November_2009_Newsletter

Pow'Rful Presentations Newsletter

November 2009 - Simple Self Coaching Tips

Pow'Rful Presentations is a relatively monthly investigation of ideas, strategies and techniques to assist readers be more present in life, better project managers and make effective presentations (in all senses of the word).

Disclaimer - depending on your background, and my South African origins, you may find some of my spelling and grammar to be, well let us just say "imaginative".

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Simple Self-Coaching tips

Coaching yourself to greater success in daily situations

You may be surprised to hear that most of the progress during a professional coaching engagement occurs between the coaching sessions, not in coaching sessions. You are with yourself for the periods between coaching sessions and have the opportunity to coach yourself as you encounter situations in your daily life.

Now the question is "How do I coach myself?" I am glad you asked. Here are the questions to ask yourself in a challenging situation. (Notice the power of open-ended questions that start with "How" and "What".)

1. How can I do this?

2. What is holding me back in this situation? Then follow up with "What else is holding me back here?"

3. What question will my professional coach ask me if I bring this challenge to my next coaching session?

4. Who do I know who has already reached this goal or overcome this challenge? How can I learn from them?

5. If I could not fail, what would I do in this situation?

6. How have I dealt with situations like this in the past?

7. If this is the perfect situation for me to be in right now. and all of my life to this point was preparation for this situation, what have my life experiences taught me to do here?

8. Am I using my time wisely here?

9. What would happen if I walk away from this situation? Can I live with this outcome?

10. What is the "blue sky" outcome in this situation? What is the best possible outcome?

11. How will you describe your actions in this situation, to your grandchildren fifteen years from now? What regrets will haunt you as you tell your story?

The goal of your self-coaching is to help you make the best of your life and go further than you normally would go. Don't just give up as you run into challenges.

Self-coaching does not replace your work with a professional coach. However, you can help yourself to think in new ways when you face challenging situations with these simple self-coaching tips.

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Tips for Toastmasters.

If you are in Toastmasters, then this tip will help you to get more out of your journey.

Keep records of your speeches, the titles of your speeches and the dates of all your achievements, such as Competent Communicator and Advanced Leader.

You will need this information when you apply for your DTM. Save yourself the frustration and time of having to go back through your old Toastmasters manuals and speeches to find out when you gave each speech and achieved each award on your Toastmaster journey.

I know a fellow (rather well) who was forced to sort through old Toastmaster manuals and speech journals to gather this information. Learn from his mistakes, and keep good records of your speech titles, dates presented and awards achieved. I wish I had kept these records.

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Do you know someone who is stuck and not progressing towards a goal? Contact me and I will schedule a sample coaching session to see if we can work together.

Do you need a speaker for your conference? Contact me and let's discuss if I am the right speaker for your event.

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Email me with any problems or questions that you have about project management or presentations and I will attempt to address them in a future newsletter.

More next time!

Wayne Botha