Your Flop Sweat Makes You a Better Speaker

June 2, 2015June 1, 2015Leave a comment

Imagine you’re getting ready to stand up in front of a bunch of people and give your presentation. Your heart is racing, you’re sweating and you’re one step away from puking your guts up. What do you do? Do you try to calm your nerves, or do you pump yourself up?

Two different Harvard University studies that found that when you interpret your pounding heart, rapid breathing and racing thoughts as excitement versus anxiety, it actually makes you perform better when speaking in public.

Have you ever seen a stand up comic live on a big stage? The past two that I have seen (Chris Tucker, brilliant, and George Lopez, dead on satire) both had thumping up-tempo music playing as they came out on stage. They both took a few moments, to either circle the stage, or to look out over the audience, before they approached the microphone. I’m certain they did this to get themselves psyched and energized.

It turns out that trying to calm yourself down before speaking in public backfires. It gives you more time to think about all of the things that can go wrong.

Think of your stress as helpful when you face a high-stakes situation. Focus on the potential high points of the scenario (making people laugh, seeing that “aha!” moment, evoking emotion).

Getting excited about how things can go well–imagining the applause–boosts your confidence and energy.

Things will go well because you make them go well, so revel in that sweaty brow…it helps!

Contact Nikki, or book her to speak at nikki@goal-tender.com

Leaning In

March 23, 2015Leave a comment

Is anyone old enough to remember those commercials for EF Hutton, where the tag line was “When EF Hutton talks, people listen”? Each one has a guy who says the tag line to his buddy, and immediately everyone in earshot freezes, and leans in to hear what he has to say? They’re a little cheesy now, but take a look, because that can be you, the person everyone leans in to listen to.

How does it work? Believe it or not, it’s the silence that everyone hears, not the words. People who pause between their statements give their audience time to process the words. Kind of like the period at the end of a sentence, it’s a verbal period. It gives the audience the opportunity to pause, think, or laugh, or agree, or smile, or whatever you want them to do. They will begin to pay more attention to your words, eager to hear the next thing you have to say.

Practice your verbal punctuation – pause! – and see what it does for you. People will begin to lean in, just like EF Hutton.

When Work and Good Deeds Align

March 12, 2015Leave a comment

8759568_300x300 A recent client was Kara Gagnon, an eye physician for the VA Hospital in Connecticut, who quit her position there to begin BraveMinds, a charity that treats and supports veterans, and their caregivers, suffering from, and living with, traumatic brain injuries.

We worked together to polish her communication skills, and crafted a compelling and engaging talk, that she can adapt to any and all public speaking situations. I was so inspired by Kara. Please check out BraveMinds!

http://www.braveminds.org

Die Living

March 10, 2015Leave a comment

“You can make the choice to either live your life dying, or you can die living.” That was what Andy Campbell said – the guy in this photograph. After being paralyzed in a climbing accident, it’s apparent that he figured out how to live, and to live doing what he loves to do.

I can only imagine the hardship and struggles he went through to get to, literally, the top of this ski run. Being an avid skier myself, I found his message “Die Living” to be incredibly inspiring, both personally and professionally.

It takes grit and determination to try something new, and to stick with it long enough to excel at it. That applies communicating well. It’s feels weird and awkward at first, but with good technique and coaching and practice, it gets easier and better.

Look at Andy Campbell and what he accomplished. What you can’t see in this photo is that he is at the start of a ski cross race, with 3 other guys in ski chairs, all racing the course at the same time!
Wow. Talk about learning something new, and finding the joy in it.

All we’re talking about is standing up and speaking in front of a group of people.
Think we can do it? Of course we can.

“Die Living!”