Think for a moment about how many times a day you create something through your interaction with someone else. You greet someone on your way into the office. You lead a team meeting. You have a one-to-one conversation with an employee. You listen to your spouse as she processes the conflict she experienced at work. You participate in an evening board meeting. In each and every interaction, you are making choices about [Read more…] about Because Creating is More Fun than Clean-up
Writing and Speaking
Thinking of Sharing the Stage? Think Twice.
Smothers Brothers. Click and Clack. Carpenters. Have you ever noticed that some of the greatest working teams were also people who spent a lifetime with each other? Each individual clearly had talent. Yet, their success came from the choice to work as a team. By working together, they were able to reach a wider audience and have a greater impact.
Speakers and workshop facilitators often have opportunities to co-present with another professional from their field. While at first glance one may think that sharing the stage with another person would reduce the workload by half, teaming with someone else actually requires more work and increased focus on different aspects of preparation. Furthermore, great teams log many hours–or a lifetime–finding their groove.
If you are considering teaming with someone, ask yourself if you are willing and ready to do the extra work that is involved. It’s true. The potential impact you may have as a team can dramatically exceed what you can accomplish as an individual, but that’s only true if you are willing to invest in making your partnership a great one.
If you think you are ready to take on the task of co-presenting, and you are sure you know and love the other person enough to go the distance, here are a four tips designed to keep you on track throughout your preparation:
1) Have discussions in advance about the roles you will fill. Will one person be the ‘lead’ while the other person provides support? Will this dynamic shift at any point of the presentation? Are both people okay with this model? What does each person need in order to fill his or her roles well?
2) Be 100% committed to making the other person look fantastic.
3) Set, in advance, the intention of being 100% present with your partner while you are working together. This is harder than it sounds. You will be focusing on being present with your audience too, and there will be great temptation to think about what you are doing next instead of really listening to what your partner is saying and doing with the group.
4) Acknowledge to yourself and your partner that it takes more skill and training to be part of an effective team than it does to be a solo act. If you doubt this, think about what it takes to keep a marriage or partnership healthy and alive versus living on one’s own.
5) When challenges arise, remind yourself that a team can accomplish exponentially more than any individual. Experiencing the power of team requires cultivating a skill set that goes beyond what you know as a do-it-yourselfer. Take time to reflect and review to see what is working well and where you still need to grow. From time to time, people slip up and slide back into how they would operate if they were in solo mode. When this happens, be willing to ask your partner for grace and forgiveness and recommit to what you are both working to create.
Communication is a Two-Way Street
Several years ago, a few friends and colleagues formed a book group. We were meeting for the second time as a group, and a woman whom I had never met before joined us. She was well-known and liked by others in the group, and she made many fun and valuable contributions to the discussion throughout the evening. In the months following that evening, we became friends and spent time engaged in deep conversations over tea in local bookstores.
One afternoon, when I was asking her for feedback about some personal and professional growth work I was doing, she recalled the first night she had met me. “I remember seeing you sitting there, saying nothing, [Read more…] about Communication is a Two-Way Street
Gratitude and Happiness
Happy First Week of November!
Three years ago, a team of dynamic friends and colleagues worked with me to bring a vision to reality. We called the project The Gratitude Gala. In November 2010, over a hundred people gathered together for an evening of gratitude, joy, artistic expression, and community. Before each performance, the artists spoke briefly about who they were honoring or thanking with their performance. One member of our team, Rick, flew a young friend home from college for the day. She spent time with her family and then joined us in the evening to perform a special song for Rick’s elderly friend and mentor. Her voice was one of many that filled the room with heartfelt emotion. The expressions of gratitude shared that night uplifted us all.
Since that transformative event, people have continued to reach out to share how gratitude has transformed their lives. People also share with me the research and work others are doing around the world. One member of our original team sent me a link to this video with a message that read, “Of course this made me think of you. And Landmark. And how it really works. Thank you for showing me what a difference gratitude can make.”
I hope you enjoy this video as much as we did.
Scientists Discover One of the Greatest Contributing Factors to Happiness–You’ll Thank Me Later
Why I Speak
A gentleman sitting in the second row raises his hand. I nod and extend my hand toward him, inviting him to speak. “I have two questions,” he says. “I’m listening to you describe all that you do as an introvert to transition from calmly moving around your kitchen, as you say, to being energized and ‘on’ to present to us today. Do you enjoy the process of that transition? Also, if you are an introvert and you are ordinarily pretty subdued in your everyday life, why do you choose a career presenting to groups and working as a public speaker?”
By the time this man asks his questions, the audience of job seekers and I have been together for almost an hour. I am giving a presentation called “The Introvert Steps Out” to a room in which 98% of the people [Read more…] about Why I Speak