I absolutely adore when synchronicities occur in my life and always notice them, no matter how small they are.  When these happen, you know that you are in alignment with universal intelligence and that all is well.  One such synchronicity transpired the other day.  Three people had cancelled from one of my courses, two of which were only hours before.  After the initial feeling of disgruntlement, I thought of what Terry Cole-Whittaker, an American motivational speaker who I frequently listen to, said in one of her CDs.  It was “I always give my million dollar talk even if there is only one person.”

I resolved to do exactly the same.  Then driving to the venue which was only 15 minutes away, I put one of Terry’s CDs into the car player.  About 10 minutes into the journey, this very quote was played.  I was pretty surprised.  So what you may think?  Well consider this.  I have 60 of her CDs, each of which has around 9 tracks, which makes a 1 in 540 chance of that happening.  Then if you consider that each track might be around 5 minutes long and the quote itself less than a minute, you need to multiply the 540 x 5 which then equates to 2,700.  Now, I’m not a mathematician nor a probability expert but common sense tells me that this is pretty significant for it to be purely chance.

The result of the day was that I did give my million dollar training for just 3 people and we had a magical day which they found valuable as well as enjoyable.  It was a wonderful lesson for me.

Many professional services run seminars as a way to enlighten their clients and potential clients on legal and financial obligations in all manner of areas.  This is an excellent way to raise the profile of the business in a ‘soft-sell’ approach.  As this is a high-profile marketing opportunity, it’s really important to ensure that your speakers are adequately trained in public speaking and that someone will warm up the audience and introduce the speakers. 

As a trainer and coach in public speaking, it is always my advice to clients that they make sure that they do not have to introduce themselves.  Many people in our culture do not like to boast about their experience and qualifications and will probably under-sell themselves or even feel uncomfortable about doing so.  In any case, my view is that the speaker/s should concentrate on the key messages that they wish to impart rather than having to spend time singing their own praises. 

I offer a service to clients who have received training or one-to-one coaching with me whereby I warm up the audience, introduce the speaker or speakers in glowing terms and then facilitate the questions at the end of the session.  One such event took place at the Orchid Hotel in Bournemouth on 18 February 2009 and was hosted by Move on Rentals Letting Agency.  There was an audience of around 70 people and as a professional speaker, it was quite easy for me to settle the audience down and prepare them to want to listen to the first speaker.  Facilitating the questions at the end of the session enabled those answering the questions to concentrate on doing just that, rather than having to decide whose question will be answered next.

So if you run or will be running seminars to promote your business, do seriously consider both training in public speaking and having someone to introduce the speakers.  You won’t regret it.

I have recently been talking to a number of hotels in the Bournemouth and New Forest areas about the wedding business.  Despite the current economic circumstances not to mention the number of divorces, getting married is still, apparently, very popular.  One hotelier said that, although would be married couples were sometimes reducing the amount they spend on their wedding, the number of people getting married was around the same as before.  I was pleasantly surprised, as no doubt they are. 

Weddings are undoubtedly big business for many - hotels and other venues, wedding planners, florists, bridal wear outlets, cake makers, photographers, jewellers, musicians and others I may have forgotten.  People getting married want their day to be memorable, for the right reasons, and therefore the quality of all these goods and services is very important.

However, there is one area which people may not consider as seriously as they ought.  It’s the wedding speeches.  How many grooms, fathers of the bride and best men tremble at the thought of this task?  What if your wedding was perfect in every way, except for the speeches?  Despite all the time, money and effort put into the planning and execution of your day, it could be ruined by this one oversight.  That would be totally tragic and yet completely unavoidable.  For a modest investment, you could be safe in the knowledge that your speech-makers would do you proud on your special day.  This would give you and them peace of mind.  Watch Out World offers wedding speech coaching and confidence-building.  For more information, please go to: http://www.watchoutworld.co.uk/pages/wedding_speeches.html.

Speaking in public for me is a joy.  It’s exciting and invigorating.  I love doing it.  I love connecting with the audience and creating emotion in them.  I love knowing that I’ve touched them in some way.  When we give our gift and we speak from the heart, for me, it’s one of the best things in the world.  When we are not concerned with what the audience thinks of us, we can then surrender to the power of the subconscious mind, and the words will flow.  We stop focussing on ourselves and instead, focus on the audience’s needs. 

People see, hear, feel and know when a speaker is being sincere and cares, not for how he or she looks but for whether the message is being imparted enthusiastically.  No matter what we do, we cannot change people’s minds – they will think what they think.  However, by and large, if we send out good vibrations to our audience, they will return them to us.  The audience will have a tendency to mirror our psychological state.  So if we’re feeling negative or scared, they will feel the same way.  And if we’re feeling positive and confident, miracle upon miracle, so will they! 

For a number of years now, I have spoken on a monthly basis for Waggy Tails Rescue.  This is a brilliant opportunity for me to speak on behalf of the dogs, to an audience of dog lovers.  I was doing this on Saturday when I realised, yet again, how much I love speaking.  It’s definitely when I feel the best me I can possibly be. 

I want to do more and more of it.  So, if you know of any speaking opportunities both paid and unpaid, please contact me on 01202 743961 or email: v.ugatti@watchoutworld.net.

If you’ve been following my blogs, you’ll know that my Father died suddenly a few weeks ago – my ex husband died unexpectedly 6 weeks before him and then my aunt (my Father’s sister) about a month ago in January.  One by one the lights went out, until I could see no lights – not even a light at the end of the tunnel. 

I’m extremely happy to report that in the last 10 days or so, I have started to turn the corner and realised that now I can see not just one light but several lights at the end of the tunnel.  Yes, I am still working through the grieving process and yes, there is much to encounter in the weeks to come.  However, now I am looking forward to going through this process and welcome it, including the pain.   Remember, what we resist persists!  (I expect I have written this phrase before.)

This is a huge change in my perception of it from anger to acceptance.  I can now have some tears when I want to and accept them merely as part of the healing process.  Even in the last week or so, I have felt, on occasions, almost overwhelming gratitude towards a number of people, warmth and affection not to mention ebullience.  In the background, I know that there is still sadness but the thought of life without my Father no longer appears impossible. 

Grief for me is felt keenly and yet I know that the healing and growth it will bring in the long run will be well worth while.  Many people report that, through the process of adjusting to a loss, they have, in some way, grown and become a stronger person.

I was recently in Sewards, getting a headlight bulb replaced.  After waiting three quarters of an hour for the job to be done, despite having booked an appointment, I approached the lady who had originally served me.   She was on the telephone and looked quite harassed.

When she put the phone down, wanting to mop her fevered brow and show concern for her, I mentioned that she looked rather stressed and asked her what the matter was.  She immediately opened up and said that people didn’t listen to her.  Without a moment’s hesitation I said, no, it’s not personal to you, people just don’t listen!  It looked as if she took that on board.  It’s easy for us to believe that other people’s inconsiderate behaviour is something to do with us, when in actual fact, it’s their issue.  Of course, if we choose to make it personal, then we will suffer, which will do absolutely nothing to change the other person’s behaviour.  How crazy is that?  And yet, we’ve all done it, haven’t we?

Remember one of Eleanor Roosevelt’s famous quotes: “No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.”  She was a wise woman and of course she was absolutely right.

While I love group training in speaking with confidence, the art of public speaking, I also absolutely love working with people on a one-to-one basis.   This way, it’s much easier to ensure that the individual’s needs are met and in exactly the right way for that person. 

There are so many occasions when people need to speak and often they feel unsure of themselves and their ability to do a good job.  Business presentations are an obvious one and then there are seminars, sales pitches, exhibitions, speaking at weddings, social events and funerals, not to mention presentations for job interviews. 

It’s true that public speaking is an art and yet there is also a scientific element to it.  If you understand people and the different personality types, that way it is much easier to be able to speak in a way which engages your audience.  After all, no matter how good the content of your presentation, talk or speech is, if your audience isn’t listening, then your words are falling on deaf ears.   So not only are you wasting your time, but you’re also wasting theirs.  By investing time in yourself by working with me on a one-to-one basis, you will, in the long run, save yourself time and money.