Archive of ‘Speaking Truthfully’ category

24
Mar
2016

Speaking One’s Mind . . .

categories: Speaking Truthfully

Speaking one’s mind is one thing. Speaking truthfully is altogether a different thing. The mind cannot know what is greater and grander than itself; it is from there that speaking truthfully originates. Speaking truthfully is not about content; it is not about POVs and beliefs and positions and arguments and justifications and rationalizations and finger-pointing and fear-mongering and saber-rattling. That is mind. Speaking truthfully originates in awareness itself, in silence, in that which observes the mind from a distance greater than what can be measured. And yet, that which observes the mind is closer than one’s breath, one’s flesh and bones, one’s synapses, even one’s soul. As far from the mind as this awareness is, at the same time it is closer to us than can be measured. This might seem paradoxical. It is, and it isn’t.

This is because Existence, or reality, is layered: dimension upon dimension upon dimension. Speaking truthfully comes from awareness, from silence — and these are so far from the mind that the distance cannot be measured. And yet, awareness and silence are closer to us than can be measured. In the same way, the distance between what mind can understand and perceive and what awareness and silence can understand and perceive cannot be measured. Speaking truthfully is the drumbeat that keeps time for Existence.

Speaking truthfully is the primordial intelligence, the mastermind of creation, expressing itself.

06
Mar
2016

Consider the “attention span” of your audience

categories: Speaking Truthfully

Among the hundreds of people I have worked with in Speaking Truthfully masterclasses and private coaching sessions, few — actually, none — consider the attention span of their audience when preparing and delivering their talks, lectures, seminars, podcasts, etc. Most simply assume their audiences will listen to them for 30 minutes, an hour, two hours. Most want to overwhelm their audiences with information and precious insights and tips and strategies to achieve . . . well, everything from self-realization to weight loss to self-esteem to financial success to merging with the Divine.

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I stress this principle: what might you say that your audience can hear, remember, and easily use given the variables of time and place you have with your audience? How do you purposefully and effectively gain and maintain the complete and wholehearted attention of your audience? How do you prevent your listeners from tuning out, succumbing to an ever-diminishing capacity to pay attention? (more…)

05
Mar
2016

We speak the same language, but then again we don’t!

categories: Society & Culture, Speaking Truthfully
I’ve been working with three clients on creating presentations, one for a workshop and two for conferences. In each case, they presumed that their audiences would have the same understanding, the same reference points, the same backstory of certain key words and ideas as they, the speaker, would have. I always challenge that. Just because we speak the same language does not mean that we speak the same language, if you know what I mean.

Each of my clients is an expert in her field, with decades of study, learning, writing, teaching, and speaking in her area of expertise. So, when a key word or phrase or concept is put forward, she, the speaker, has decades of precise and practical meaning associated with each thing. The presumption is that everyone does. Everyone does not.

We’ve got to take great care to define and illustrate key words and ideas in our presentations, and not just in terms that only we will understand, but that our audience will understand. In many cases, we need a decoder ring, in order to be able to communicate important key words and ideas in a manner that the audience can understand and relate to, easily.

Here’s a pretty hysterical video which pits an Italian man against someone from Malta. Though Italian and Maltese are similar, the characters in the film are speaking English, albeit with accents. They are speaking the same language, but they do not understand each other. Accents aside, is this not too often the case in our own lives?

If you’ve got a presentation coming up, be sure your audience will understand you. If you’re not sure, get in touch with me and I’ll help you out. It’s very important.

Enjoy the video, which is R-rated and not politically correct. Thanks to my friend Amara from Perth for turning me on to this one.

25
Feb
2016

ANGELIC TROUBLEMAKERS: Challenging the Status Quo

categories: Authentic Living, Social Transformation, Speaking Truthfully

A special Speaking Truthfully program!

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ANGELIC TROUBLEMAKERS: Challenging the Status Quo

challenge, v.: dispute the truth or validity of; attempt to do something that one thinks will be difficult or impossible.

status quo, n.: the existing state of affairs, esp. regarding social or political issues, but can include the current state of anything: belief systems, attitudes, organizational cultures, views of reality, racial/gender/sexual stereotypes.

Whistleblowers. Evolutionaries. Revolutionaries. Inventors. Innovators. Activists. Artists. Scientists. Explorers. Educators. Healers. Sexologists.

Challenging the status quo in any realm and domain of human existence is the evolutionary impetus for the civilization of civilization. Challenging the status quo is a supremely creative act, often heroic, sometimes world-changing — whether that act be a private one of personal transformation or a collaborative one for the sake of social justice, scientific discovery, or improved technology. Challenging the status quo is, well, challenging. It takes courage, persistence, intention, resilience, boldness. Many who would speak truthfully about the ways in which they want to challenge a status quo do not. Why? Lack of confidence. Fear of condemnation. Lack of clarity. Unfocused narrative. No plan or strategy.

Angelic Troublemakers is a customized masterclass and/or personalized, private coaching sessions for those who want to challenge the status quo with confidence, clarity, and conviction. With a clear and compelling narrative. With a plan and strategy to promote your idea, project, invention, philosophy, or social action. With someone who has your back.

19
Feb
2016

Do You Have an Orchestra in Your Head?

categories: Authentic Living, Society & Culture, Speaking Truthfully, Spirituality & Religion

(September 24, 2015)

Last week, I experienced two seemingly unrelated events: I facilitated a two-day Speaking Truthfully masterclass and I watched the Oscars on television.

The masterclass focused on authenticity in self-expression — which includes speaking but really is about how you show up in and play the game of life. Basically, we looked at overcoming all manner of known, suspected, and unknown forms of self-suppression preventing us from flying our freak flag of glorious uniqueness. How? By supplanting prior decisions and choices with new ones. Sometimes that’s easier said than done, because the practice of obeying embodied decisions and choices may be very strong indeed. It can be challenging, even daunting, to declare our freedom from tyranny. These habitual patterns of self-suppression actually become the institutionalized taboos against being and expressing your authenticity, your truth, your creative surges and eruptions of universe-disturbing, big bang-like cosmic roaring.

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