"Overcoming One of Life's Greatest Fears"

  Building self-confidence and your career  

When working with a leadership or communications class, I often use humor as an icebreaker: "What are life's three biggest fears? Of course, death is number one, speaking in public is number two, and dying while speaking in public is number three."

If your job responsibilities require you to present projects or ideas at meetings or even worse, represent your company or department at a conference or large event, you know that the fear of dying while speaking in public is not funny.

However once mastered, and yes, you can overcome your fear, becoming a good public speaker will do wonders for your career and self-confidence. Here are a few tips...

** Start small - Offer to present a portion of your team or department proposal. Talking about information you know well in front of a friendly group helps you gain confidence

** Get help - Check to see if there is a Toastmaster chapter in your area. The organization's sole purpose is to help people become comfortable with speaking in public.

** Change your perspective - Instead of seeing yourself as a hapless victim of your fear who is going to underperform; see yourself as a helpful guide, teacher, and sharer of information

** Have a conversation - Rather than delivering just cold, hard, data, think of your presentation as though you were speaking to a few friends. People remember stories more than numbers. Make it interesting.

** Begin and end strong - Know what you're going to say in advance. Get their attention with a good story or little known fact. Then leave them with a memorable story and farewell line.

Being a good public speaker is something you can learn. YOU CAN do it. For more detailed insight on how to master this important skill, read "Fear of Public Speaking".

"Summer's Beautiful Bounty"

Cut flowers can be expensive...a luxury costing as much as a massage or buying a pair of shoes. But in the summer, you can often find gorgeous garden bouquets at stands along the road or at farmers markets. Treat yourself to sweet scents and brilliant colors and see what a difference it makes in your home or office.

A team of researchers at Rutgers University, New Jersey, explored the link between flowers and life satisfaction in a 10-month study of participants' behavioral and emotional responses to having flowers in their environment. The results show that flowers are a natural and healthful moderator of moods.

Flowers have an immediate impact on happiness as well as a long-term positive effect on moods. Study participants reported feeling less depressed, anxious and agitated after buying or receiving flowers, and demonstrated a higher sense of enjoyment and life satisfaction.

Intimate connections are also made and maintained through flowers. The presence of flowers led to increased contact with family, friends, and colleagues. Science shows us that not only do flowers make us happy; they have strong positive effects on our emotional well-being.

Suggestion: Print this article and place it in strategic locations around your home and office...and see who gets the hint.  

"The Next Generation of Leaders"

With all the negative things happening in the U.S. and around the world...bombings and beheadings abroad, home grown terror and mass shootings in movie theaters at home, it would be easy to become discouraged about the state of mankind.

That is until you meet the young people that are attending the Global Village at Lehigh University this summer. Nearly one hundred students from almost as many countries come together for five weeks of intensive international leadership training.

 

I was honored to be invited to speak about the importance of "Finding Success within Cultural Norms". It was a wonderful day filled with hope and optimism. I can't wait for these future leaders to go change the world.