Speaking Coaches: worth their weight in gold!

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“I really enjoyed the sessions and took a lot from them. Apparently I did a great job at the conference … Thank you so much!”  Music Industry Exec

“It was such a great experience and my presentation went really well. It was a huge conference … All of your training and support stood me in good stead, and I adjusted my sessions to fit my audience… I followed all your recommendations to prepare myself for the presentation – and then thoroughly enjoyed the experience. Thank you for your steady guidance in the lead up. I couldn’t have done it without you.”  Educator

“I’m so relieved it (the presentation) is over but it went well! I’ve had heaps of compliments …. Thank you so much.”  HR professional

 

WOW – Let the comments speak for themselves!

Just because most of us are able to open our mouths and say something, doesn’t mean that what we are saying and how we are saying it, is effectively communicating and connecting with whomever our audience happens to be.

As with everything in life that we want to do well at, practise and skill are necessary. Being a great speaker, whether in a small group setting, a large audience or on media takes time, effort and focus.  A talk or presentation begins as a little seed that has to be nurtured, thoughtfully developed and worked on if we are going to hit the mark with our listeners.

In our fast-paced world we so want to be able to microwave everything and produce it in 2 secs flat.  In reality, there are very few people who are really able to spontaneously speak brilliantly; the few that can have, undoubtedly, had seasons of practise and growing in their expertise – although they may not tell you that!

When I hear, occasionally, people say that any sort of public speaking courses, presentation skills training or vocal coaching are unnecessary, I just smile.  I bring to mind and celebrate the many individuals whom I have had the privilege of working with, in so many different professions and walks of life, who have successfully achieved and enjoyed the fruit of having worked on and improved their communication skills.

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Being a ‘Confident Communicator’

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How would you like to be described in your work context?

Some positive adjectives would be ‘Professional’, ‘Knowledgeable’, ‘Trustworthy’, ‘Reliable’, ‘Diligent’ etc.  In my experience, the majority of working people also want to be considered ‘Confident’ because we recognise the benefit of coming across to others as being self-assured and fearless.  However, it is always interesting and very necessary to clarify the exact meaning of words that we use so regularly and flippantly:

‘Confident’

marked by assurance, as of success

having strong belief or full assurance

very bold

trust or faith in a person or thing

the state or quality of being certain.

Trust, assurance, aplomb, self–confidence … these words all denote a feeling of emotional security resulting from faith in one’s ability to achieve a certain goal.

 

So, if we desire to be confident in the areas of public speaking and interpersonal communication, we must also remember that a ‘Communicator’ is someone who is skilled at conveying information or ideas to others.

‘Communication’ is the art and technique of using words effectively to exchange thoughts and to express oneself in such a way as to be readily and clearly understood.

Let’s put time, focus and intentionality behind achieving the above and we will be able to confidently say “I am a Confident Communicator!”

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Loving helping others to find their voices!

So, for those who read my blogs, you will know by now that I am passionate about what I do!

I am absolutely committed to helping people to Find their Voices ie. overcome the fear of public speaking in all its various forms – whether to a small group, at a large conference or improving everyday interpersonal skills.  Confidence is simply having an assurance that we can do something well through having practiced, workable tools and strategies at our disposal.

As I have explained to many of my clients, I may be confident and experienced at speaking publicly because I have had a lot of practise at it, however, put me in a laser (as some friends of ours did a few months ago) and I capsize the thing! By the end of my first lesson, however, with a patient and kind teacher (thanks Niel) I was jibing brilliantly and sailed into shore relatively confidently. Now I am not intending to sail single-handedly around the world – I would seriously need to build up my skill level and practice hours in order to even think about doing that.

There is obviously a great difference between sailing and speaking though… whilst sailing is a great hobby to have, I have the choice as to whether I want to pursue it or not. Public speaking, however, for most of us, is a very necessary part of life in our workplaces, schools and universities.  So, be smart and get some help – you may even begin to enjoy it.

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Voice training for successful communication

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Imagine a typical scenario;  if it is not yet typical for you it very likely will be one day! … “So-and-so is sick today and so you will have to go and speak to our clients and fill them in on where we are up to with the project.”  Not the best start to many people’s day, but the job has to be done.

Unless you have had some experience and practise at impromptu speaking, debating or improvisation, then your body likely begins to respond to the request with a number of physical manifestations such as sweaty palms, heart seemingly beating out of your chest, or brain freeze.

Happily, there are a number of well-proven techniques that can help us very practically to handle the above, or similar, situations effectively.  However, once we have quickly thought about what we want to say and jotted down some barely legible notes on our phone or bit of paper, we then actually have to vocalise those thoughts and ideas. It is at this point that we have to consider three key things …

Clarity … will people be able to clearly hear and understand what I am needing to communicate?

Fluency … can I fluently and articulately express the information?

Variety … can I speak in a manner that is not going to send my audience to sleep in a matter of a few moments or ‘switch off’ ?

 

What a gift it is for children and young people to have had practice and experience at speaking more formally with and in front of others; and how necessary to invest in this important life skill if we have not had those benefits at an earlier age.

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Public Speaking Training

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As we find ourselves well into another new year, it is a great time to consider “what am I finding difficult in the world of personal communication?”

Perhaps you are needing …

  • to develop skills to prepare and deliver an outstanding speech or presentation;
  • to work on projecting confidence and assertiveness in work meetings and different work-related situations;
  • help with your staff who are struggling to present themselves well;
  • to prepare for important interviews that will open new doors for you;
  • to work on your voice – sounding more engaging, warm and interesting ;
  • to become more confident that your voice can be heard and understood, that you are getting your message across …

the list goes on of scenarios where clients have overcome fear and limitations and found greater freedom in their communication abilities.

What a privilege it is to help people to achieve their goals and more fully enjoy life!

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Keep growing – the importance of personal development!

Happy New Year from Confident Communicating!

I love the start of a new year. It speaks of freshness, newness; new hopes, new dreams, new opportunities … a natural break to celebrate the good things of the previous year and let go of the things that didn’t go so well. A time to get up and keep doing what is working and a time to adjust what needs changing. A time to stir fresh vision.

One thing that is a definite for all of us and that is that we must keep developing and learning. If we think we know it all then we will, at best, stagnate and at worst shrink back. What might our Personal Development goals be for this year ? …

I recently read a letter from the admissions department for Oxford and Cambridge University in which were addressed the concerns of a headteacher asking as to why her academically capable student had not been accepted into either university. The reply was that although the student had a great Personal Statement and had clearly spent his/her time pursuing many worthwhile things there was a big gap in their education … this was firstly an inability to engage in verbal conversation with tutors with confidence and intelligence and secondly, a lack of ability to read English accurately and fluently.

Continuing to develop excellent communication skills and an ability to connect and engage with others must be high on our list of goals for 2023!

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