I often tell people that speaking up for what you believe in is important.  I also tell them that speaking up doesn't mean telling people off, fighting the system or causing problems.  Speaking up means to get the tools that make your job easier, and cutting through the red tape that hinders progress.

Speaking up is telling people what you need to do your job effectively and to the best of your ability.  If you do not have the tools to do your job then ask for them.  The number 1 complaint I hear  from students regarding their work environment is not having the tools to do the job they have been asked to do and do well.  We are all held accountable to metrics of some sort that are set by those not doing the work.  For example, one day I was trying to do invoices but didn't have all the information to do the job.  When I contacted the sales person I was told he was working on it.  His boss told me that invoicing must be created that day regardless.  I could not do my job but the boss didn't care.

How do you fix it without upsetting someone or putting yourself in a bad position?  Ask for what you need.  Finally after several calls, emails and a lot of complaining I did what was necessary.  I contacted the customer, got the invoicing information necessary, and submitted the billing.  I had to speak up and get what I needed.  I had to take the initiative because circumstances were hindering me from doing my job.  All future issues were solved with speaking up front with sales and the customer about invoicing information.  Probelm solved by asking for what I needed and not waiting for others to do their job.

I tell you this so that you can whisper the following mantra to yourself when barriers get in your way: "Speak up, get out, or shut up and quit whinning"  these are the only 3 options you have when barriers keep you from working at peak performance. 

Keep it real! Tell it like it is... What's the 411, lowdown, and skinny?  It is this, real people use their background, history, experiences interwoven in presentations and business communication to make and keep it real for their audience. 

Keeping it real makes it interesting for the audience to hear and it helps them stay focused on you, the speaker.  If you have had expereinces renting cars that were funny and your presentation is about service, use the stories to make a point.  Use the stories that have given you frustration, joy, laughter or pain to make examples, analogies, etc.

I often use my children, their mother and family events in classes that I train on leadership, presentations and communication. 

For example, I have watched my daughter, a softball catcher get run over by girls twice her size when they steal home.  My daughter jumps up with her hair a mess, her gear in disarray, and occasionally a tear running down her cheek, all while yelling how many outs, where the runners are and where to throw the ball if hit.  Softball is her business and leading a team is her game.  She is a leader, and she has persistence, vision and passion for the game and team members.  That is a true leader and thus, the end of my point...

Make it real by including those events in your life that occur with tears and laughter, look into your past for what has changed you and the way you think about things.  Use these topics to make your point known.  Adults love to hear stories and when a message, similar to parables, fables, etc, are derived all the better.  They will listen and remember.  That is the 411 of presenting and communicating in business.

When cassette tapes came out everyone said they wouldn't last, then came the CDs, the internet etc.  Blogging is another invention to take us to the public and keep us in front of them for a few seconds.  Our development consistently changes like our work environment, our J-O-B, and our alliances with others.  Putting ourselves in front of others is one of the easiest way to make a lasting impression.

Blogging takes a few minutes a day and you can become proficient enough to send your message to the masses through cyberspace.  Spending a few minutes each preparing yourself for communication, presentations or speaking is just the same.  Read 10 minutes a day from a book or website about presenting, communicating and developing relationships.  Speak out loud to a mirror for 10 minutes a day and look to improve your stance, your voice control and the language you use.  Think of what makes people good in the front of the room.  I mean think of the people that you like listening to and watching.  What makes them different?  Is it their style of delivery or their tone of voice?  These same treasures they own and use to make you attentive were developed over time and with practice.

You can make a difference in the way you speak, present, teach, talk, and deliver by spending time working on the skills.  Many of us will spend hours at a driving range, weeks taking dance, months writing a novel but only 20 minutes practicing for a presentation.  Skills are learned, just like you learned to navigate the web, use a keyboard and drive a car.  Practice, practice, practice and you just might end of at Carnegie Hall.

"People don't care what you think, until they think you care..." Zig Ziglar, how true this is when presenting information to others.  Presentation skills are great, if you have them and when you use them.  What about the fire that got you talking in the first place.  What makes you happy, builds excitement, causes you joy?  These same things are what build excitement in your presentations. 

Presenters that make a lot of money on talking tours, guest speaking, etc. talk about the topics that matter.  When they care you can tell it.  When its not their idea, passion or concern watch them deflate like a balloon that has been out in the hot sun.  No power, strength, or excitement is embodied in their information.  So what do you do to make a difference for your audience.

Get behind your topic, find the critical pieces that matter and speak about them.  Find those areas or hotspots typically shunned and open up discussion on them.  Topics of this nature tend to make us more sharp and on our game.  We are more focused on the real issues and we stay on topic more often.  Do you know these topics in your business?  Are they just under the surface and cause people to let them lie?  Can you be the true champion and bring them up, using tact and without letting emotion control the direction but rather feed the enthusiasm?  This is the skill you can learn.  Go out and get trained to be a presenter.  The better the presenter the farther in your career.

We, most of us that breathe, don't like silence when in conversations, speaking to others, or when we are on the phone.  "Can you hear me now?", is the new buzz.  Silence is golden never meant more than today in our communication in presentations.  We call it a pause.

The pause is a little used tool that when used well allows our audience to finish a note, complete translations or interpretations and finally prepare for the next words coming out of your mouth.  Pauses allow us, as speakers, to gather our thoughts and stay focused on our audience.  We take breathes to clear our thoughts, relax and fuel our brain for our next words. 

Finally, the use of pauses allow us to avoid those all present 'Ums' and 'Uhs' that when spoken continually become the bane of most audiences.  We are called to rise up against the speed talkers, the clumsy presenters and the boring monologuers.  Get out there and make a difference now.  You have permission to pause and be confident in your pauses.  It's what works...