PMA For Speakers

PMA stands for Positive Mental Attitude. Speakers need to have PMA to:

1. Visualize presentation success.
2. Radiate Positive Mental energy to your audience.
3. Attract positive situations and success into your life.
4. Look for the silver lining of difficult situations.

Have you ever been attracted to a negative speaker on stage? I doubt it. A speaker who gets in front of you and complains about the weather, his physical health, the inadequacy of his fee, the state of the world and his presentation cannot attract future audiences. No one pays money to share this negativity.

The best speakers implement PMA, every day. Best speakers have energy, are enthusiastic and provide benefits to the audience.

I recently encountered a woman - I will call her Dumpy who stands out because of the NMA (Negative Mental Attitude) she drowns herself in. In Toastmasters we are learning and growing together. Toastmasters are mostly people who have PMA and are bringing good to their audiences through personal stories and humor.

I listened to Dumpy for five minutes (seemed like the Eternity described by Hell-and-Brimstone preachers). Dumpy loudly proclaimed that her employer did not pay her enough money, her desk at work was not suitable for someone with her station in life and the sun shone too brightly.

I believe that Dumpy does not even realize that she is dragging herself into this level of NMA. She is hard to listen to and a drain on her colleagues at the office. I am sure you have met your own version of Dumpy.

On reflection, I wondered why Dumpy shocked me so much. I have come across Dumpy in other people before. Then I realized that I am among Toastmasters with so much PMA that NMA is foreign. This is what makes Dumpy stand out so much - the contrast to most people I interact with each day.

Here is your challenge for today. Are you a Dumpy and not know it? Are you exuding PMA from every pore when you are on the platform? You don't want to hear about a speaker's problems all the time - do you think your audience wants to constantly hear about your adversities? Take some time to reflect - watch some of your recorded speeches. Look for PMA and NMA.


P.S. Dumpy is not a Toastmaster yet. I will report out her reaction when I ask her to attend an Open House at my Toastmaster club this week.