One of the biggest communication blocks in any new or anxiety-producing situation (such as performing a presentation at a meeting, asking your boss for a raise or having a heart-to-heart with your significant other) is articulating your thoughts.
You may know all the right things to say—may even have rehearsed your speech over and over and over ("These budget cuts alone have not been enough to put us in the black this quarter;" "Sir, I've been your top-selling rep for three years in a row, but my compensation does not reflect this;" "Honey, I love you, but something's been bothering me lately"—gulp!). But knowing and doing are two different things. Knowing and speaking are different animals entirely.
My own speech mentor (from the public speaking club Extreme Toastmasters in Chicago), Tim Wilson, recommends visual mapping as a way to organize and memorize the words you want to say. Fellow blogger Dave Gray of St. Louis agrees: He's created a lens on Squidoo that houses a variety of mind-mapping demos. Below are links to both Dave's and Tim's public works. When you check out their sites, tell 'em Kealah sent ya!
www.squidoo.com/visualmapping
www.communicationnation.blogspot.com
PowerVoices/about_tim
Oh, and if you have any thoughts or experiences with visual mapping, be sure and articulate them in the comments section. Thanks!
(c) KiKi Productions, Inc. 2009
Showing posts with label articulate. Show all posts
Showing posts with label articulate. Show all posts
May 20, 2009
TRULY SPEAKING: What do you truly want out of life?
Asking ourselves, "What do I really want the most?" is the best thing we can do—any time, any place, anywhere. But the answer can be quite different from, "What do I want right now?"
In Betsy Talbot's latest Married with Luggage blog post, she asks us to ask ourselves both of those questions—and then focus on what we learn from the differences in our answers. "What do I want right now?" can still be an important question. In fact, it can be the first question to start with in conflict resolution, especially if it's followed closely by Betsy's follow-up, "What do I want most?" (And the third and equally as important question in peace-making is always, "What do I have in common with the other party, or what do we both want?")
But Betsy asks some further thought-provoking questions this week: "What does your ideal lifestyle look like? Are you on your way to creating it? What is the hardest part for you?"
Here's my answer:
I most want to help people articulate their innermost desires for good, and to be a beacon of change for the world, one person at a time. (A friend once teased me, saying the title of my biography would be "Kealah Saves the World through Off-Hand Suggestion"!) I meet at least one small goal a day toward this greater good. The hardest part: patience!
What's your answer? I truly want to know ...
(c) KiKi Productions, Inc. 2009
In Betsy Talbot's latest Married with Luggage blog post, she asks us to ask ourselves both of those questions—and then focus on what we learn from the differences in our answers. "What do I want right now?" can still be an important question. In fact, it can be the first question to start with in conflict resolution, especially if it's followed closely by Betsy's follow-up, "What do I want most?" (And the third and equally as important question in peace-making is always, "What do I have in common with the other party, or what do we both want?")
But Betsy asks some further thought-provoking questions this week: "What does your ideal lifestyle look like? Are you on your way to creating it? What is the hardest part for you?"
Here's my answer:
I most want to help people articulate their innermost desires for good, and to be a beacon of change for the world, one person at a time. (A friend once teased me, saying the title of my biography would be "Kealah Saves the World through Off-Hand Suggestion"!) I meet at least one small goal a day toward this greater good. The hardest part: patience!
What's your answer? I truly want to know ...
(c) KiKi Productions, Inc. 2009
May 6, 2009
Improve Your Skills with the Help of Your Fairy Godmother
If the Fairy Godmother of Communications came to visit you today and granted you just 2 wishes, what would you have her improve about the way you write or speak? Why?
As a professional speaker, writer, editor, and coach, even I have an answer to this question—because there's always room for improvement, no matter who you are: I’d work on my confidence. And then I’d focus on the way I articulate—not just increasing my vocabulary, but also improving the way I organize my thoughts to find the right words at the right time (and say them in the right order!).
Confidence is one of the key factors in relating to an audience—whether it's an audience of thousands or merely one. (Ever get the jitters when asking your boss for a raise or approaching a critical co-worker for a favor?) But no matter how confident you are, that can only get you so far if you use the wrong words to convey your message.
And speaking of messages, Beyond Talk will soon receive a makeover. Thanks to feedback from our own fairy godmothers—YOU—this blog will launch a new and improved version this month. Check back to see Beyond Talk 2.0!
Speaking of spirit,
Kealah
(c) KiKi Productions, Inc. 2009
As a professional speaker, writer, editor, and coach, even I have an answer to this question—because there's always room for improvement, no matter who you are: I’d work on my confidence. And then I’d focus on the way I articulate—not just increasing my vocabulary, but also improving the way I organize my thoughts to find the right words at the right time (and say them in the right order!).
Confidence is one of the key factors in relating to an audience—whether it's an audience of thousands or merely one. (Ever get the jitters when asking your boss for a raise or approaching a critical co-worker for a favor?) But no matter how confident you are, that can only get you so far if you use the wrong words to convey your message.
And speaking of messages, Beyond Talk will soon receive a makeover. Thanks to feedback from our own fairy godmothers—YOU—this blog will launch a new and improved version this month. Check back to see Beyond Talk 2.0!
Speaking of spirit,
Kealah
(c) KiKi Productions, Inc. 2009
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