The only way to become good at any task is to practice it. You can have the best speech or great talking points on an index card but if you have not actually practiced verbalizing the words, the chances of it sounding the way you want it to and being effective is about 50/50.

Think about how much athletes practice. They spent hours each day doing the same thing over and over. In fact, Geoff Colvin, in his book, Talent is Overrated, suggested that it takes a minimum of 10,000 hours of doing something to become proficient at it.

So, if you want to be good at any task always take time to practice. If you do this, the chances are that you will knock it out of the box. Otherwise you could appear stiff like Clint Eastwood and his ad lib performance at the Republican convention instead of President Bill Clinton’s rehearsed one at the Democratic convention.

In my lifetime, there are two or three things I recall saying that I really regret. You cannot take those comments back but here’s what you can do:

1. Don’t make the same mistake twice

2. Apologize immediately – verbally and in writing

3. Breathe when you feel anger coming on – take a deep breath in and exhale slowly

4. Stop the dialog and suggest to talk about it another time, if possible

5. If it has to be resolved, come up with a solution quickly

Sometimes it is hard to stay focused in meetings when you are not an active participant or the meetings are back-to-back. Keep eye contact with those around you. Take notes and ask questions when in meetings. Give yourself a quiz afterwards to remember what occurred.

Managers often tell me how they judge those in meetings by how engaged and attentive they are. Having a poker face can be another career killer in a meeting. You give the perception the meeting does not matter. However, in reality they may matter more than you realize.

You can only be heard in a meeting if you speak up. Here are some ways to practice speaking up before you go to a meeting. They will also prepare you to talk if you are called upon when you least expect it (especially in a group setting).

• When you are alone, talk out loud. For example, read the road signs when you’re driving or do a monologue about what you see around you.

• Call your cell phone once a day and leave your opinion on a business situation.

• Be sure to have coffee or lunch once or twice a week with a colleague to stretch your speaking muscles. (This is also good networking).

• Before you go into a meeting warm up with voice exercises.

• Join a Toastmasters Club.

Doing good work and making a positive impact to an organizational success is only recognized if you are heard.

Offices today are trending toward open spaces with many folks occupying them. Because of flexible office hours they are rarely filled. Sometimes, though, there will be occasions where everyone is in the office.

So, be careful of odors that can be offensive like ones that may emanate from smoke, cologne, hair spray and gels, body and food.

To make sure you are not the one causing the smells, one hour before a meeting:

• Do not smoke
• Stay away from dining places in a small, closed environment
• Do not pick up or eat food in your car
• Always wash your hands before a meeting. It helps get rid of odors.
• Carry breath mints

Two television shows focus on small business. The program on MSNBC focuses on helping a selected small business. The other show is ABCs Shark Tank. This show refers to the “pitch” which is a few crisp words on what the business owner is all about and why his/her business is worth investing in.

It is has been proven over and over again that if you have a good pitch you can sell almost anything. In fact, a perfect personal introduction should be treated like a pitch. The key to good personal pitch is building in enough flexibility so that it can be tailored to any audience to obtain the impact and results desired.

A number of years ago I had a meeting with a Senior Vice-President of a large company. He arranged for me to meet his VP who I would be coaching. The VP was a Guatemalan. In his culture, personal space is nose to nose unlike in the US where one arm’s length is the accepted norm. I did not step back from him because I knew this. The fact that I understood his background was important to him and I ended up working for his group over a period of ten years before he retired.

Here are some tips about personal space:

• In the US, one arm’s length is the norm and the only time you touch someone is during the handshake.

• In Spain, people tend to stand much closer together. They also touch each other more frequently than do their US counterparts. Trying to create personal space is viewed as shyness or rudeness.

• On the other hand, Australians require extra personal space—at minimum of an arm’s length or more is typical.

It is important when delivering a speech that the audience understands where you are taking them. You want to present correct facts/data, be passionate about your topic and convey honesty in the moment.

So many times emotions get the best of us and the message gets lost. (Listening to the speeches from the recent political conventions, it was clear both groups spoke using well thought out road maps).

Here are some keys tips to remember:

*Tell the audience up front what you want them to do

*Give them three reasons why

*Give them three steps on how to get there

Lastly, remind them of the information and what action you want them to take. If you keep these tips in mind you will always engage your audience.

How you sound is as important as the words you chose, especially in different venues.

Your voice sound and pitch needs to be different when you are:

*In front of a live audience with a microphone

*In front of a live audience without a microphone

*Presenting a webinar using a headset

If you can, record yourself. Then assess what you hear when listening to the tapes. I have a Sony audio recorder that I use to help me ensure my voice and pitch engages the audience and conveys passion in the topic.

A New York Times (NYT) Sunday article featured Mario Batalli, chef, cookbook author, television personality talking about working in his kitchen. His philosophy and communication style as leader is that you do not have to shout to work with each other.

The culture in the kitchens of many restaurants is to yell to communicate. The high pressure, time sensitive, noisy environment lends itself to this.

On Tuesday, August 28, acclaimed chef, Charlie Trotter, was featured in the Chicago Tribune because his restaurant is closing on Friday. He discussed what he did to change the atmosphere and talked about chefs who became famous but may have paid a high price for that fame.

So, here we have two celebrated chefs, successful leaders in their own field and businesses, with two different styles. One style was forged twenty some years ago and the other is relatively current.

The questions to answer are what works best for you, does it benefit you and do you learn from it?