Erm... Where's Point X?
Imagine yourself hiking in the Amazon rainforest and you get lost, the most intuitive thing is to call a friend right? And that is assuming you do not have a WAP phone that can access Google Maps! :) And say you are extremely lucky and you got through. What will be the first thing your friend will ask you when you inform him that you are freaking lost!
In my case, "AGAIN???!!!"
And since you are not me, which makes you normal, you will most likely hear this from your friend:
"WHERE ARE YOU NOW?"
You see, there is no way you can get out of the rainforest unless you first know where you are! Even if you are very clear of where you want to go (in this case, to get out of the rainforest), you may only have one out of a thousand chances of succeeding. Most of us will be like this:
And then you wonder why you can never get to your goal. Worse, some people will hire the best trainers to help them be more effective, only to find themselves getting to the wrong destination FASTER!
Borrowing one of the principles of coaching, you got to first know where you are - your current state. In the case of the lost traveller, he needs to figure out where he is NOW. So what if he has the best compass or a 3D map of the forest? He will never be able to find his way out until he knows where he is on the map.
Similarly as a speaker, we have to first know where we are at, in terms of our speaking capabilities and experiences. There are many people out there who will spend lots of money buying public speaking books or hiring really expensive coaches to help them improve. Nothing wrong with that. But before you attempt the more expensive routes, I have a cheaper alternative that will help you to make a wiser investment.
Like the traveller, first examine your current position. Two questions to get you started.
1. What do you think are your speaking strengths and weaknesses?
2. How about your audience - how do they rate you?
Once you come up with a list of your strengths and weaknesses (both rated by you and your audience) i.e. your Point X, you can then determine which path to take to get to Point Y. And that's the fun part coz' you will have full control of determing how you want to get there.
Oh... but for all this to work (and get to Point Y), you gotta walk the path too! Always!
In my case, "AGAIN???!!!"
And since you are not me, which makes you normal, you will most likely hear this from your friend:
"WHERE ARE YOU NOW?"
You see, there is no way you can get out of the rainforest unless you first know where you are! Even if you are very clear of where you want to go (in this case, to get out of the rainforest), you may only have one out of a thousand chances of succeeding. Most of us will be like this:
And then you wonder why you can never get to your goal. Worse, some people will hire the best trainers to help them be more effective, only to find themselves getting to the wrong destination FASTER!
Borrowing one of the principles of coaching, you got to first know where you are - your current state. In the case of the lost traveller, he needs to figure out where he is NOW. So what if he has the best compass or a 3D map of the forest? He will never be able to find his way out until he knows where he is on the map.
Similarly as a speaker, we have to first know where we are at, in terms of our speaking capabilities and experiences. There are many people out there who will spend lots of money buying public speaking books or hiring really expensive coaches to help them improve. Nothing wrong with that. But before you attempt the more expensive routes, I have a cheaper alternative that will help you to make a wiser investment.
Like the traveller, first examine your current position. Two questions to get you started.
1. What do you think are your speaking strengths and weaknesses?
2. How about your audience - how do they rate you?
Once you come up with a list of your strengths and weaknesses (both rated by you and your audience) i.e. your Point X, you can then determine which path to take to get to Point Y. And that's the fun part coz' you will have full control of determing how you want to get there.
Oh... but for all this to work (and get to Point Y), you gotta walk the path too! Always!
posted by Tripp at 7:55 AM
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