The More Difficult the Conversation, the Greater Use of Your Gifts

Lately I have been talking with law firm managing partners, business developers, recruiters/career coaches and others in professional service industries - all around the common denominator of handling/not handling difficult conversations.

These conversations include but are not limited to

• interviewing/firing
• sales/purchasing
• conflict resolution
• negotiation/argument strategy
• admitting error/holding others to account

It seems the tougher the conversation, the more practiced we must be in using our gifts.

Are You Cut Out for Public Speaking?

Earlier I posted a comment on my personal facebook page: "I am an introvert on the move." And many people who know me well responded, "You aren't an introvert!"

How is it that people who know us well can get such a huge thing wrong: whether we are an introvert or extrovert? Maybe you'd be surprised by the answer - because we so often practice extroverted traits. Especially those behaviors of getting in front of audiences. Maybe most people think introverts aren't cut out for getting in front of audiences.

If you think you're out of practice

Ever feel you just can't make enough improvements because you don't get enough practice? Many speakers would agree this is something that holds them back. And to a degree, I understand. Yet I also know this type thinking is an example of narrow application.

Many litigators have told me a similar tale. They focus their energies on the argument and the strategy yet can't get enough presentation  practice. Their inability to learn key techniques and then apply them to regular life prohibits their presentation and just may be prohibiting their practice. One presentation basic, being clear, can be practiced in many daily ways.

Getting the Introvert into Practice

In Cypris Chat I ran across an article on Readers' Theatre Circle written by Professor Merryman. In the article Merryman focuses on the exploratory activity of gathering folks together to read aloud cinema scripts, focusing on intonation, timing and other conversational and improvisational elements. As a theatre director and performer, I recall doing similar things and getting such creative insight as a result.

Of late, I made use of a variation on the activity to build my confidence prior to presenting a teleseminar.