Communicating genuinely

by | Oct 24, 2020

I’ve been told I mumble. My parents tried to get me to stop mumbling but didn’t succeed! Not long ago I was told I speak fast and mumble when I’m nervous, so I decided to try to figure out what I was doing so I could stop, so I could communicate more clearly.

As an Alexander Technique teacher, my every day involves discovering habits – discovering my own and helping clients to discover their own – in order to let them go and stop interfering with what we would like to do. But I didn’t seem to be able to do anything about the mumbling!

So I joined Toastmasters where every week I have the opportunity to face the stimulus of speaking to a group, and either reacting to that in ways that detract from my message or choosing to act in ways that contribute to it. If you want to work on your public speaking and you’ve never tried out Toastmasters, I highly recommend it!

Here’s my practice session for my third Toastmasters speech. If you read the article in the last newsletter, the content is basically the same, but if you didn’t and would prefer to listen to it, here it is!
Practicing my Toastmasters speech: Changing the world one reaction at a time
Paying attention to our own coordination while speaking can be an incredible challenge for many of us. I’ve heard from many people of the challenges of all the Zoom meetings. But it’s possible to slow down, pay attention to what we are doing, choose to not react and in that way take care of ourselves and communicate more genuinely what it is we want to transmit.

Choosing to not react is not always easy, but using the Alexander Technique helps me to come back to quieting myself and give myself space to respond with conscious choice about how I use my body and communicate.

Here’s something to try out the next time you want to change a communication habit. Give yourself a moment to pause and take in the space around you. Notice the space that you are in, including the space behind you. Let that expanded awareness help you to balance – not too far forward, not too far back, not in the future and not in the past, but right here and now. Then carry on. In that space, maybe the way you were going to communicate something – or maybe even the content – will change. I find it does, if I give myself the chance.

You can still sign up for Ronan Adult Ed classes!

See the links below to sign up for in person classes in Ronan or online classes.

Wishing you a healthy and happy fall,

Mari
DiscoverEase in Movement