I put my consulting practice on hold to work full time in International Client Services (also commonly referred to as protocol) for both the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.  My decision was less strategic, and more not wanting to miss, what I considered to be the opportunity of a lifetime.

It was one of the best decisions I have made, both personally and professionally. I was constantly humbled because of the extraordinary daily demands on our abilities to stay present moment, be brief, inspirational and effective in both written and verbal communicaton. 

My colleagues were from all over the world and the age range was 25-45 with the median being 30. The personalities, business and life experience coupled with the stress of a fast paced, peak performance environmen,t demanded effective communication every time we spoke.

In addition, we interacted wtih almost all of the 52 business units; we trained all of the volunteers for our venue; we changed reporting structure when the Games started and each protocol manager had hundreds of internal and external clients and their respective entourage and security people to satisfy.

I learned that damage control on "miscommunication" was as important as attempting to get it right the first time. 

I re -learned that the motivation of the listener is influenced by the speaker.

I re-leaned patience over and over again.

I was reminded about how important is is to honour the commuication preference of the speaker because most of the time I needed them as much as they needed me!

My most valuable learning was that there is no right way to communicate - that being appropriate, generous and flexible when speaking leaves both the listener and the speaker with their dignity.

He also serves who only stands and waits.

Less is more.

There is so much wisdom in these seemingly pithy phrases.  Think about how much better informed, how much more aware, how much more confident you are, when you are prepared.  

And  planning includes not only the preparation of research and writing a presentation, it also includes everything about your environment before you begin to speak.

The gold in your presentation will be your ability to notice and absorb what is going on around you before you begin to speak and to adjust and change, in the present moment, to accommodate what you think, feel and see needs to be tweaked, to further custom your presentation to this audience.

So challenge yourself in your next presentation to be that much more aware.  Good Luck 

Who do you know that seems to be comfortable talking to anyone - children, work colleagues, street people, fellow travellers, friends, acquaintances, receptionists, salespeople - anyone they meet?

Most of the time, these same people are also very comfortable public speaking in both spontaneous and prepared situations.  What's the connection?

People who are interested and curious about others make wonderful conversationalists because they ask a lot of questions and they listen to the answers to inform their next question or comment.  These are the same attitudes and skills that are required to connect and communicate with an audience.

If you want to be a better public speaker, take inventory of your conversation skills.  How much do you listen to others, or are you more eager to talk about yourself?  Do you ask questions of others or do you make assumptions and proceed on the basis that you already know the answer?  Do you initiate a conversation or do you wait for others to start first?  Do you leave space by pausing or taking a breath and wait for the other person to speak?

The answers to these questions will give you the key to what you could do more of to be a more effective communicator to one or one thousand.

Good luck connecting in all your communications.

Unfortunately, there is a human tendancy to focus on what we don't have, rather than what we do have.  This results in millions and millions of megawatts of personal power being abandoned, like a bride at the alter, when we find ourselves in a fearful situation like public speaking.  We forget that we do have resources to draw on in this situation; that we have been successful in the past with conversation; that we have said things that informed, that entertained, that influenced, that inspired and ultimately made a difference to one or more people.

So I challenge you for the next month to bring your personal power to every fearful situation that presents itself around communication.  Before you start to speak, take a moment to remind yourself you do have personal power. Take a breath and recall one converstion, to one or more people that made a connection with your audience. Now stand tall and make that connection again with the personal power that is available to you in this moment

I wish you a month of speaking with confidence. 

 Vancouver, British Columbia, July, August, September, October 2010

The anxiousness many people feel before they begin to speak is directly related to the "flight or fight" emotional reaction that is taking place in their body.

The sympathetic nervous system kicks in and the adreneline starts pumping because the mind has told the body you are in danger.  Notwithstanding that you may physically want to flee or have the floor open up and save you having to speak, you have to send a message to your body to stop producing so much adrenalin.  

You can do this quickly by taking a deep breath - inhale for 3 - hold for 1 and exhale for 3.  Do this until you feel calmer. 

You can use the same technique during your presentation if you feel the nervousness returning or you start talking too fast.

Happy breathing and lots of it.