re not at all the same. Thousands of people confuse them, or want both at the same time (which is not possible) and many long for more purpose in their work, yet have not done the internal or external work required to build more meaning and purpose in the work they do or the outcomes they’re pursuing. Tips For Tackling Online Classes Years ago, I read a very thought-provoking article by Michael Lewis, columnist for Bloomberg News, about the difference between a calling and a job. He had some powerful insights. Two ideas struck me hard: 1. “There’s a direct relationship between risk and reward. A fantastically rewarding career usually requires you to take fantastic risks.” 2/7

2. “A calling is an activity that you find so compelling that you wind up organizing your entire self around it—often to the detriment of your life outside of it.” A job, on the other hand, is something that can give you a semblance of “security” and “stability” and can allow you to use your talents in productive ways, giving you the money to do what you want to do outside of work. A great job can support you to contribute in ways and outcomes that matter to you. But it’s not a calling. A calling chooses you (you don’t choose it) and it won’t let go. It compels you to contribute, achieve and serve in ways that you often would never have initially imagined. In the end, you can’t go from a purposeless job (that simply pays the rent and brings no joy or fulfillment) to a tremendously meaningful one in one fell swoop. Before you can claim your “purpose” and connect it with the work you do, you have to understand what you care about, what you have already created and why, and power up your commitment to bringing more purpose into your life and work starting today, regardless of the situation you’re in. From my view, “purpose” can be defined simply as the motive, motivation, cause, impetus, basis and justification for the work you do. For people who are longing for more purpose in their work, it’s typically because they’ve made money and salary (or even advancement) the sole purpose of working. While money is essential for most of us, millions of people— especially as they age and mature—find doing work solely for the money for years upon years can end up feeling empty and unfulfilling. There’s no compelling cause for the work except for making money and that can get very old and feel lifeless for people. Most of us want more from the work we do that takes up more hours than anything else in our lives. Often, too, people have repurposed a skill set that they learned in college but never had a close connection with, so their work doesn’t light them up or make them feel they are leveraging who they really are, authentically, in their work. As an example, for my 18 years of corporate life in publishing and marketing, I can say that in the beginning I worked for the money and the financial security. But as I hit 40, I deeply longed for something else—more purposeful work that would contribute in a deeper way to the world and would allow me to use skills and talents that were more exciting to me and offer more value than I could by marketing and selling other peoples’ products and programs. And if I were going to miss being in the fabric of my two children’s lives because I was working all the time, it darn well better be for something that mattered to me more than this work. Finally, after a brutal layoff from my corporate vice president role, I snapped and said, “I’m done with all of this!” I decided to take the plunge to commit to doing a new type of work that would allow me to “help people, not hurt people and be hurt” as I felt so many of my 3/7

corporate jobs did. As I pursued that new path over the years, I became clearer that the ultimate purpose of my work that would make me happiest and most fulfilled would be to contribute to the advancement of women in business around the globe. Now, everything I do in my business is tied to that purpose and feeding that goal. What I’ve seen in career coaching professionals for 14 years is that we cannot go from unhappy, purposeless work to a thrilling and meaningful career in one step. There are three fundamental steps to igniting passion within you (rather than searching for it outside of yourself) and then learning how to leverage that to build a happier career. They are: Build an intimate relationship with yourself. It’s fascinating how very little most people know about themselves. They can’t answer the most basic yet vital questions such as: 1. What are your natural talents, gifts and skills that come easy to you? 2. What outcomes do you love supporting? 3. How does your work stand out from others’? 4. What job have you loved the most and hated the most, and why? 5. What are your non-negotiables and your values and standards of integrity that you won’t compromise on? 6. What have you done in your life that made your heart sing? If you want a rewarding career that ignites passion within you, first you need to get to know yourself much better than you do. Uncover what you love in life, what you hate, what makes you mad in the world, the natural talents and skills you want to use, the outcomes you care about, the kinds of people you respect and more. Answer these 11 questions as a start. Stop looking too far down the chain of destiny. Winston Churchill made a statement that I believe holds true about our careers. He said: \"It’s a mistake to try to look too far ahead. The chain of destiny can only be grasped one link at a time.\" It's not effective (and you'll make some big mistakes and missteps) if you try to choose a career direction just from the mere idea or sound or look of it—to hang all your hopes of success onto an idea that's never been tested for you. You have to grasp the first link. I call that mistake \"glomming onto the wrong form (of a job or career) before understanding the essence of what you really want.\" 4/7

For example, so many professionals tell me they want to dump their current corporate careers and: Become an author and write a bestselling book Run a bed and breakfast Become an actor or singer Work in a non-profit Work as a teacher Work as a lawyer Be a public (motivational) speaker The truth is, most of these people have no idea what the physical, living reality and identities of these jobs are, and if they’d really be a fit. (Usually, they aren't.) Secondly, you've invested a lot of time in your current career. Are you sure that chucking the entire baby out with the bathwater is what's right for you now, or are there just certain elements you want to walk away from and others that you could preserve that would make you happy? Start thinking more deeply about the why behind these desired roles that you admire. Do you want to be a respected author so you can finally feel validated and recognized for your views, or because you want to make a difference to people in a bigger way? Do you want to become a lawyer because you think that will bring status and money to you, or perhaps you can finally advocate for a particular cause and help people who are struggling to overcome a specific challenge? Do you want to sing or act because you are deeply missing being involved in creative activities that brought you joy in your childhood? Look more deeply and uncover the “essence” of what you really want, and then start \"trying on\" new initiatives through small microsteps that will enable you to experience that essence. Don’t overly attached to how it has to look. Before looking too far ahead and saying, “This is right for me!” without having any clue if it is, start with one tiny step to move toward doing something that lights you up and makes your heart beat faster. A hobby, a cause, taking a class—engage in one action that makes you feel more alive. Don't worry now if it's going to be your \"career.\" Just start doing something new and different that will allow your passion to grow from the inside and begin to see how you change from it. Finally, strengthen yourself. To build an amazing and purposeful career, people need much stronger boundaries than they have today. They need to learn how to say \"yes\" to what they want, and “no” to what is no longer tolerable or possible, and potentially upset others in the process. They need to 5/7

be able to separate from people and things that are draining them of their life’s precious energy and time, and who don’t believe in thrilling careers or that you deserve one. And they need to start prioritizing this journey of self-discovery and self-actualization over so much else that they’re engaged in that’s exhausting and demoralizing them every day. If you can’t say “no” to what isn’t working, then you won’t be able to say “yes” to what you want to create. So many professionals who have lost touch with their inner joy and passion and have deeply unsatisfying careers are what I call \"perfectionistic overfunctioners.\" They are enmeshed with others and wedded to living life in a way that puts their needs, wants and desires last. These people are habituated to being overwhelmed and exhausted with all their responsibilities and find it impossible to make time for what they want. It actually scares them to put themselves first. If you don’t start strengthening yourself now and learn how to prioritize your own needs and wants, you will simply never get out of the gate in terms of experiencing more purpose, passion, reward and impact in your career. Ready for the next challenge? Click here for Day 3: Remember what drives you. Miss a challenge? Click here for Day 1: Define purpose. — For more from Kathy Caprino about building a purposeful and fulfilling career, visit her Amazing Career Project course and her Career Breakthrough Coaching programs. Follow me on Twitter or LinkedIn. Check out my website or some of my other work here. 6/7

Kathy Caprino Hello! I'm a career and leadership coach, writer, speaker, and trainer dedicated to the advancement of women in business. My career coaching firm—Kathy Caprino, LLC—offe … 7/7

DNA Of Success: Jennifer Liu Delivers Caffeinated Hope forbes.com/sites/pamelaambler/2019/10/22/dna-of-success-jennifer-liu-gets-caffeinated-with-coffee-chain October 22, 2019 © 2020 Forbes Media LLC. All Rights Reserved Oct 22, 2019,05:00pm EDT|950 views 1/3

The founder and chairwomen of Coffee Academics, Jennifer Liu comes from a family that made it in banking and property. She is the daughter of Rita Tong Liu, chairman of Gale Well Group. Instead of joining the family business, Jennifer forged her own path in F&B, setting up a chain of cafes that she is expanding across Asia, starting from her base in Hong Kong. To evolve her brand known for fair trade and sustainability, the architect by training is planning to launch a specialty tea shop incorporating elements of the vegan and raw food movement. DNA Of Success: Jennifer Liu WATCH 2:57 2/3

Pamela Ambler Pamela covers entrepreneurs, wealth, blockchain and the crypto economy as a senior reporter across digital and print platforms. Prior to Forbes, she served as on-air… Reprints & Permissions 3/3

Food And Beverage Industry Develops A Taste For Tech forbes.com/sites/louisbiscotti/2020/10/14/food-and-beverage-industry-develops-a-taste-for-tech October 14, 2020 Self-driving delivery robot concept. getty Artificial flavors are nothing new, but Geneva-based Firmenich recently created what’s being described as the world’s first flavor made entirely with artificial intelligence (AI). If they’re right, it’ll also be something that tastes good. The idea is to use data to develop flavors, better predicting and delivering what consumers want. Firmenich used consumer data, digital surveys and Microsoft’s Azure cloud technologies to guide the creation of a lightly grilled beef flavor for meat substitutes, and it’s testing additional AI flavors. Big data can be a big part of creating flavors, determining what consumers like rather than just tracking trends and personal tastes. While AI is being tapped to develop flavors, F&B’s futuristic outlook also includes robots joining the race to deliver food. At an otherwise ordinary Save Mart supermarket in Modesto, Calif., six-wheeled, knee-high robots made by Starship Technologies are being filled with 1/4

bags of groceries and sent to customers’ homes. It’s almost like R-2 D-2 has gone into the delivery business. The future is now for the F&B industry. Tech is revolutionizing food and beverage as the COVID-19 crisis accelerates the pace of robotics and AI. Computers help manage supply chains and reduce waste, and software helps control costs, order inventory, and stock shelves. When Amazon bought Whole Foods, some were surprised at the tech giant’s interest. But food and beverage isn’t as far from computers as it might seem. Silicon Valley’s impact on the industry is only going to grow. Tech is becoming the secret sauce of profitable F&B companies. AI, for instance, already is letting companies better predict sales and tailor inventory to demand, saving money and reducing waste, long a problem for the industry. AI also can help companies better manage their supply chains, making the process transparent and reducing time to market. COVID-19 supply chain disruption only made transparency matter more. AI - among the most important letters in the F&B industry - can even analyze data to predict shortages early, according to the Robotic Industries Association. AI also can improve quality control, including sorting. Want to know which potatoes are best for chips and which for fries? Software, sensors, and cameras can sort raw materials based on their best final use. Tomra Systems, for instance, says its food sorting machinery can analyze the size, shape and color of french fries as well as the fat content of meat, according to Emerj Artificial Intelligence Research. Meanwhile, Key Technology says its laser sorter can use shape recognition technology to identify and remove foreign materials from fresh farm produce. Rockwell Automation says its software can analyze data to reduce energy consumption, improve quality, and increase efficiency. Amazon isn’t the only one hoping tech scores big in F&B. Silicon Valley is pumping millions into F&B robotics, going beyond contactless transactions. San Francisco-based Starship, launched in 2014 by Skype co-founders Ahti Heinla and Janus Friis, has raked in big investments, and big brands are testing new tech. In the quick-serve world, White Castle is not just bracing for change due to COVID-19, but racing to the future. The company is planning a pilot with Miso Robotics’ latest frying kitchen robot, Flipp, known as Robot-on-a-Rail or ROAR. Flipp uses robotics and sensors to automate the frying process, putting your burger in mechanical hands. White Castle CEO Lisa Ingram said she’s trying “to bring the future into our kitchen” for what the company hopes could be “faster, fresher and delicious meals.” The company says this can keep temperatures consistent and automate repetitive tasks like frying, so employees can be “redeployed to more customer experience-driven tasks.” 2/4

Meanwhile, ghost kitchens are flourishing. Columbian startup RobinFood built a 50- \"restaurant\" chain in the cloud that it hopes to expand to 1,000 \"cloud kitchens\" over five years. Whether or not it does, ghost kitchens are becoming more visible, serving customers online only - and sometimes through takeout. Tech provides the front door without the high rent and costs of traditional brick-and-mortar. COVID-19 is likely to only increase the shift to the cloud. Expect more ghost kitchens—they won’t go away after Halloween. Could robots replace some delivery people as well? Maybe not so fast. Still, the fleet of robots made by Starship Technologies is taking first steps toward that. These robots travel a four- mile radius from a store with the words “Hungry? I can help.” written on them, marketing while they deliver, but who doesn’t? They travel at “pedestrian pace” with a bright orange flag to make them visible to walkers, cyclists and motorists. Starship Technologies is busy rolling out robots that can be tracked with customer cell phones that are used to open the containers and access the food. Robots also may become more common in kitchens - call it “Robo-chef” - thanks to 3-D printed food prepared through automation as machines “assemble” meals. Cooking is creative, but inherently repetitive. Machines can be precise and handle repetitive tasks, which could turn cooking into more of a science than an art. 3-D food printing could be the face of robotics in F&B, along with other variations of R-2 D-2 behind the scenes. The global food robotics market was valued at $1.5 billion in 2019 and is expected to reach nearly $3 billion by 2027, according to Reports and Data. F&B is a huge sector and even a small market share amounts to a huge business. While Modesto’s robots may stand out, there is an army of 293,000 industrial robots in factories in the United States, according to the World Robotics 2020 Industrial Robots report. A lot of that is in the automotive industry, although F&B is catching on, if not yet catching up. Automation is getting a shot of adrenaline from the pandemic, since machines can work longer and safer, taking over certain tasks. Whether or not you like Star Wars, technology is transforming F&B. Still, companies in the tech space will not only have to produce or deliver food, but deliver savings and efficiency. Exactly what will the future of F&B look like? Don’t be surprised to find a robot ringing your doorbell in the not-too-distant future. 3/4

Louis Biscotti I am the national leader of Marcum’s Food and Beverage Services group. I've been an entrepreneurial leader in accounting for over 40 years, and am a frequent lecturer and … Reprints & Permissions 4/4

Ghost Kitchens: Reasons To Adopt This Type Of Food Delivery Model forbes.com/sites/forbesbusinesscouncil/2020/12/11/ghost-kitchens-reasons-to-adopt-this-type-of-food-delivery-model December 11, 2020 Dec 11, 2020,09:20am EST|269 views CEO and Founder of the Profitable Restaurant Owner Academy, the ultimate resource in starting a profitable restaurant. getty Ghost kitchens, sometimes also called cloud or virtual kitchens, are essentially commercial kitchens optimized for food delivery. This means no storefront, no dine-in area and no front- of-house. While some offer takeout, delivery is the main focus, with nearly all orders routing through third-party apps like Uber Eats, DoorDash or Grubhub. Although this business model didn’t even exist 5 years ago, it has taken the industry by storm. 1/3

The pandemic has only skyrocketed ghost kitchens’ success, becoming one of the only growth areas in the industry and a saving grace for many struggling restaurants. While the stats about small business closures are already staggering, just imagine how many more would fail without offering delivery. Diversifying income is one of the four tips I’ve uncovered to help keep restaurants afloat in these uncertain times. Why are they so successful? Everyone’s eating habits and priorities have drastically changed. People aren’t interested in visiting a physical restaurant anymore because of social distancing. Even if they wanted to, government regulations are always changing, and dine-in is no longer a guaranteed or sustainable option. What people do want is a restaurant-quality meal on their own table in their own home. The safety, convenience and popularity of these third-party apps put ghost kitchens in a great position for success both now and after the pandemic. This is why offering food delivery can determine a restaurant’s success in today’s economy. What are the benefits? From a business standpoint, opening a ghost kitchen is a far safer venture than a traditional restaurant. A smaller footprint and no location constraint means cheaper rent, while having no front-of-house saves big on staffing and interior design budgets. Objectively, a lower investment cost equals lower risk. They’re also faster to build, which means faster profits. The third-party apps’ infrastructure can automatically expose ghost kitchens to a wide customer audience, especially if you partner exclusively with one service. Some even test and serve multiple food brands from one location. What if Donna’s Donuts and Pete’s Pizza were delivered from the same kitchen? This potentially can appeal to twice as many people, doubling profits. Why should I be interested? Regardless of the pandemic, customers have already become accustomed to the accessibility of food delivery; their habits have fundamentally changed. I predict this will have a huge effect on the traditional food service industry and its supplementary services like marketing and design. The restaurant business is already extremely competitive with razor-thin profit margins. On top of this, Covid-19 has left thousands struggling, making this cultural shift extra threatening for mom-and-pop shops and owners who are less than tech-savvy. 2/3

The scary truth is: I believe you’ll lose an edge in the industry if you’re not prepared to adapt to this future. How can I adapt? The good news for restaurant owners is that it’s not very difficult to integrate delivery into your existing business. With the ghost kitchen’s model and the logistics and efficiency of third-party apps, this new reality offers a tremendous opportunity for success to those who know what they’re doing. Forbes Business Council is the foremost growth and networking organization for business owners and leaders. Do I qualify? Follow me on LinkedIn. Check out my website. Wilson K Lee CEO and Founder of the Profitable Restaurant Owner Academy, the ultimate resource in starting a profitable restaurant. Read Wilson K Lee's full executive profile here. … Reprints & Permissions 3/3

Gojai Organic Brings Caffeinated Water To Alternative Beverage Category forbes.com/sites/kennygould/2020/06/09/gojai-organic-brings-caffeinated-water-to-alternative-beverage-category June 9, 2020 Gojai's line of organic caffeinated water Photo by Gojai Organic 1/4

Imagine you’re a high-powered executive that needs a boost before a big meeting. Maybe coffee works for you, but what if you don’t like coffee? It’s not entirely appropriate to walk into the boardroom carrying a Red Bull or Monster Energy Drink. This is where Gojai Organic aims to fill a hole in the alternative beverage space. Founded in California by CEO Lindsay Chambers, Gojai makes four caffeinated waters: Orange, Grapefruit, Raspberry Lime, and Lemon. Each contains 45 milligrams of caffeine, about half the amount of a cup of coffee. They’re aimed squarely at a demographic of drinker that prioritizes wellness and purpose-driven businesses. The History of Gojai Organic For the last decade, Lindsay Chambers worked as a real estate developer and interior designer in Northern and Southern California. She created homes, furnished them, and then sold them turnkey. She made a good living, selling over $70 million in homes, but eventually began to look for something “more purpose-driven.” “At that point, my mom was going through chemo at Stanford,” says Chambers. “She’d wanted to get off Diet Coke but she couldn’t kick the habit. I’d noticed that she was a sparkling water drinker. And I said, ‘Hey mom, what about a sparkling water with caffeine?’ And that was the beginning of Gojai.” Named for the California city from which Gojai derives its four core flavors (Ojai, California, is a big agricultural area), Gojai launched in retail on March 4th, 2020. The online launch occurred in February. “As of March, we were in one state,” Chambers says. “Now we’re in thirty-eight.” The Rise of Caffeinated Water If the popularity of caffeinated water seems strange, it’s only because to most consumers, it’s still a foreign concept. And yet, most consumers are familiar with Monster Energy and Red Bull, two of Gojai’s competitors. “Energy drinks and sparkling water are the two biggest growth areas in the non-alcoholic beverage category,” says Chambers. “Natural energy drinks have the highest growth rates of all.” As consumers prioritize health and wellness, they’re demanding drinks with clean labels and clean ingredients. In the last few years, kombucha makers like Jiant, Yesfolk Tonics, and Flying Embers have all seen boosts in popularity, buoyed by a population interested in natural products. Hiball, a “sparkling energy seltzer,” has become a fixture food coops and Whole Foods. 2/4

For this reason, Chambers used organic green (unroasted) coffee as her source of caffeine. Additionally, she used her design background to create a beautiful, straightforward label which highlights the product’s simple ingredients. The Rise Of The Wellness Trend “People want to understand what’s on the ingredient list,” says Chambers. “How much sugar is in it, how many ingredients.” If Chambers’ hypothesis is correct, gone are the days when consumers want to see Niacinamide, Calcium Pantothenate, and Pyridoxine HCI (three ingredients in Red Bull) on the back of a can. The label of Gojai’s Grapefruit water reads more simply: carbonated water, organic natural flavors, organic lemon juice concentrate, and organic caffeine. After testing over twenty caffeine sources, Chambers settled on green coffee because “raw green coffee at forty-five milligrams of caffeine gave me the same lift as synthetic caffeine at ninety milligrams.” As an homage to the products origins, Chambers settled on forty-five milligrams — about half the amount of caffeine as a cup of coffee — because it’s the same amount of caffeine in a Diet Coke. The Importance Of Purpose-Driven Business As the wellness trend continues, expect to see more creative entries in the alternative beverage space, especially those that focus on clean labels, transparent sourcing, and the stories behind the brand. “Purpose-driven” has also become a buzzword in the modern marketing playbook, with brands looking to connect their products with philanthropic social trends. In this respect, Gojai is no different — in April, Chambers donated all Gojai proceeds to feed frontline workers in Los Angeles. To help medical workers in areas particularly hard hit by coronavirus, she also gave 10,000 cans of Gojai product to hospitals in Southern California and another 10,000 cans to hospitals in New York City. Check out my website or some of my other work here. 3/4

Kenny Gould Founder of Hop Culture Magazine and author of The Brewing Cloud. I contribute to Forbes, Men’s Health, and Thrillist, among others. PGH-based. E: [email protected] IG: … Reprints & Permissions 4/4

Great Presentations: Tips From Great Presenters forbes.com/sites/kenkrogue/2013/05/16/great-presentations-a-checklist-from-great-presenters May 16, 2013 This article is more than 7 years old. I worked at Franklin Quest for four years right before they merged with Stephen R. Covey’s organization and became FranklinCovey. For a while we were not only the biggest Time Management Company, but the largest training company in the world. We would put on 300 or more seminars a month. Hyrum Smith, the Chairman of the Board, and an incredible presenter himself, pulled in and often partnered with the world’s best trainers like Stephen R. Covey, Denis Waitley, Ken Blanchard, Joel Weldon, and many more. Some, like Joel Weldon (we called him the trainer’s trainer), would give special seminars just for us. He would teach us his craft. I took copious notes. I would buy all of their tapes, but especially his. My colleague, Chris Jorgensen, shared a book with me called Slide:ology: The Art and Science of Creating Great Presentations, by Nancy Duarte. It finally made me willing to use PowerPoint. Many of these points are Nancy’s, and Joel’s. Get Nancy’s book and find a way to listen to Joel Weldon. And watch TED for really great presentations. Consider this a pre-flight checklist for delivering world-class presentations: 1- Am I passionate about my message? Joel Weldon tells the story of rising up through Toastmasters and the single most important rule of a great presentation is to speak about what you love and know well. Les Brown is probably the most passionate presenter I have ever heard. He tells the story of how he became a disc jockey. He says you must be hungry: One of the most motivating presentations I've experienced in my entire life. 1/14

Les Brown, \"Mamie Brown's Baby Boy\" shares his signature statements often and may be one of the most... [+] 2- Could I speak without notes? One way to measure how prepared and passionate you are is whether you need any notes. A true master taps into the spirit in the room and adapts the message to the specific needs of the audience. They can't do this if they are bound in notes. 3- Do I have something really important to say? Does what you say matter? Enough said. 4- Do I need to use PowerPoint or can I go live? I don’t like PowerPoint but I use it when I have to. I love a whiteboard and markers. A PowerPoint is linear, static. You can’t anticipate a perfect presentation in advance. But a great slide deck is possible and sometimes necessary. Salman Khan, a graduate of MIT and Harvard Business School, and the founder of Khan Academy, perhaps the most exciting new development in online education, uses a dynamic tablet and just draws as he talks. At last count, he has done over 3000 online tutorials for kids and adults alike to learn at their own pace, and have fun doing it. 5- Do they focus on my slides or me? Too often we have so much content on the slide the audience doesn’t focus on the presenter. This is a bad thing. Do I want them to experience, watch, listen, or just read? Steve Jobs made absolutely sure that everyone in the room (and often around the world) was focused on him. 6- Can they see what I’m showing? This is the single rule that kills most presentations, especially in large rooms. Nancy calls it the 30-point rule. Are the words on your slides big enough to be seen from the back of the room? Nancy Duarte - Author of Slide:ology: 2/14

The Art and Science of Great Presentations So basic... don't forget the basics. 30-point fonts are where you begin. Find the size of the room and the size of the screen in advance. Don't rely on old, worn out hotel projectors. Test them. 7- Can I say it with fewer words? – “If all you want to do is create a file of facts and figures, then cancel the meeting and send in a report.” Seth Godin – Really Bad PowerPoint. Nancy says if there are 75 words on your slide, put it in a document and hand it out. If there are 50 words, it’s really just a teleprompter. Few or no words… perfect. Try and distill it down to one word. A Mnemonic. Think of your slide as a billboard on the freeway… 7 words at 65 miles per hour is about all. Mark Twain is credited with the quote (though probably penned in French by Blaise Pascal) “If I had more time I would write a shorter letter.” 8- Are my slides well designed… or just decorated? Just because there are lots of really cool special effects, clip art, stock photos, and things you can do, doesn’t mean you should. Less is more. Blow away the chaff. 9- Do I pay attention to the housekeeping issues? These little things make all the difference. Inspect the room. Is it clean? Is there clutter? Are there distractions? Joel Weldon would even tape the door latch open because it made a bothersome noise if people came in late or left early and distracted others. Wow… really? They don't call him \"America's Most Prepared Speaker\" for nothing. Thanks Joel. Joel Weldon - \"America's Most Prepared 3/14

Speaker\" pays attention to every little detail for flawless... [+] 10- Do I control the environment? If I have my choice, I set the room up with doors at the back, so people coming in don’t distract. I check air conditioning controls, sound systems, open windows. Plan for distractions… they will happen. 11- Am I hiding behind the podium? Don’t. 12- Have I tested my audio and video? Do. 13- What if my slide animations fail? Fancy animations are often better handled in multiple slides… if at all. Test it on the mac, on Chrome, on Firefox, on a PC. 14- What do I do if the power fails? This happened to me. Halfway through a half-hour keynote, my laptop battery died…. Completely died. I thought I was toast. That is the real test. No time to bring up something else. You had better be ready to continue. I jumped down in the audience and just turned up the energy and winged it. So ask yourself…. Are you plugged in? Do you have a backup thumb drive or even an entire laptop? 15- Death by logo. Every CEO (my business partner included) thinks that you have to have your logo prominently displayed on every single slide, sometimes more than once. (If the boss persists, make it unobtrusive.) But really, people aren’t dumb, if you have a logo on the front slide and the last one, they will know it is from your company. 16- Death by bullets… Bullets are well named. They kill presenters. Remember: \"Gun’s don’t kill… bullets kill.\" 17- Death by acronyms. The main method that doctors, lawyers, dentists, and developers use to ensure their job security is to develop a language that only they understand. They abbreviate everything. CRM. SaaS. T1. Don’t use them with normal, real people. If you do, translate the first time. Explain that CRM means Customer Relationship Management. Have someone call you out if you shoot an acronym across their bow. 18- Death by Umms and Ahhs. This one is really hard. Don't fill sentences with umm or ahh. It sounds like you don't know what to say and you are making it up as you go. Listen to yourself. Anything you say over and over is the equivalent to an Umm or an Ahhh. Have a friend hold up a finger every time you say one or the other or your favorite repetitive equivalent. Painful. But do it. 4/14

19- Have I set expectations? Start with an agenda, including when you will be done. Give them a reason to stay. It’s old, overused, cliche, but still relevant. “Tell them what you are about to tell them, tell them, and tell them what you told them.” 20- Don’t make your host look bad! The worst sign of a rookie presenter is the one who gets up there and starts their talk by saying, “Well… I was just called last night and assigned this topic that I don’t know much about…” Don’t do that… ever! 21- Am I selling or teaching? You violate the trust of your audience if you try and sell to them. There is nothing worse than a thinly veiled sales pitch when they truly need to learn something. Don’t do it. The only exception is the Timeshare Condo pitch. But you go into that knowing it is a sales pitch. The $150 gift certificate to Nordstrom’s or the free night at the Marriot gets you past that. I often get criticized because people actually say I don’t sell enough on stage. I look at our company’s growth and success and I ask… Really? Here’s my rule, don’t sell on stage, ever! If they are interested, they will find you and wait for you off stage. Michael J Fox playing 'Jonny B. Goode' by Chuck Berry in Back to the Future - He was so intense and... [+] 22- Am I trying to say too much? Wow, I just blew this one recently. A friend in the audience reminded me of the scene in one of the Back from the Future shows where \"Marty McFly\" (Michael J. Fox) drives a Delorean time machine 30 years into the past and is given the opportunity to play a guitar on stage at the high school prom. He decides to give them a sneak peak of Chuck Berry’s ‘Johnny B. Goode’ and gets going so fast and furious he’s done before he realizes nobody is with him, and their jaws are hanging open. That's what I did. I was going so fast in my own world of research I woke up 30 5/14

minutes later on stage thinking I did a great thing. With some of the worst reviews I've ever had: \"Great research but hard to remember,\" \"Needs more time,\" \"Not enough stories.\" Great feedback... Note to self… don’t do that. When in doubt... cut it out. Have I said too litte? Your audience, like Wendy's, may ask, \"Where's the Beef?\" 23- Have I said too little? Then there are some companies who let a committee get ahold of the presentation and send it out to a design firm with a dozen revisions and it comes back with no substance at all. That’s worse. I think a committee has only ever done one great thing... That was the movie Toy Story. But, for the most part, they get lost in the thick of thin things. People ask, \"Where's the beef?\" 24- Have I prepared enough? A long time ago I decided I would spend more time preparing myself rather than preparing a presentation. Refer back to rules 1 and 2. If you live and breathe your content day in and day out, you’ll do great. 25- Do I know my audience? My favorite question is: “What would I do if I were you?” How would I apply what I know with what my audience needs. Is my audience mostly employees, managers, Vice Presidents, CEOs, owners? What do they care about? What is their stress? What are their dreams? What are their headaches and hassles? 26- Will my stories be remembered? Facts, logic and research speaks to the mind, stories speak to the heart. Seth Godin (again) recommends you find remarkable stories. He breaks the word into sections ‘remark’+‘able’. Will people make remarks about your presentation? Are they 'able' to remember your stories so they can 'remark' them to others? Stories become legends when they are remarkable. 6/14

Brian Regan - one of America's premier comedians, brings a presentation to life with stories. - From... [+] If you want to hear remarkable (and funny) stories, listen to Brian Regan. One of my favorite is his story of going to the emergency room. He can take an everyday story and make it so you will never forget it. He may be the best comic on the planet, and he’s suitable for the kids (He and Bill Cosby, not many of those left...) UPDATE: (Dang, now Cos isn't suitable either. Don't give in Brian!) 27- Have I backed up my arguments with research? If you can’t prove it… don’t say it. Your research or better yet, somebody else’s... who is credible. Did I say to use research that is credible? 28- Am I rounding my numbers? You are far more credible if you quote the exact number in the research… to the decimal point. If you round the number, you don’t seem to know the number… or you’re making it up. 29- Have I checked all my facts? I once told a story that later turned out to be a rumor… Note to self… don’t do it. A friend called me out on it. I was grateful and learned a very hard lesson. 30- Have I given proper credit? My favorite thing to do is to promote other people. Call out the people who came up with the ideas you are using. Oh, and the Golden Rule still works. But the Platinum Rule is better... 31- Do I speak to the whole person? We are told in the scriptures we have four aspects: heart, might, mind, and strength. My mentor, Chauncey Riddle, taught me that heart is what we desire, might is our power or influence or our result, mind is our understanding, and strength is our body and its capacity to act. He shared that the proper order to engage all four aspects of a human being is mind, heart, strength, and might. Or understanding, desire, action, and result. So ask these four questions: 7/14

32- What do I want them to think? Start your presentation by engaging their mind. Define the terms. Socrates said, “The beginning of wisdom is a definition of terms.\" Facts build knowledge, application of facts builds wisdom. Questions get them thinking. Thinking comes before feeling. Feeling comes before action. Action comes before results. 33- What do I want them to feel? The source of energy that causes action is desire, or motivation. This comes from the heart. Stories and experience play to the heart. How do you teach something the mind does not understand? How do you teach virtue, or courage, or honor, or integrity in a classroom? You don’t. They don't come from mathematical equations. You model them yourself, by your example, and by proxy with stories of greatness. Take them face to face with greatness through a story. 34- What do I want them to do? The greatest presentations end with a call to action. We have lately been using a cool webinar tool called ON24 that lets people act several times along the way by downloading content any time during the presentation, while they are thinking about it, or feeling it. Strength is the body, the body has capacity to act… to do something. 35- What should their result be if they act on my words? Tell stories of the results other people have gained by thinking, feeling, and doing the very things you are asking your audience to think, feel, and do. Answer the question of relevance, “So what?” What does this mean to me? What is my result? Oliver Demille - Author of 'LeaderShift' and bestseller 'A Thomas Jefferson Education', teaches to... [+] 36- What can they take away? Software developers ask a great question, “What is the deliverable?” What do they get to take back to their business and apply that very day? 8/14

Takeaways are both content and great ideas. My friend Oliver DeMille (who has inspired much of everything I do) taught me to read and mark down my epiphanies…. Those “aha” moments that change something inside. Those are the best takeaways. 37- Do I start with high energy? I like to start with a question or a really great story. Jokes are ok, but too easy. Move, but never pace. 38- Do I maintain high energy? Get someone in the audience to tell you if you are dropping the energy. Appoint a yawn monitor to scan the audience and have everyone stand up and stretch if you start to see yawns. Then it’s their fault, not yours. If you start to lag, change your position, raise your voice level… stand up… ask a question… share a story. One of the greatest things I ever learned while presenting is that I control my own energy level… and hence the energy of the entire audience. The best energy in a group setting is called by Dr. Covey synergy: that synchronization that sometimes occurs where every person is attuned and resonating to the same thought, emotion, or spirit. It’s real. You know it when you feel it. Like a tuning fork, it gives off its own sound and energy from each member of the audience. It's cumulative. It's additive. Some even know where it comes from. 39- Do I know how to take back my energy? Once I was knocking doors selling David Early tire coupons. They were $39 and you got three free oil changes, and lots of discounts. Great deal. I knocked on the door of a big huge guy with a Harley in the front yard who proceeded to yell at me and scare me to death. Immediately a woman came up behind him, put her hand on his shoulder, and said, \"Don't mind him, he's just had a bad day.\" I asked with a grin, \"How did I do?\" He smiled sheepishly and said, \"You know, you did great. Good luck!\" I felt great. I took back my energy with my question. 9/14

From then on I realized I could never let anyone steal my energy away. I could give it, but I won't let them take it. And if they try, I take it back. After that, I try and end every speech, keynote, or presentation with, \"How did I do?\" 40- Do I have a signature? Besides ending with \"How did I do?\" I answer a phone and ask, \"How the heck are you?\" And the person at the other end knows it's me. They also know I'm from Utah. :) The Late Paul Harvey had a several signature statements in his presentation like, \"This is Paul... [+] Paul Harvey would always end a story with, \"And now for the rest of the story.\" He would end his radio show, \"Gooood day!\" Les Brown would end everything he did in front of an audience with I'm \"Mrs. Mamie Brown's baby boy!\" 42- Do I end on schedule? Build up to your finish. End on a crescendo. Start well, maintain, and end well. Save your impact for last. 43- Am I ready for questions? Brush up on the topic and the space. Review the numbers in the research… to the decimal point. Know the stories. If you don’t know something, or can’t quote it exactly, just admit it. It’s ok to paraphrase if you tell the audience you are doing so, and point them to a source. 44- Can I record my presentation? It’s a lot better than trying to recreate it later. And in today's world of YouTube, Slideshare, iTunes, eBooks, Twitter, Google+, and Blogs, it’s an amazing way to repurpose your valuable content in many other valuable media and channels. Often I'll have someone pull out their iPhone, after all, it's HD! 10/14

Denis Waitley, one of the greatest presenters in America, made a point to respond to those in his... [+] 45- Follow up with the people in your audience who reach out. I listened to a cassette tape set by Denis Waitley once while I was at the Naval Academy. He told stories of Wilma Rudolph and the interrogation tactics during the Korean war. He was a graduate of Annapolis. I hung on every word he said. I was young and idealistic, and decided to write him a letter. I found out his address and wrote. I unburdened my soul, I shared my dreams. I told him I was a kid from Utah, just having left the Academy on a 2 year sabbatical. I remember believing he would respond, he seemed like that kind of person. He did. He wrote me a 4 page letter. He talked about Spencer W. Kimball, a man very important to him, and to me. I still have the letter. That was 27 years ago. Years later I met him at Franklin and he remembered my letter. That is the single reason why I respond to every comment on Forbes.com, every letter someone sends me. He was my Michael Jordan. My Jimmer. The best. Thanks Denis. James D. Murphy, author of Flawless 11/14

Execution and Founder of Afterburner seminars teaches presenters... [+] 46- Have I scheduled a debrief? Again, Chris Jorgenson turned me on to “Flawless Execution” by James D. Murphy or “Murph” as he is known at Afterburner, Inc. He teaches the time-tested techniques of America’s fighter pilots to help entrepreneurs and businesses perform at their peak. The trick? Brief the team before the mission. Perform the mission. Then debrief afterwards. (On no! Did I really use bullets?) American pilots have their names and ranks on Velcro patches. When they go in to the debrief room with higher and lower ranking officers, they leave names and ranks on a table at the door so they can say anything that needs to be said… to improve. They are the best in the world for this reason and many others. When I was a Scoutmaster, we used a methodology called \"shadow leadership.\" We would teach the boys what they needed to do to prepare for an activity, hold the activity, then sit around afterwards with the leadership and discuss what we did well and how we could improve. I learned that I had to let them do it if they were ever to learn and improve what they did. The best learning experience I ever remember came on one campout to 1st Hemagogue, above Alpine City. We had trained the Quartermaster, walked him through what we needed to take for dinner and breakfast. The boys wanted oatmeal. But the Quartermaster forgot the bowls. 10 boys ate oatmeal with their hands. The 2 hour debrief was one of the most interesting learning experiences they (or I) ever had. 47- Do I review this 'Tips from Great Presenters' before presenting? This is the most important, or this list is useless. Have I forgot anything? 12/14

Please add to these tips and ideas. I'll respond and add them to the list. -Ken As promised: 48- Check consistency and spelling - As a frequent creator of powerpoint presentations, you always want to check for consistency! Make sure if you have a fact or figure on one slide, that it matches up with the content on later slides as well. Always check for errors and typos as well. Nothing makes you look more unprofessional than a spelling error, and they really distract the audience from your message. (From Megan Strong) 49- Don't over prepare - (from Trish Bertuzzi) I over prepared. I rehearsed. I did not lead with my passion and personality. Now, I am not saying not to rehearse or prepare but at some point, if you love to speak, you can do too much. And that is what I did. Note to self: you can still know your material and be authentic. It is your voice they came to hear not the “perfect presentation”. 50- Some notes are good, have a high level concept summary - (from Cheryl Conner) - even if you are prepared enough to speak without notes (as you should be), having just the very highest bullet points written down can be good. Otherwise, your passion and preparation on the topic could fill the time (and your focus) to the point that you end up forgetting to cover one or more of your most critical points. (the voice of experience here…) 51- Don't put light color text on a dark background on your slides - At least if you want your content to be read. You lose 30% of readability when you do this. Even worse is white text on a light blue background. Beware of creative designers who love to make things look good at the cost of function. (I'm sitting in a presentation right now in Washington DC and can't read the slides! Ken) 52- Don't use ALL CAPS IN YOUR SLIDE COPY - Only use all caps in headlines and occasionally for emphasis. USING ALL CAPS IS LIKE YELLING AT SOMEONE FOR EMPHASIS! People aren't used to reading all capital fonts and you lose readability. Author: Ken Krogue Summary of Ken Krogue’s Forbes articles 13/14

Ken Krogue I focus on using the Internet, Inside Sales, Lead Generation, Gamification, and Social Media to grow businesses. I'm also an American who cares enough to speak up and a… Reprints & Permissions 14/14

Health-Boosting Foods Trending In Food & Beverage Industry And Why forbes.com/sites/juliabolayanju/2018/06/13/3-health-boosting-foods-trending-in-food-beverage-industry-and-why June 13, 2018 © 2020 Forbes Media LLC. All Rights Reserved Jun 13, 2018,02:19pm EDT Julia B. OlayanjuFormer Contributor ForbesWomen I drive innovation towards a healthier & sustainable food future. 1/5

Discovering the health benefits in food Picture via Pixabay 2/5

According to research reports by Mintel Global New Products Database (GNPD) there has been a 202% increase in the number of new food and beverage products recently launched containing components termed , “superfruit” ,“supergrain”or “superfood” between 2011 and 2015. The report also published information showing a 70% increase in the number of food and drink products containing chia between 2014 and 2015. Research and Markets also reported that the global markets for functional food which has grown consistently is projected to exceed 304.5 billion by 2020. What is driving consumer demand for products enriched with functional food? Is this worth paying attention to? This article seeks to answer these two questions. While there are many functional foods out there this article is focused on shedding light on only 3 poised to change the food and beverage industry in the coming years. Turmeric In recent years there has been a lot of excitement around turmeric. Mintel GNPD reports a 359% increase in launches of hot beverages containing turmeric in Europe between 2013 and 2017. The increase in demand for products containing turmeric is not unfounded. Different scientific studies highlighting the health benefits of turmeric have been published. Specifically, curcumin a compound found in turmeric has been studied for its anti- inflammatory properties and treatment of related diseases. Several studies have also investigated its anti-cancer activities. While publications continue to emerge shedding light on the health benefits of turmeric, locals in different parts of the world have used turmeric for centuries to treat a wide array of diseases. As the scientific community continue to understand the molecular basis for curcumin’s activity in the human body and the wide array of pathways it interacts with to combat diseases, we can only expect the demand for products containing turmeric to increase. Moringa - Compared to turmeric, Moringa oleifera is not as popular in the US. Kuli kuli was the second company to introduce nutritional bars enriched in moringa to the US market. Now more startups are incorporating this plant into their products, these includes Remedy Organics and Feramoringa. While this vegetable is not common in Western diets, moringa oleifera which is native to parts of India and Pakistan is a popular staple in different parts of Asia. It is popular for both its nutritional and medicinal benefit, some of these benefits are highlighted here. 3/5

An important compound found in this vegetable known as moringa isothiocyanate has been of interest to scientist lately. Studies led by Dr. Ilya Raskin, Professor at Rutgers University showed that components in moringa isothiocyanates reduces inflammation, the anti-cancer properties of the moringa isothiocyanates is also been explored. While some may never read scientific findings published in these journals they discover the health benefits of these food types on their own. Founders have started companies because they personally experienced the health benefits of food such as moringa and desire to share the experience with the world. An example is Jacquelyn Turner Haury who founded her company Feramoringa after discovering moringa in her fight against Crohn's disease. As more people discover the health benefits of different food types, the products we see on aisle in the grocery store will continue to change. Chia Walking around a grocery store it will not be hard to find beverage fortified with chia seeds or nutritional bars enriched with chia seeds. According to the Mordor Intelligence the global chia seed market is projected to reach 2 billion USD in sales by 2022. Chia ( Salvia hispanica) which is native to Central America has been described by many as the go to food type for appetite and weight control as well as blood sugar levels management in type 2 diabetes. These health claim are not unfounded as there are scientific studies showing evidence for health benefits of chia seeds continue to increase. In a study led by Dr Hanna of University of Toronto, a possible explanation for appetite control as well as blood glucose level reduction in type 2 diabetes observed in study participants as a result of of a 12 week diet supplementation with chia seeds was provided. Chia seeds are rich in omega -3 fatty acids, they also contain high linoleic and alpha-linolenic fatty acids and the health benefit of these can not overlooked. While much known about the health benefits of these different food types, there is so much more yet to be discovered However one thing is obvious, as knowledge of health benefits of different food types continue to emerge, consumer demand for products enriched with functional foods is likely to increase . 4/5

Julia B. Olayanju Julia Olayanju PhD is a scientist, entrepreneur and strategic consultant. She is the founder and President at FoodNiche Inc. a company that leverages thought leadership … Reprints & Permissions 5/5

How A Joke Led Engineers To Give Solar Cells A Boost With Caffeine, Too forbes.com/sites/ericmack/2019/04/26/how-a-joke-led-engineers-to-give-their-solar-cells-a-boost-with-caffeine-too April 26, 2019 Apr 26, 2019,10:17am EDT|3,215 views Eric MackContributor Science I cover science and innovation and products and policies they create. 1/3

Scientists have found caffeine could give solar panels a lift. Getty It's actually a bit of a tired old joke: See something that needs a little lift? Maybe it could use a cup of coffee. Hilarious. But when engineers at the University of California-Los Angeles (UCLA) made the same quip, it led to a breakthrough in solar technology. \"One day, as we were discussing perovskite solar cells, our colleague Rui Wang said, 'If we need coffee to boost our energy then what about perovskites? Would they need coffee to perform better?'\" recalled Jingjing Xue, a UCLA PhD candidate at UCLA. As it turns out, the caffeine in coffee is an alkaloid compound, which can be used to improve the thermal stability of the perovskite crystal layer that actually harvests light in some solar cells. Researchers have tried introducing other compounds to the precursors of perovskite materials, but no one had worked with caffeine before. The result was that caffeine interacted with lead ions in the layer to create a \"molecular lock\" that boosted the solar efficiency of the cells from 17 percent to 20 percent. The lock even persisted when the material was heated. The team has published a study in the journal Joule. 2/3

\"Caffeine can help the perovskite achieve high crystallinity, low defects, and Solar cells good stability,\" said Rui Wang, who is also a PhD candidate in UCLA incorporated professor Yang Yang's lab. \"This means it can potentially play a role in the with caffeine. scalable production of perovskite solar cells.\" Rui Wang and Jingjing Xue The researchers believe caffeine will likely only work with perovskite cells, which may give them an edge in the marketplace on top of the fact that the variety is already less expensive and more flexible than many other options. \"We were surprised by the results,\" says Wang. \"During our first try incorporating caffeine, our perovskite solar cells already reached almost the highest efficiency we achieved in the paper.\" Eric Mack I've covered science, technology, the environment and politics for outlets including CNET, PC World, BYTE, Wired, AOL and NPR. I've written e-books on Android and Alaska. … Reprints & Permissions 3/3

How To Make Irish Coffee The Foolproof Way forbes.com/sites/karlaalindahao/2020/12/22/how-to-make-irish-coffee-the-foolproof-way December 22, 2020 GLASS ACTS: Vivien Leigh and Laurence Olivier toast with Irish coffee in 1946. Bettmann Archive If I wasn’t so concerned about the potential liver diseases one could contract by way of excessive alcohol consumption, I’d be drinking Irish coffee several times a day, especially in the dead of winter—in addition to my usuals: Scotch, Cognac, and bourbon. You see, I’ve always had a thing for Irish coffee. There’s something familiar and comforting about its boozy caffeine kick and creamy sugariness that makes me feel like everything’s going to be just dandy in the world—no matter how dreadful it may seem at the moment. And yes, I’m under no illusion that it’s a rather unconventional way to romanticize a cocktail—but that’s pretty much how it is with me. The heart wants what the heart wants. The funny thing is, a delicious and well-prepared Irish coffee is nearly impossible to find—no matter how ubiquitous it is in New York City’s bar scene. And believe me, I’ve tried countless iterations in numerous upmarket and dingy sports bars alike (many of which are now shuttered, no thanks to COVID-19). 1/6

QUALITY CREAM: Homemade pouring cream, which takes 30 seconds to make, is the secret to every great ... [+] getty That, to me, is the most surprising thing of all: All things considered, the coffee-forward cocktail is supposedly easy to make. After all, it only requires four ingredients, not including garnishes (which usually involve either a fine dusting of grated nutmeg or even cocoa powder). So it “shouldn’t” be a great hardship to prepare. But alas, many versions don’t deserve to be in drink menus at all. I’ve had some topped with whipped cream from a can (my personal no-go zone). Others are essentially lattes with a stiffer-than-usual cream topping and over-the-top garnishes such as candy canes, which, in my humble opinion, are more acceptable in hot chocolate—whether spiked or not. And the absolute worst I’ve ever had listed a generous pour of Kahlua (egads) in its recipe. To be clear, I’m not saying the above iterations are wrong per se. They’re just not for me. And if I’m being honest, they’re abominations—to my palate. (But hey, if that’s your jam, don’t mind me.) So during a trip to Ireland last year, I decided to drink as many Irish coffees as my constitution could handle. And I can report back to say that every single Irish coffee I tasted in the Emerald Isle was superb. So I took the opportunity to ask the barkeeps as many questions as they could tolerate from a nosy American: I was determined to unlock the secret, if any. 2/6

Turns out, every pub and bar had its own way of doing things: some used sugar cubes, some used dark roast coffee, and some used plain white sugar. A good friend who was with me at the time asked as well, and she was told that instant coffee was often used too. (That came as a surprise. But the results were delicious.) GIVE A DRAM: The quality of the Irish whiskey you choose will play role on how your cocktail turns ... [+] Kilbeggan But there was one thing every watering hole had in common. They all used something that sounded alien to me: pouring cream. We (technically) don’t have that Stateside—at least not ready-to-buy ones. And Bailey’s only recently released one in the United Kingdom this year. To the uninitiated, pouring cream is essentially lightly whipped heavy whipping cream— something that’s not quite fluffy or stiff as actual whipped cream. As its name implies, it needs to be “pourable.” And since we’re all unable to fly to Europe anytime soon, I decided to ask for help on how to recreate my beloved Irish cocktail at home with the help of Michael Egan, Kilbeggan’s U.S. brand ambassador. “There are a couple of crucial techniques one must have when crafting the perfect Irish coffee. I am not too fancy by any means, so I like to make mine the traditional way. First off, the ingredients are key: brown sugar, coffee of choice, Kilbeggan Irish whiskey, and cold heavy whipping cream. I also like to start out with a piping hot Irish coffee glass, so I’ll pour boiling water in and leave it rest for a minute,” says Egan. “I'll then combine a 3/6

tablespoon of brown sugar and my freshly brewed coffee in the glass. Stir to allow sugar dissolve. The next step is to add one and a half ounces of Irish whiskey. (I like to use Kilbeggan Original ($31) or Kilbeggan Single Grain ($29)—as the fruity notes in these whiskey’s stand up beautifully in the coffee.” Now, the secret to perfect hand-whipped cream is surprisingly easy: Simply shake your heavy cream for 30 to 45 seconds in a shaker or squeeze bottle, until you feel it get heavier,” Egan continues. “To finish, I use a spoon and gently pour the freshly whipped cream over the coffee until reaching the brim of the glass. A small bit of grated nutmeg over the top of the cream adds flavor and is aesthetically very pleasing!” TRADITIONAL IRISH COFFEE RECIPE getty Ingredients: 1.5 parts Kilbeggan Single Grain Irish Whiskey 1 tbsp. brown sugar syrup** 4/6

3 parts freshly-brewed coffee 3 parts lightly whipped heavy cream** Grated nutmeg **Brown Sugar Syrup: mix 2 parts brown sugar and 1 part water in a small pot over medium–high heat, bring to a simmer, and stir regularly until all sugar has dissolved. Remove from heat and allow to fully cool at room temperature and store in fridge for up to two weeks. (Optional: add 1 or 2 cinnamon sticks and/or a vanilla bean. Vanilla bean extract works just as well too. ) **Lightly Whipped Cream: The secret to perfect hand-whipped cream is using a squeeze bottle. Pour the heavy cream in the squeeze bottle and shake for approximately 30 to 45 seconds, until it feels thick and heavy in the bottle. Method: Rinse coffee glass with hot water; then add brown sugar syrup and Kilbeggan Single Grain to glass. Fill mug with coffee. Stir. Pour lightly whipped cream on top, through the squeeze bottle and over the back of a spoon. Garnish with freshly grated nutmeg or cinnamon, if desired. Follow me on Twitter. Follow me on Instagram (@kalindahao) and Twitter (@karlaalindahao) Karla Alindahao 5/6

I cover all things luxury lifestyle—with a focus on food, spirits, and travel. I'm the former digital director of the Haute Media Group. I've also done time at The New … Reprints & Permissions 6/6

My Picks For The Most Innovative Gadgets And Gear Of 2020 forbes.com/sites/johnbbrandon/2020/12/20/my-picks-for-the-most-innovative-gadgets-and-gear-of-2020 December 20, 2020 © 2020 Forbes Media LLC. All Rights Reserved Dec 20, 2020,11:08am EST|1,519 views John BrandonContributor Social Media John Brandon covers social media trends. @jmbrandonbb 1/4