Appreciation
Here we are once again in the season of Giving & Receiving and of Thanksgiving. Few of us slow down and stop long enough to pay attention to the meaning beneath these old rituals. We are too busy with our agendas and goals and bills and shopping and should-dos and ought-tos - sometimes going through the motions of celebrating these holidays without actually taking the time to appreciate the enormous value inherent in them.
We cook and share meals paying careful attention to the gourmet recipes and the correct serving dish while avoiding paying real attention to each other. All of these holidays are really based in the spirit of appreciation, and yet it seems so difficult sometimes to take the opportunities they provide. To fully celebrate these holidays we need to stop and pay close attention to the deeper gifts we can give each other such as truly listening, hanging out with someone without agenda, making ourselves available to help out a friend or stranger in need.
When we are making a presentation, we are sharing our gifts - of ideas, research, skills, behaviors, attitudes, decisions. And sometimes we forget that our audiences, too, are sharing their gifts - their attentiveness, their willingness to participate, their creative ideas, their time, their sense of humor, their difficult questions. They are huge contributors to our presentations.
Take the time at the end of your presentation to speak from the heart, to reflect back to your audience the great value you have experienced as a result of their participation. Reach down into your heart and tell them just how you feel. Appreciate them!
And have a Happy Thanksgiving!
We cook and share meals paying careful attention to the gourmet recipes and the correct serving dish while avoiding paying real attention to each other. All of these holidays are really based in the spirit of appreciation, and yet it seems so difficult sometimes to take the opportunities they provide. To fully celebrate these holidays we need to stop and pay close attention to the deeper gifts we can give each other such as truly listening, hanging out with someone without agenda, making ourselves available to help out a friend or stranger in need.
When we are making a presentation, we are sharing our gifts - of ideas, research, skills, behaviors, attitudes, decisions. And sometimes we forget that our audiences, too, are sharing their gifts - their attentiveness, their willingness to participate, their creative ideas, their time, their sense of humor, their difficult questions. They are huge contributors to our presentations.
Take the time at the end of your presentation to speak from the heart, to reflect back to your audience the great value you have experienced as a result of their participation. Reach down into your heart and tell them just how you feel. Appreciate them!
And have a Happy Thanksgiving!
If you would like to learn to speak from the heart, come to our Speaking from the Heart workshop in Seattle on Friday, December 4th, 1-6. Small supportive group, lots of practice, video feedback, coaching. Other workshops and ongoing programs are also available. See details HERE
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