I Have a Dream!

So what are you doing about yours?

Recently I have had people ask me what my dreams are – when I tell them they say – wow, I really admire your courage. Then I turn the question around and ask them what their dreams are.  Many of them tell me they would love to travel the world or change their job or ask that lovely girl or boy out on a date.  Then they caveat their dream with the words “…. but I can’t do that, or That’s Impossible or I won’t ever make enough money”.

This is when I want to SHOUT from the rooftops – Dreams are just the beginning of something really special!  If we act on them we realise just how wonderful our lives can be and what differences we can make to our families, our friends and even the world around us.  Taking steps to make our dreams come true is not always easy and there may be consequences.

I Have a Dream!

Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his speech entitled “I Have a Dream” on 28 August 1963, at the Lincoln Memorial, Washington D.C.  A small sample of his speech follows:

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the colour of their skin but by the content of their character.

And when this happens, when we allow freedom to ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God’s children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual:

Free at last!  Free at last!  Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!

This was a turning point in American History as well as International History and a speech that will forever be remembered by those who cherish freedom for all.

So what would have happened to our world if Martin Luther King, Jr. had decided not to pursue his dream?  What if he allowed the words ‘I CAN’T MAKE A DIFFERENCE’ enter into his vocabulary?  I truly believe if that had happened we would be living in a very different world. But because he never gave up and continued to follow his belief he eventually gave the ultimate sacrifice for his dream – he gave his life.

Do you have a Dream and what are you doing about it?  Now, I’m not saying that you should give your life in order for your dream to become a reality.  What I am asking you to do is to start allowing yourself to verbalise your dreams and think about how you can make them come alive.

A few simple steps to help you make this happen include:

1-     Remove the words “I CAN’T, I WON”T, IT”S IMPOSSIBLE” from your vocabulary

2-     Replace them with “I CAN, I WILL, and EVERYTHING IS POSSIBLE”.

3-     Recognise your dream – say it out loud on a daily basis

4-     Find a picture of it and put it on the fridge to remind you

5-     Visualise yourself carrying out your dream

6-     When opportunities present themselves relating to your dream – act on them

7-     Set a date to when you believe you will accomplish your dream

I would love to hear about your success!  Let me know how things progress!

NOTE:  On the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, King evoked the name of Lincoln in his “I Have a Dream” speech, which is credited with mobilizing supporters of desegregation and prompted the 1964 Civil Rights Act. The next year, King was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

A picture’s worth a thousand words . . .

. . .or are a thousand words worth a picture?

Words or Pictures!

So which do you prefer – ‘A picture’s worth a thousand words.’ Or ‘A thousand words are worth a picture.’  I’ve been pondering this question after attending Speak Easy @ Martlesham, a speakers’ club meeting during the week.  The evening was all about how we progress in our speech development by way of focusing on different skills each time we deliver a speech. On this occasion we were privileged to hear four different speeches that varied in style, content, structure and performance.

I love listening to people’s stories and experiences and there was one speech that resonated with me the most because it included very descriptive and flowery language.  It was almost like being read a story.  When I was little I loved having a bedtime story read to me.  It always mesmerised me that I could conjure up pictures in my mind to follow the story.  It made the story come alive and I felt like I was a part of it.

Can you do this for work presentations or for social events as well?  My answer is – ‘Why not?’  If you are able to get your message across by building a story around it then people will remember you and the presentation more readily.  They will be able to relate and empathise with your words.

For example, I have a friend named Shane Allum who signed up for a charity fundraiser to Peru where the group of volunteers were going to build a school and provide access to clean water for the village. The hardest part for Shane was to explain to people why he wanted to go and why it was important to go.  This was even more difficult because he had no experience of the country. Not until he was able to paint a picture through imagery did he begin to connect with his audience.  This is an example of what I’ve taken away from him:

The only way to reach the village was to travel along bumpy dirt tracks that caused the coach to jostle and jerk throwing us against the sides leaving us bruised and battered.  After arriving at the destination we were hot, sweaty and covered in the dust from our journey only to be told it was time to start digging foundations for the school that would accommodate 30 local children.  These children were anxious to meet the teenagers from England who were coming to help them.  Their faces were full of smiles and twinkling eyes and their voices were squeals of excitement!  They knew that these young people from England were special even without meeting us.

Shane’s experience has changed him beyond words and when he tells his story of Peru he uses pictures to assist him. Shane is now preparing to head off to Tanzania and if you want to know more about this journey please visit his Charity Page www.charitygiving.co.uk/shanea

So which do I prefer – Picture or Words? I believe that we gain value from both media outputs – Words and Pictures.  The more we can bring our stories to life with descriptive words the more we can connect with those who are listening.  The pictures in our minds as well as on the video screen help us conjure up the full story!

NOTE: The History of ‘A Picture is worth a thousand words’. In fact, the literal translation is: A Picture’s Meaning Can Express Ten Thousand Words.  You will hear that most people believe it to be a Chinese proverb attributed to Confucius, however, it originates from an ad that appeared in the advertising trade journal then called Printers’ Ink (now known as Marketing/Communications) in 1921 and 1927.  Fred Barnard decided to make the ad more compelling by referring to the phrase as a Chinese Proverb. Paul Martin Lester, Professor, Department of Communication at Cal State University.

Eye to Eye Contact!

I was looking at you - you were looking at me!

Eye to Eye Contact

What will you be doing on New Year’s Eve – will you walk into a room and hide in the corner or will you walk in the room and own it!

A great song called ‘Contact’ by Edwin Starr says it all – Across the crowded disco-room, oh your eyes told me the story, my heart was beating like the drum as I walked my way over. Eye to eye contact, we made eye to eye contact.  I was looking at you, you were looking at me!

I can remember dancing to that song (now I’m showing my age) but it is so true.  Eye to eye contact is powerful in both social and business environments.  In social gatherings like New Year’s Eve most people will walk into the room and scout it out to see who is there and who they want to talk to or get to know better.

In my experience, females tend to be really good at this because they use stealth, undercover and flirtatious techniques. One flirtatious technique many men and women will have witnessed is what I call the ‘Look, Smile, Look Away’ method or the LSLA.  This is where they will allow the person to catch them looking; they will smile and will then look away quickly.  This is the first step to engaging in non-verbal communication and it should be fun!  It’s all about the ‘chase’ in this case!

In a business-networking situation however, you will want to revise this technique to what I will call the ‘Look, Smile, Engage’ method. You will still enter a room and scout it out to see who is there and whom you want and need to speak to.  However, once you have been caught ‘looking’ you will smile and then make your way over to them to engage in verbal communication. The eye contact opens the door for you to pitch your business or to find out more about what they are involved with. Sounds so clinical when put this way!  It is all about the ‘catch’ in this case!

So, think about your Eye to Eye Contact in the next few days – at that New Year’s Eve party think about the LSLA technique – when you get back to work remember to change your Eye to Eye contact to the LSE method or you may get more than you bargained for!

Check out Teresa’s Workshops coming up and see if you can improve your Eye to Eye contact plus so much more!

Small talk for Christmas!

Merry Christmas to you all!  2009 has been a great year and one I will always hold dear with fond memories, challenging opportunities and great times with so many dear friends!

The Christmas season is such a special time of the year and one when we are called upon to share our life with our friends, families, colleagues and at times strangers.  I always look forward to meeting up with people I haven’t seen for a while and also meeting new people I hope to call friends!

These gatherings can be really great fun but they can also be really daunting if you struggle to find the words to make small talk.  With people we know it’s an easy thing to do, however, when we encounter someone new it can be hard to find just the right phrase to start off the conversation.  So, what if you didn’t have to find words to engage with someone new?

My sister has always told me that I know no strangers!  I consider this a great compliment because I love making new friends and getting to know them even if it is for just a short time.  So, whenever I am invited to attend a party or event, when I walk into the room I always ensure that I have a smile on my face.  You see, a smile is contagious and it actually invites people to say hello to you.  Something as simple as a smile can change your entire attitude and also the attitude of those you come in contact with.   This one simple facial gesture could open a conversation with someone really exciting and special.

So during this festive season when you’re running from store to store to finish off your Christmas shopping or you have just turned up to that Christmas work party – remember to put a smile on your face and see how much fun you will have, how many new friends you will make and how you will no longer struggle to make small talk – it will just happen!