Striving for Excellence

Excellence: An action, characteristic, feature, etc. in which a person excels.

This is one of the definitions from Collins English Dictionary.

This month I want to speak about excellence. To me striving for excellence is a goal to reach for. Excellence is what you achieve when you truly try.

Now, when I say it is what you achieve, that does not mean that you have achieved that excellence for all time. The thing about excellence is you do the best you can in any situation, but continue to strive for better. This is the difference between excellence and perfection. I believe you can achieve excellence, but never perfection. Excellence gives you the chance to continue growing and still have a satisfaction in what you have done.

Let’s say that you are giving a speech or meeting a new prospect. If you were striving for perfection you could end up getting nowhere. You will always be behind, for perfection is rarely attained. When most people think of perfection I believe that in fact they are thinking of excellence. These new situations we find ourselves in are ones that for many create daunting prospects.

They say that public speaking is the one thing that most people are afraid of. I can understand that. We don’t want to be thought of as fools. That feeling that we will be seen a fools, I believe comes from wanting perfection. If instead you reach for excellence then you take some of the pressure off.

Having said that I want you to understand that you still need to prepare, still need to continue to strive for the best you can be and do. One of my favorite concepts is to do what you can, with what you have and move on from there. This to me is the concept behind excellence. Many of us beat ourselves up for making what we see as silly mistakes. Give yourself a break. Like I have said, you are doing the best you can at that point in time. The key is to keep the growth continuing, to strive for the excellence that is very achievable. You simply keep on striving, growing and trying. To me that is where the joy and excitement comes from.

Cold Reading

I have heard many say that they don't like or dread cold readings. They can be a bit frightening. Still there are ways to overcome that. (No, it is not imaging those who are listening to you in their underwear.)

First, remember that your voice is one of the instruments that you use in this job. To improve your voice and cold reading skills read out loud.

Sound simple huh! Well it is and it isn't. When you read out loud you should listen to yourself. Some people use a tape recorder or video recording. Unless your equipment is top rate, the sound you will hear when you play back is not very good. Additionally, you can't use a recorder when actually doing a cold read. Better to learn to hear yourself with out machinery. Learn to adjust your voice levels, the pitch of your voice and the speed at which a thing needs to be said. Practice using your voice and reading just the same as you would practice the piano, flute or any other instrument.

What should you use to practice. ANYTHING that is WRITTEN!! I have been known to practice reading the newspaper or magazine or even cereal boxes. The point it learn to read out loud. Learn the correct way to pronounce any word. Sometimes there are multiple ways to say any one word. Get comfortable enough that the unexpected does not throw you.

Personally, cold reading for me has become an easy task. I find I truly enjoy it. So the next time you have to cold read, relax, have fun. You have done your 'homework' and the next voice you hear on the screen or radio may be yours.