What Do Yoga and Public Speaking Have in Common?

Both yoga and public speaking are disciplines that require commitment and regular practice and each demands that you stretch beyond your comfort zone to increase your flexibility. Nobody knows that more than Molly Boyd Hunt, Executive Faculty member at Ty Boyd, who has been practicing yoga for a long time, and speaking in public for even longer.

Yogis caution their students not to push to the point of pain during a yoga pose, but instead to increase stretches over time in increments. Doing so allows you to eventually achieve poses that seemed nearly impossible at the start of a yoga practice. "The same can be applied to public speaking" says Molly, "ongoing practice allows you to stretch your speaking skills enabling you to become a more effective communicator."

Yoga and public speaking have something else in common: breathing. It's all about the breathing. Every yoga pose relies on proper breathing techniques to relax the body and focus the mind so that you can get the maximum benefit from your practice. Control your breath and you can control anything...even your speaking.

Molly suggests that before you begin speaking, take deep, solid breaths to steady yourself. Whether you are speaking to a large crowd, or engaged in a conversation with just one other person, get in the habit of steady, regular breathing to calm your voice and keep you relaxed. And don't be afraid of the pause. Speakers often want to avoid silence, so they use filler words like "um," "ah," and "like," as a verbal bridge to the next word. But they really aren't bridges at all. In fact, they are roadblocks that distract the audience and interrupt the flow of the message. Molly is quick to point out that filling the silence with "um" does not make you sound smarter than when you say nothing at all. Molly teaches her students about the power of a pause and encourages them to embrace it.

A pause causes your audience to lean in and listen. It introduces an element of anticipation and heightens expectations. Not only does it make your speech easier to listen to, it makes your communication come across as more compelling. And remember, a pause is never as long to the audience as it feels to you. Each time that you take a significant pause during a presentation, take a deep breath. Maintaining steady breathing helps control your volume and tone making you come across as clear and confident to your audience.

In the Excellence in Speaking course, Molly Hunt teachers her students to be better communicators through preparation and practice. And when the time comes to deliver a presentation, she tells them to focus on three part breathing:

1. Take a deep breath slowly through the nose as though you are filling a glass of water.
2. Bring all the air to the bottom of your belly, then upper belly, then chest.
3. Exhale in reverse.

Breathing is infectious; how many times have you yawned causing those around you to yawn, as well? A yawn is nothing more than a deep breath and there is very little that a deep breath can't fix. Try taking a deep breath at the start of your next speech and see what it does for both you and your audience.

Namaste.

Ty Boyd Showcases a New Look

We've been busy at Ty Boyd Executive Communications & Coaching. You've heard the old adage, "don't change for changes sake", well at Ty Boyd, we think that might be the very best reason to change. Change forces us to approach things in a different way; a simple perspective change can open up a whole new world of possibilities. Sometimes the only way to create room for new ideas is to change. Ty Boyd has always been, and will continue to be, committed to helping you and your business grow by offering products, courses and one-on-one coaching in presentation, public speaking and listening skills. We've simply stepped it up a notch...

For over 30 years, the Ty Boyd brand has been alive and kicking; constantly evolving and adapting to a dynamic world and economic climate. We thought it was high time that we freshen things up by better aligning the Ty Boyd experience with the Ty Boyd brand. At first glance, the icon in our new logo looks like the spokes on a wheel. Look again - it is actually made up of several quotation marks placed in an endless circular movement mimicking the ongoing cycle of effective two-way communication. Interestingly enough, the center of the icon forms a diamond which symbolizes the value we place on powerful, impelling communication at Ty Boyd.

But we've done more than change our logo...say hello to three new faces at Ty Boyd! Team Boyd is growing so that we can build a more powerful experience for our clients. Our newest team members will support our highly-skilled executives and faculty. We are developing more products to help you reach new levels of leadership by dramatically improving your ability to communicate more effectively, powerfully, confidently and authentically. We'll keep you updated in this newsletter as venues and courses come available.

And speaking of our newsletter, what do you think of our brand new format? You can look forward to hearing from us every month. Be sure to check out our new website which we like to think of as a virtual portrait of Ty Boyd Executive Communication & Coaching. We've debuted our new logo, added new features, and made it easier to navigate. We've also included helpful communication tools and tips. Everything you need to know about Ty Boyd is just a click away. Now your digital experience with Ty Boyd will be just as rewarding as meeting us in person.

Well, almost...

We'd still prefer meeting you face-to-face. We love our slick, new technology, but at Ty Boyd, we believe in maintaining a truly human connection when communicating. Sure, it's easy to click and send, but sharing information in person has a far greater impact. Let us help you with your presentation, leadership, public speaking and sales skills. We might have a new polished look, but we still have the same tried and true integrity and values.

As always, we want to hear what you have to say. Go to our website and tell us what you think about the new and improved Ty Boyd!