As a guest speaker for Riverside Chamber of Commerce’s weekly Business in Action, I promised the audience that I would deliver three secrets about communication to them.  This is actually a trick of the trade in public speaking – that is, to build tension and implicitly ask for the audience’s attention by promising something of value, of rare occurence: a secret.  The surprise came when, as I facilitated the debrief at the end of our time, I asked the audience to tell me what they had learned about communication from our time together.  I then labeled the powerful lessons they shared as the secrets I had earlier promised.   And they offered deep insights into communication.   I am so pleased to be part of a vibrant, rich, and thoughtful business community.

In the summer of 2009, I engaged with the staff of Training and Research Foundation – Head Start and led them through a series of workshops focusing not only on team-building, but on recognizing each others’ strengths and how to defer to natural leadership to make a more productive unit.  Some of the tough concepts were undergirded by the philosophy from Jack Welch’s book Winning and The Five Dysfunctions of Team by Patrick Lencioni.

The management staff has the challenge of serving seventeen Head Start sites in the heart of Los Angeles, a staff of hundred plus preschool teachers and aides, and has a valiant and admirable track record of being one of the top-performing units in the country.  How, then, can we get better?  As Jim Collins offers in From Good to Great: “Good is the enemy of great.”   We engaged in some deep and reflective dialogue about how we often settle for good instead of promoting and encouraging the greatness around us, which means shifting away from the status quo.  I appreciated the staff’s heartfelt compassion for its community, obvious special affection for each other, and courage to step forward and identify the true leaders in the group.

(Photos courtesy of Bob Adams Photography)

Honored to present with George Hoanzl of Jaguar Computer Systems and Lenny Esposito of Genesis Integrated Marketing, I felt the pressure to perform and give the business community an inspiring message about the possibilities of social networking.  My presentation focused on how to use the Facebook fan page for business.  I thoroughly enjoyed myself and hope to be back for the next social networking seminar hosted by the Chamber.

In all my speaking engagements, I use music and a variety of kinesthetic activities to engage audiences.  The most important tool I use is a four-step debrief process that ends with a personal decision or commitment from every participant.  It’s the same last step I take in the Trust Wes podcast: So how can I get us to move today?  I was rewarded after this seminar to hear from participants who took the challenge, made a move, and began implementing the new strategies we had talked about regarding social media.

After a period of icebreakers and get-to-know-you activities, we launched into an intense training day focused on strengthening our questioning skills – learning how to open up dialogue and achieve deep and honest communication.  Our other priorities for the day included small group public speaking practice and sharing tips on time management.

What a great group of students and well able to lead the city’s youth in getting involved in community service and civic responsibility!

(Photos courtesy of Bob Adams Photography)