Fast Results through Powerful Communication
Out of all the famous entrepreneurs of the last fifty years, Steve Jobs is perhaps the most iconic. The legendary founder of Apple and Pixar who brought us Toy Story, the Macintosh and the iPhone had a cult-like following that even his more financially successful counterparts were envious of. It seemed like no matter what Steve did, he did it with his own unique style – including giving speeches.
It’s no secret that most people associate some sort of discomfort with public speaking. In fact, many people flat out hate it. I believe part of the reason for this is that there’s a lot of advice on how to be a better speaker (and even how to get rich from public speaking) that is either only semi-accurate or in some cases, completely inaccurate. So when people follow it and it doesn’t work they get frustrated and think that there’s something wrong with them.
While I recommend Toastmasters to my classes and clients, it’s not always the perfect solution for becoming a good speaker. It’s hard for me to not seem wishy washy on the subject because my four plus years in Toastmasters were mainly positive. Yes, there were those not so good moments, but in general I enjoyed being part of an amazing club and making some excellent friends.
I remember watching a video as a child about a kid who lived a miserable life because all he did was worry about things. We’ve all come across people like that and some of us are even guilty of it from time to time. As outside observers, we might see that things are often not as bad as people make them out to be. In general, unless someone is dying, there’s usually a way to recover from any tough situation and sometimes we can even come out stronger than ever.
Technology is an amazing thing — with devices such as smartphones and tablets, you can have access to your email, instant messenger, social media and, of course, the internet virtually everywhere. But the big question is does this technology really help you become more productive or does it put you on a virtual treadmill where you’re moving fast but not going anywhere. Truthfully, technology can be a Trojan horse for procrastination so by keeping it in line, you’ll be able to get more done.
When you’re really pumped about a project, it can be hard to pull yourself away from it — even for a good or productive reason. Let’s face it, progress is progress and sometimes we don’t want even sleep to get in the way of progress, especially when we’re dedicated to reaching our goals. But when we do this, mainly to keep our momentum going, we end up sacrificing efficiency. Whether it’s resting or setting aside time to fix an issue that keeps coming back at us, we eventually hit the point where a pit stop is necessary.
If you’re like most people, you probably don’t do a lot of preparation work prior to a networking event. Most people just pick an outfit and grab a stack of business cards, and they are off. For some, this works out adequately for them — they know how to talk to people. But for many, while they have a good time at the event, they don’t see any direct benefits from them.