Stop Comparing Yourself to Others

All effective communicators have a certain style. They use their tools in a way that establishes them as unique. They have signature mannerisms - think Bill Clinton's pursed lips when he wants to convey how profoundly he is moved or the smirk that George W. Bush had to eliminate in order to win the 2000 Presidential election. Effective communicators have their own delivery style, or a way of carrying themselves, or a way of relating to their audiences. The best communicators use their personal style in every encounter they have with an audience, whether it's an audience of one or one thousand. 

But that doesn't mean that you need to sit down and study Martin Luther King, Jr with an eye towards adopting his most powerful style. You need to discover your own personal style - the one that works for you. The style that taps into your strengths - strengths that you can build on. Don't concentrate on how the person before you did it, concentrate on how you're going to utilize your uniqueness to get things done. Stop comparing yourself to others.

In addition to finding your strengths, you'll want to zero in on the quirks in your personal style that limit your effectiveness, that turn listeners off, that inhibit your power to teach, persuade or lead. These quirks are a big part of your personal style, too; but they're the parts you can work to eliminate or downplay.

At Ty Boyd Executive Communications & Coaching, we are going to do our best to help you become as effective as Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook or Steve Jobs - perhaps the best communicator of the decade, but we are not going to turn you into them. Learning to use your personal toolbox is not a cookie-cutter process. We're here, instead, to scrape away all the veneer. To reveal the essential you. And in that way, you become the most powerful communicator you can be.

Challenge Yourself

You will never achieve a fraction of what you are capable of by sticking to the safe and comfortable. Being content at work is no way to advance your career. Instead, take on responsibilities that are not normally expected of you. Put yourself out there and you will reap the rewards.That is why the third item on our holiday list for you is:

#3) Challenge yourself.

Challenging yourself is one of the best ways to grow as a person and to increase the quality of your life. Whether you challenge yourself mentally, emotionally or physically, you will change as a result of stretching yourself beyond your comfort zone. Start small - choose something that lets you test the waters of uncertainty, but feels doable, and then dive in. Once you accomplish the challenge, choose another.

Your confidence will grow each time you challenge yourself and succeed. But accept the fact that some of challenges may not end with the results you want. Even when that happens, the challenge will still serve as an opportunity to learn from and persevere.

Looking back and saying, "I wish I had..." will haunt you forever. Besides, you won't know if something is truly outside of your skill set until you actually try it. Challenging yourself ensures that you won't look back and regret being too scared to try.

Hold Yourself Accountable

You owe it to yourself to take charge of your professional development. Leadership roles are often given to the people who look and act the part - and looking and acting the part is conveyed through your communication skills. That is why the first item on our holiday list for you is:

#1) Invest in communications coaching.

With all the job responsibilities that you manage, staying focused on your career development can easily be overlooked. Working with a communications coach is the best way to increase your commitment and hold yourself accountable. A mentor will make you aware of your performance and provide insight and expertise on how to correct, adapt and improve. 

One of the many benefits of communications coaching is improved self-awareness. Working with a coach will make you aware of the areas that need improvement, but perhaps more importantly and even more beneficial, is that you will learn specifically where you are viewed as a successful communicator. With the help of a coach, you can then enhance those abilities and put them to work for you more frequently.

Ty Boyd Executive Communications & Coaching offers private coaching face to face, by phone or video conference. Common coaching topics include executive and management communications, voice improvement, presentation confidence, conversation savvy, body language analysis and professional image development.

Spending a few hours with one of our executive faculty members is an invaluable gift to yourself.

Be Kind to Yourself When Juggling Your Career and Home Life

In her book Tweak It: Make What Matters to You Happen Every Day, Cali Yost reveals strategies that she uses to help clients achieve a better work-life fit. "Twenty years ago, the clocks on the wall told us when work ended and the rest of life began. Now there are no boundaries, so people can't figure out when to finish a project vs. when to go to the gym, or when to follow up with a prospect vs. when to send a birthday card to their mother." Cali adds, "Knowing how to manage your day-to-day work-life fit is a modern skill set that you need in order to succeed."

We all have expectations that we think we need to live up to and when we feel that we've missed the mark, we tend to get overly judgmental with ourselves. That is why the second item on our holiday list for you is:

#2) Be kind to yourself when juggling your career and home life.

Your home and work worlds are constantly changing and colliding; try as you might, there is no perfect balance. But there are ways to organize your career to bring more harmony to your home so that everyone is happy - especially you.  At Ty Boyd, our faculty coach our with clients to do something everyday to improve their communication skills. It may seem small when you are in the thick of it, but daily consistent practice will amount to something big down the road. There is no doubt, communication skills become more polished with practice. The same can be said of a work-life balance. It can be achieved through small, consistent, everyday changes that cumulatively will optimize your job performance and overall well-being. But keep in mind that achieving a work-life balance is a journey and that your needs will be different at different times in your life.

Set aside some time to reflect on your current work-life balance. What you would like it to be? And what is the plan to get there?

Making the Grade: Interview Skills for Students

By Sophomore year, most college students start to consider their major and look for an internship as a way to try things on and see what fits. Internships are an opportunity to take the knowledge learned in the classroom and apply it to the workplace - a great way to truly test drive a career. Aside from gaining experience, skills, perspective, and professional connections, an internships is a foot in the door and can be a giant step toward a post-college position.

But landing an internship is a highly competitive process. The hope of gaining an advantage for future employment has increased both the number and quality of internship applications. Companies eliminate the first round of candidates based on their resumes and then use the interview process to make the final cut. So, if a candidate is lucky enough to be granted an interview, it's important to step it up and make it count. Students are given general advice and resources at their college career centers, but at Ty Boyd, we are taking it to another level.

Responding directly to feedback received from our clients, our faculty worked extensively to develop an interactive approach to student career development. In our newest course, Making the Grade: Interview Skills for Students, we provide a career toolkit; an opportunity to practice mock interviews and elevator speeches. Our classroom atmosphere provides a safe environment to try out and improve interviewing skills before applying for an actual internship or job. With the help of our coaches, students who have great stories to tell will learn how to articulate their abilities in the best way possible. The key to getting the job is knowing yourself, knowing your strengths, and then being able to articulate your value.

College students are juggling school work and other commitments while applying for internships, but it's important to set aside productive time to prepare and practice for the interview process. It can make all the difference in the world as employers hire students who are confident, relaxed, and ready to meet challenges.

Making the Grade is being offered as two consecutive afternoon sessions on December 18th and 19th in Charlotte. The class is limited to 12 college students to ensure that each participant receives one-on-one coaching, as well as practice and training in a group setting. Throughout the course we will get the students up on their feet in front of an audience, as well as a video camera. The feedback they receive will show them where their strengths lie, and where they may need to improve their performance. If you have a college age intern, family member or friend who wants to get a leg up on the competition, please tell them about our course.

How They Will Benefit:

• Learn to make a good first impression
• Stand out from the crowd
• Think on one's feet and become more fluent in the ability to answer questions
• Envision a future and articulate a plan without sounding scripted
• Strengthen overall communications skills both verbal and non-verbal
• Become more self-confident through plenty of practice and candid feedback
• Recognize strengths which will result in greater self-awareness
• Become more passionate about who you they are and what they have to offer

Visit our website to register for December's class. Regardless of where a student interns or where he or she might go after graduation, the time spent with the coaches at Ty Boyd working on  communication skills will put any student on the road to a lifetime of professional success.

The Pursuit of Eloquence

Knowing how to speak well is one of the most important skills that you can learn. Speaking eloquently means communicating all that is necessary with simplicity and grace, with enthusiasm and passion, and with an underlying force of persuasion. Eloquence is being fluent in not only what you say, but how you say it so that your audience is captivated, inspired and motivated.

Whether you are trying to grow a business, raise money for a charitable organization, or present to your colleagues, when you speak eloquently with confidence and clarity - people listen. Not everybody is born with the ability to speak eloquently, but as we've mentioned before in this blog, everybody has the capacity to improve their skills. Leaders who rest on their laurels without making an effort to refine and develop their communication skills will not be leaders for long. Those who can communicate eloquently are more likely to become leaders - and eloquent leaders are the ones who become respected and revered.

The good news is, the language of leadership can be learned. At Ty Boyd, Inc. we have the communication resources that you need: classes to attend and professional coaches to increase your capabilities. Your goal is to maximize your skills though knowledge, preparation, rehearsal and performance and our goal is to help you every step of the way.

Aaron Sorkin: Mr. Conversation

Do you find that when listening to an articulate speaker, you not only admire that person, but you also feel connected and almost attracted to that person? Don't be alarmed, it's not as weird as it sounds. An articulate speaker is self-confident, self-assured, charismatic and creates a rapport with the audience - a connection. If you are a sucker for linguistic brilliance, you may already be a fan of (or maybe even attracted to) Aaron Sorkin.

Sorkin is an Academy and Emmy-award winning screenwriter whose works include The West Wing, A Few Good Men, Charlie Wilson's War, The Social Network, Moneyball and The Newsroom. His trademark dialogue is highly literate as well as funny, reflective, and chock full of facts. Most of us would be thrilled to sound half as lucid as one of Sorkin's fictional characters; his brand of brilliant rapid-fire dialogue makes his audience feel smarter for just having heard it. In fact, Sorkin's ability to take a complex concept and have his characters discuss it in a way that his audience understands it is one of his finest skills.

At this year's Emmy Awards on September 24th, Jeff Daniels scored his first Emmy as lead actor in a drama for his role as acclaimed but troubled news anchor Will McAvoy in Sorkin's HBO drama The Newsroom. When asked what it is like to perform Sorkin's words, Daniels admitted that after two seasons he still grapples with managing the rhythm of Sorkin's heavy-detailed dialogue:

"Every two weeks, we get 80 to 85 pages. We want it to feel like these words are just falling out of our mouths. That's the trick. But we work hard at it to make it look natural and spontaneous."

Asked about his ability to talk like one of his fictional characters, Sorkin has this to say:

"I haven't met anyone who can. When I write these things, I'm alone in a room for a very long time, and I get to rewrite them, and I get to think for a long time about what's going to be said. If I get on a roll, then I can write a conversation like that without stopping, but I can't do it when talking to a real person. That's not who I am in real life."

Over the years Aaron Sorkin has given us a vast array of sharp, witty characters who have not only mastered that snap, crackle, pop dialogue, but are able to deliver it with a blend of humor and intellect. Vulture, the entertainment destination from the team behind New York magazine, has ranked Sorkin's TV characters here. Enjoy.

What Are People Saying about George Saunders?

Over the last few weeks, college students have been heading back to school, so it hardly seems like the appropriate time to discuss 2013 commencement speeches, but that's precisely what I'm about to do.

The text of the speech given by writer George Saunders back in May at Syracuse University's graduation was printed in The New York Times Magazine on August 21, 2013. It didn't take long before the speech was posted on hundreds of social networks and blogs and emailed all over the internet. This resulted in Random House announcing that it would publish an expanded version of the speech in book form in the Spring of 2014. "Congratulations, By the Way," will hit book stores just in time for the next commencement season. But don't wait until then to read the speech.

Audiences connect with Saunder's theme and are drawn in by how passionately he believes in what he is saying. Sincere belief makes the difference between a good speech and a great speech. Saunders' words are motivating and inspiring - in fact - his speech is good enough to perhaps make you rethink how you're living your life. It's the speech that keeps on giving; a beautiful and simple reminder to be kinder:

So here's something I know to be true, although it's a little corny, and I don't quite know what to do with it:

What I regret most in my life are failures of kindness.

Those moments when another human being was there, in front of me, suffering, and I responded...sensibly. Reservedly. Mildly. It's a little facile, maybe and certainly hard to implement, but I'd say, as a goal in life, you could  do worse than that: Try to be kinder.

So, what are people saying about George Saunders? He attracted a lot of media attention earlier this year with his bestselling short story collection Tenth of December. The New York Times called it the "Best Book You'll Read This Year." A few months later his speech gained traction and people are once again talking about George Saunders. Considering his simple plea for people to "Be Kind", I would say that's a pretty good person to be talking about.

What Are Your Clients Saying about You?

Throughout our communications courses and coaching sessions, Ty Boyd's faculty solicits feedback through conversations to ensure that they are making an impact with our clients. At the end of each course, we ask our clients to fill out a written evaluation form to help us ascertain our success and to determine whether or not there are any unmet needs. And we continue our customer conversations via Facebook, Twitter, and our blog.

 
For over 30 years, this feedback has provided us with constructive suggestions and opportunities to see things from a variety of perspectives. The questions we ask focus on the entire Ty Boyd experience and the answers we receive have helped us tailor our services to meet our clients' demands.  

At Ty Boyd, our customers are our partners and we believe in nurturing those relationships. We are in the communications business and we strive to practice what we preach:

• we ask our customers what is important to them
• we find out why our customers do business with us
• we determine what a customer's expectations are

On our feedback forms, we leave plenty of space for comments because if you ask the right questions, you just might be lucky enough to discover factors that you'd never even considered. It's all about communicating.

What are your clients saying about you? Let the communication experts at Ty Boyd help you foster the relationship between your organization and your customers.

Watch an Old Movie

According to the Book of Lists, public speaking ranks number one in the category of what we fear. For the majority of people, above the fear of death, comes the fear of standing in front of an audience. Until, that is, they are at the beach. Queue the Jaws music. (It's amazing how two notes played on a tuba can elevate fear.)

I first saw Jaws when I was 11 years old. For years, I was terrified of getting into water of any kind - rivers, lakes, swimming pools, bathtubs - for fear that a Great White shark would pull me under and snack on my right leg. And, yes, I knew it wasn't possible for sharks to survive in fresh water, but my fear knows no logic. Steven Spielberg's timeless classic about a killer shark might be irrational fear, but it gets me every time. Thirty-eight years later I still cannot go into the ocean without trepidation.

But, while a shark attack is undoubtedly a very scary thing, it is incredibly rare. Did you know that you are more likely to die falling out of bed? That's right - you are actually safer in the open water than you are in your own bed. Every year in the United States alone, about 450 people die falling out of bed. But how many times have I worried about my bed killing me? Never. Not once. Shouldn't I be more afraid of things that can actually happen? Why is it that we as humans have a tendency to fear worst case scenarios - things that usually do not happen?

Let's take the fear of public speaking: what is it that people actually fear about speaking in front of a crowd? Worst case scenario: being laughed off the stage, being booed, being bombarded with rotten eggs and tomatoes. But does that really ever happen? Outside of the movies? If you can make peace with the worst case scenario, you will take much of the fear out of the fear of public speaking.

Here's the truth about fear:

• Fear only controls you when you give into it
• The simple task of walking through your fear - doing what you fear, then doing it again - transforms your fear into courage
• Fear is a habit. You can establish a new habit by faking it until you make it
• Your fear rarely shows. And when it does show, it shows less than you think
• Fear is rooted in perfectionism - accept that you are human and remember that vulnerability is an asset in effective communication.
• Fear is normal
• Fear can be transformed into one of your greatest tools...

At Ty Boyd, Inc., we help our clients disarm their fear and make it work for them. You can survive even your worst-case scenario; preparation and practice will see you through it. Give us a call, we'd love to help.

Read a Good Book

Susan Cain author of Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking

If you haven't read Susan Cain's Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking you need to add it to your summer reading list. We are a nation of extroverts, at least, that's how we perceive ourselves, but depending on which study you consult, one-third to one-half of Americans are introverts. As Susan Cain describes it, they are the ones who prefer listening to speaking, who are not comfortable with self-promotion and who prefer working on their own, over working in teams.

In Quiet, Cain argues that we dramatically undervalue introverts and shows how much we lose in doing so. She charts the rise of the extrovert ideal throughout the twentieth century and explores how deeply it has come to permeate our culture. She also introduces us to successful introverts - from a witty, high-octane public speaker who recharges in solitude after his talks, to a record-breaking salesman who quietly taps into the power of questions. Passionately argued, superbly researched, and filled with indelible stories of real people, Quiet has the power to permanently change how we see introverts and, equally important, how they see themselves. - Amazon.com

Cain admits to having a complicated relationship with public speaking. Back when she was in law school, the mere thought of giving a lecture used to make her throw up. After writing her book about introverts, she wanted to share the ideas as passionately as she could - and that meant speaking at events and book signings. She was determined to become the best and bravest speaker that she could be. She likened it to an Olympic event except, "instead of protein shakes and weightlifting, I'll be getting all the public speaking practice and media training that I can."

Here's what Cain has to say about public speaking:

"It's OK to pretend a little when you're up on stage. Who cares if you're not a natural storyteller? You can craft your stories beforehand, practice them, and share them - for the brief moment that the spotlight is on you. Then you can step offstage and go right back to being yourself. But in the meantime, you had the chance to change a whole audience full of hearts and minds. And there's nothing more authentic than that."

Cain's record-smashing TED talk has been viewed more than 3 million times and was named by Bill Gates as one of his all-time favorite TED talks and by the New Yorker magazine as one of the five key talks. Watching the video, you'd never guess that Susan Cain would prefer listening to speaking.

Meet Bill Whitley

Bill Whitley has been facilitating courses along side the coaches at Ty Boyd for years. His latest collaboration will be co-facilitating Ty Boyd's newest course, Sell With a Story: Powerful Sales Presentations that Captivate, Connect and Create Action. An accomplished sales and marketing expert, Bill has a gift of making complex topics simple, visual and easy to understand. Using a blend of humor and insightful stories, he teaches how to fully engage clients by developing long-term, high value relationships.

Whitley will tell you that it all begins with a story - a customer attraction story. It's one of the most elusive business skills, and yet, one of the most important. Being able to communicate your worth and persuade your clients and colleagues is one of the most sought after traits in the business world. In a typical organization, a lot of time and money is spent on marketing, branding and generating leads with the intent to open dialogue with prospects. And yet, not nearly as much is invested in teaching people how to communicate and engage in business relationships. If you understand the steps involved in a compelling customer attraction story, the rest will fall into place.

Here is an example of a customer attraction story told in Bill's own words....

I'll never forget my interview with Mike a top insurance agent who had been with a major carrier for over 25 years. I asked a simple, but difficult question, "Can you give me an example of a client that had a problem, where you were able to help with a brilliant solution and they got great results?"

Mike paused for a moment and then said, "Well, yes, one of my clients is a college professor. He's a nice guy. He's a smart guy. He was driving home from work one day and it started to rain. He pulled up to a stop light to make a right on red, looked left and saw that there was no oncoming traffic, and started making his right turn. At that time, a guy was running across the street to get out of the rain - my client didn't see him and hit him with his car." 

Then Mike paused and said, "$900,000 later, the last medical bill was paid. Fortunately, one year before the accident, my client bought a million dollar personal umbrella policy from me. Now every time I see this client, he stops to thank me for selling him that policy."

"Wow, that's a great example," I said. Then Mike added, "If he hadn't bought that personal umbrella policy, here's what would have happened. First, he would have exhausted all of his savings trying to pay off that guy's medical bills. I know how much he's got, and he doesn't have $900,000. Once he had exhausted all of his savings, he would have gone into debt, and then finally, when the debt burden became too great, he would have had to declare bankruptcy. But because he had that one policy, there was no financial impact at all."

Perfect example of a customer attraction story. In fact, Mike's story was so vivid that it moved me to action. My agent works for the same carrier as Mike. He has insured my home and cars for the last twenty years, but for the first time I realized the value of having a personal umbrella policy. The next day, I called him and bought a five million dollar personal umbrella policy.

Prior to the start of Sell With a Story, Bill will schedule a conference call to discuss your personal relevant story. Over the two day course, you will and master your story so that you can easily insert it into a conversation and use it to your benefit for those rare unplanned opportunities that could change the course of your career. 

The goal of an effective communicator is to make a meaningful contribution to an audience. Sell With a Story will help you achieve that goal.

Surviving and Thriving in Your Career

In today's workplace you are expected to stay on top of your game while working positively and productively with all types of personalities and communication styles. If you aren't learning new skills and acquiring new knowledge, you risk the chance of falling behind your peers. That's why you owe it to yourself to take charge of your professional development.


It's easy to be complacent about professional development when you are gainfully employed, especially if it isn't required by your company. But, making an effort to grow professionally not only helps you in your current role, it will help you in the future. Don't do it for your boss, do it for you.

Here are 5 ways to grow professionally - either with or without the help of your current employer:

• Take a course. Concentrate on developing soft skills that are relevant across a variety of industries and positions - they have the biggest bang for your buck. Today's economy puts a new premium on people skills and relationship building. Are you both verbally articulate and a good listener? Can you deliver your message and express yourself in a way that builds bridges with colleagues and clients? If you need help in this department, consider attending one of the courses at Ty Boyd. 

• Find a mentor or coach. Identify somebody who is willing to give you guidance and advice. An on-going relationship with a professional coach who can give honest feedback can be an invaluable investment.

•  Read. There are hundreds of books and blogs and articles on the Internet that can shine a new light on your industry. The more you know, the easier it is to position yourself as someone who is knowledgeable in your group - an industry expert. It also helps to read things outside of your realm of experience as you may be able to apply something to your business. Consider reading Ty Boyd's The Million Dollar Toolbox and let it be a blueprint for transforming your life and career with powerful communication skills.

• Get involved with an industry organization. And don't just attend - join a committee. And commit to commenting and speaking at the meetings. Challenge yourself to bring more awareness to your public speaking in every day interactions.

• Get LinkedIn with Ty Boyd. Update your profile, get in touch with people in your industry as well as old colleagues. Who knows - a great opportunity may be out there for the taking.

Why You Fear Public Speaking

For over 30 years we have worked with clients who have a fear of public speaking. In our experience, eliminating the fear is not possible. And, believe it or not, it isn't even desirable. What we give our clients is a way to change the way they think about, and therefore the way they react to fear. We help eliminate the voice in their head that says they can't do it, by coaching them to identify and develop the skills they already have to become master communicators. Our clients learn not to let fear control them, but rather how to control the fear. The process transforms people, their careers and their sense of self.

Along the way, the coaches at Ty Boyd Executive Communications & Coaching have become experts in identifying what it is that contributes to the anxiety associated with public speaking. Here is our list:

• The need to be perfect: If your benchmark is to be perfect, you'll probably fail every time. Doing your best is an attainable goal, being perfect is not. The goal of your presentation should be to connect with your audience, not the perfection of your speech. Being perfect is the number one contributor to emotionally crippling fear.

• Forgetting your speech: Your goal is to remember the key points of your presentation, not to memorize it word for word. You are the only one who knows what you are going to say and chances are the audience will not notice if you forget something. Practice. Practice in front of a mirror, practice in front of a friend, practice until you are confident that you know your material and then stop worrying about forgetting something.
• The need to be the smartest person in the room : Your goal as the presenter is to create a powerful presentation that captivates, connects and creates action with your audience. There may be people in the audience that may be more knowledgeable about the topic, but they will not have your perspective.
• Appearing nervous: You may feel your heart beating out of your chest, but if you don't tell your audience, they can't see it. Our perceptions about ourselves are not always accurate. We feel nervous, so we think we look it, but the truth is, most of us don't show our nerves. And confidence and nervousness are not mutually exclusive: you can feel nervous on the inside but still have confidence.
• Not knowing the answer to a question:You are not expected to know every answer to every question. Admitting that you don't know an answer is not a sign of failure. Practice by thinking of all the questions that you might be asked, but during your rehearsals also practice saying, "I don't know, but I will research the question and get back to you."

If you want to be the most effective communicator that you can be, you need to put your fear to work for you. A lot of energy is generated from fear and fear can actually become your ally. At Ty Boyd, we help you manage fear and turn it into your most powerful speaking tool.

The Yoga of Public Speaking

In a previous post, I wrote about what yoga and public speaking have in common. It turns out that some of my favorite public speakers are yoga instructors. The best of the best not only guide their class through a physical workout, they impart ideas and words of wisdom to their students. They are communicators in the truest sense of the word. Some use metaphors, others incorporate personal stories, some add humor and others communicate with silence - until the silence is broken with a meaningful take on life. A great yoga instructor, like a great public speaker, doesn't talk for the sake of talking, they make every word count.

When we coach our clients at Ty Boyd, we make sure they understand that speaking isn't about the speaker, it's about the audience. And when we say it's about the audience, we don't mean impressing the audience with polished communication skills, we mean providing a meaningful message that benefits the audience and inspires them to act. Effective communication is creating an experience and connecting with people. And of course, the best yoga instructors know this to be true.

In our Excellence in Speaking course we refer to filler words as non-words and blogged about their lack of effectiveness here. A compelling yoga instructor understands the importance of clear communication when giving cues on how to flow from one pose to the next. Phrases like, "now begin to," and "now go ahead and" are fillers that offer no help to yogis who are listening to their instructor for guidance and instruction. To be effective, yoga teachers concentrate on the tone and the tempo of their voice. They speak loud and clear and are aware that an energetic voice can inspire a student to release further into a pose. These same tools are what great public speakers rely on when addressing an audience.

Each instructor has a unique teaching style that draws on personal experiences and preferences and emphasizes different aspects of yoga. But there is one commonality that you will find in every great yoga instructor and that is the ability to communicate well. 

Why Develop Your Public Speaking Skills?

Employment experts agree that while technical skills may get you an interview, soft skills will get you the job and will help you keep it. Employers look for people who can effectively work as part of a team. That means an employee who can express himself well during a presentation and has the ability to listen to and persuade others in a conversation.

One of the biggest career mistakes you can make is focusing on the development of your hard skills without being aware of how critical building confidence while developing effective public speaking skills are to your profession life. Of course academics, technical skills and experience are vital to your success, but if you think that public speaking is important only in an obscure or abstract way, it's time to think again. Learning to be an effective speaker can be the difference between success and failure.

The truth of the matter is, when people have similar talents and are competing for the same position or the same opportunity, the real differentiator is one's ability to communicate. This skill enables you to quickly connect and build rapport, earn respect, gain influence and become more likable and accepted. This is just as important in your personal life as it is in your professional life. 

There are many reasons to develop your public speaking skills. Here are just a few:

• Learning to speak well in public increases your self confidence and prepares you to meet future challenges

• The skills you will develop by learning to be an effective speaker will boost your performance in the office and at home

• Practicing your public speaking on a regular basis makes you more comfortable around other people

• By sharing information with others through public speaking, you will be better able to increase the impact of your goals 

• Mastering your public speaking skills will help you fine-tune your everyday verbal and non-verbal skills

• Public speaking is a true career booster and extremely relevant to overall job success

The good news is, like any skill, communication skills can be learned. But they are not something that you can study in a book and get better. Improvement takes practice. Practice, practice, practice. It's about changing yourself, your perception and your approach. Once you do that, people's reaction of you will change, as well. Let the folks at Ty Boyd help you improve your public speaking skills. 

Communication Skills That Will Get You Promoted

Having the right technical skills, a stellar job performance, and the ability to influence key people in your organization will help get you recognized and promoted. But according to a year-long study by the Center for Talent Innovation, these qualities aren't a guarantee. Leadership roles are often given to employees who look and act the part. And looking and acting the part is conveyed through one's communication skills.

These six communication skills were deemed to be the most important by director-level executives:

No. 1: Public Speaking Skills:

The ability to speak in public was identified as the most important communication skill. Leaders must have the confidence and the capacity to speak to large groups as well as to speak one-on-one. 

No. 2: The Ability to Take Command of a Room:

The person who walks into a room and owns it is others-focused. You do not have to be born with the ability to charismatically command a room, it is a skill that can be learned.

No. 3: Assertiveness:

A person who can speak up with confidence without being confrontational is looked at as a leader and somebody worthy of promotion.

No. 4: Emotional Intelligence:

Good listening skills, empathy, eye contact and the ability to make others feels valued and understood go a long way in both the business world and in your personal life.

No. 5: Sense of Humor:
Employers aren't looking for somebody who can tell a good joke, but evidence of light-heartedness and the ability to lighten up a tough situation and excel at casual conversation is valued.

No. 6: Good Posture and Body Language:
Your words alone do not do the job. The way you stand and position yourself also speak volumes. 

Leaders need to be able to get their visions and goals across to people. Words are just words if they're not effectively communicated. Let the coaches at Ty Boyd help you advance both your career and your life by becoming a more effective communicator.

Ty Boyd's Top 10 Communication Goals

Anne Boyd-Moore, CEO of Ty Boyd, Inc.

Whether you're speaking at a sales conference, giving a wedding toast, talking to a colleague, or having a discussion with your teenage son, there will be a time this week when you will address an audience. It doesn't matter if you are speaking to one person or one hundred people, there is nothing more exhilarating than to feel that you are in command when speaking. Being able to communicate your worth and persuade your clients, colleagues and kids is one of the most sought after traits.

At Ty Boyd, we offer an array of courses and coaching opportunities that go beyond simple mechanical instruction; we provide a personal empowerment experience. Our coaches help the novice speaker with the basics of effective communication and help the experienced communicator to become that much more effective.

Nothing gets done in business or in your personal life without communication. If you want your relationships to improve, make it your goal to hone your communication skills.

Anne Boyd-Moore, CEO of Ty Boyd Executive Communications & Coaching, provides this list of communication goals:

1. Listen: Give people your undivided attention. Listening shows that you respect the person and what the person has to say.
2. Speak up: What you think matters and communication is a two way street. 
3. Inspire and Motivate: There are countless, informal ways to convey your passion to those around you. This should be done everyday, not just at a sales meeting or a performance review.
4. Follow up: Stay connected with phone calls, emails and face to face conversations.
   
5. Be Genuine: Discover your own communication style, the style that comes most naturally to you, the one that taps into your strengths and that you can then build on.
6. Address a concern before it becomes an issue: Address it head on - offer a solution, be open to alternatives, and stay positive.
7. Learn to tell a good story: Research shows that people are 20 times more likely to remember a fact when it's part of a story. Practice telling positive stories using simple, direct language.
8. Focus on the audience, not on yourself:  A good communicator discovers what the audience needs and serves that purpose. Think of each talk that you give as a dialogue, not a monologue.
9. Don't confuse excellence with perfection: Doing your best is an attainable goal, being perfect, is not. One assures failure, the other, with lots of effort, creates success.
10. Practice, hone, and always improve: Preparation is a habit of excellence. If you practice, you will be ready. You will be effective. You will succeed as a communicator.

Communication is a powerful tool that gives you the ability to inspire and energize those around you. Make it your goal to always look for ways to sharpen your communication skills.

Why It Still Pays to Meet in Person

No matter what industry we are in, we are all in the people business. Forming relationships with our clients and colleagues is a vital part of success in any field. While it might be more convenient and perhaps more economical to text, email or Skype, nothing beats the power of a face-to-face connection. It's the best way to explore and build consensus and encourage discussion. How else can we expect to get to know one another?

But sitting across the table from someone, sharing a glass of wine or a cup of coffee seems to have become a luxury. Some suggest that our nation wouldn't have found itself on the edge of a fiscal cliff if our President cultivated more personal relationships with members of Congress. The same can be said of both the Republicans and Democrats in Congress: if our politicians committed to socializing across party lines, discussing and forging personal relationships, it might help build trust and lead to solutions. 

Lyndon Johnson used to invite 20 members of Congress to dinner every week. They brought their spouses and Lady Bird would give them a tour of the White House before dinner. By the end of his term, Johnson knew every member of Congress and members of Congress knew each other. These face-to-face meetings helped build relationships that helped Congress carry out the business of the nation.

How you say something is often more powerful than what you say. The subtle nuances of communications - body language, gestures, facial expression, tone of voice - cannot be translated into a text or an email. In fact, sometimes your words can be misinterpreted when then are typed rather than spoken.

Information can be shared virtually, but when it's done in person, it helps to build long-lasting relationships and trust that will inevitably grow your business. The bottom line is that today's technology can help us on our journey to becoming master communicators by providing an addition, not a replacement, for face-to-face communication.

Are You Addicted to PowerPoint?

If you use PowerPoint when speaking to an audience, understand that PowerPoint is not the presentation, it is simply an enhancement to the presentation. 

With that said, don't even think about writing your entire speech on the slides. PowerPoint is not a teleprompter, nor is it an alternative to a written report. The slides should be meaningless without your commentary. And when using bullet points, limit yourself to 3 bullets per slide. And consider - strongly consider - incorporating graphics and pictures to avoid dull, wordy, bullet point ridden slides. And do not, not even for one minute, turn your back to the audience and read the slides. In other words, don't let PowerPoint become your crutch. Slides with lots of bells and whistles give your audience something to look at, but they also give them an excuse to not listen. 

It's hard to imagine professional business presentations done without PowerPoint. That's why I'm challenging you to present - just once - without it. Without PowerPoint, you can be the visual effect and the sound effect of your presentation. And perhaps your audience will be more interested in what you have to say since there won't be any slides to distract them? It will mean that as the presenter, you need to be well-prepared and well-versed in your topic. Or course, you should always be well-prepared and well-versed, but taking the crutch of PowerPoint away makes it that much more important.

But if you can't go cold turkey, and insist on using PowerPoint, at least strive to be more visually interesting to engage your audience.When Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos unveiled Kindle Fire HD he wanted to stress that the new and improved e-reader had an 8 week battery life. He could have added that feature to a long list of bullet points. Instead, he chose a graphic to make his point. On one of his PowerPoint slides, he showed a calendar with the months September and October. September 6, which was the day of his presentation, was highlighted in red. Bezos explained that if turned on during his presentation, the Kindle Fire's 8 week battery would last until the end of October. That's a powerful image that most likely will not be forgotten.

Used properly and prudently, PowerPoint does a fabulous job - if you remember that it is not designed to be the star of the show.