Thanks to my clients and partners! 5 Things You Taught Me This Year
I teach so I can learn. (And so I can pay the bills. And because I absolutely love it. But the learning is awesome.)
Lucky me, I have the best clients and business partners who show me new ways of working, new ways of thinking, and new ways of approaching a centuries-old topic. Here’s some of what I’ve learned from them this year:
The Four Es as I first saw them.
The Four Es
One of my CEOs came up with a mnemonic device for himself. I loved it so much, when I spied it in his open notebook, I exclaimed: “That’s great! Can I take a picture?!” This was his reminder to bring Energy, Emotion, Eye Contact, and Emphasis to his presentations. Good news - it worked!Sometimes old methods work well, and they can infuse life into our business presentations.
During a coaching session, one of my clients asked if he could recite a poem he had to perform as a child. I said, “Of course!” He recited “O Captain, My Captain!” by Walt Whitman (you may know it from its role in Dead Poets Society). Suddenly, his voice came alive, and he discovered new energy to enliven his presentations. (And it’s just really cool to watch a poem be read well.)Everyone brings their own story to the table.
Know what’s going on with your audience before you share your story. This was a good reminder from my friend and colleague Randy Ford, who co-facilitated a November webinar with me for legislative staff. Randy’s teachings on story strategies remind me to be mindful of my story as well as the audience’s. (And he’s a damn good facilitator, too!)The business world is on LinkedIn. And I should be, too.
Once upon a time, I had about 2,000 connections on LinkedIn, and I did nothing with my account. So I deleted it. Until one of my coaching clients, a VP in a large corporation, showed me the ins and outs of LinkedIn and how to use it with intention - not in a scattershot fashion. She was right - and I have a much more focused base. Are we connected? No? Connect with me!Stuck in your head? Use your body.
After taking an Intro to Alexander Technique workshop with AT Instructor Jeremy Cohn, I was hooked. The techniques he gave me improved my own speaking skills. Since then, I’ve brought him in to work with some of my clients. When we get stuck in our head around anxiety or nerves, we often try to calm the mind. But by using your body to signal the mind, the calm comes quicker, and we can present away, and not let the anxiety or adrenaline hijack the brain.
“Thank you to my amazing clients and partners for a wonderful 2019! You make me smarter and better year after year. ”