Download the article Speaker Redux: A lifesaving lesson in adapting to change and meaningful reinvention. This article was featured in a recent issue of Speaker magazine, The National Speakers Association's official publication.

Try it. You'll like it.
The improvising saleswoman

You know that one woman, the one who always has something witty to say?
The one who doesn't get flustered when her Power Point crashes or when her heel breaks off while pitching her product? The one who you hate?

How does she do it? What's her secret?

Confidence. Yep. Simple, I-feel-good-in-my-skin- and- trust- myself- confidence. Well, maybe she has a 22- inch waistline, long-golden hair and graduated Summa Cum Laude, but that's another article.

If you sweat right through your one-of-a kind Vera Wang jacket, and teeter on your Jimmy Choos, then it's time to learn the principles of improvisation. It's time to get acquainted with your authentic self, (See Oprah magazine, every issue), and to have a little more fun.

Great saleswomen not only have knowledge, motivation and integrity, they are adept at making connections with others and creating something from nothing. And although many are born with these gifts, most work at them. A lot. And more and more courageous, hardworking women are taking improvisation classes to hone those skills.

The more you do something, the easier it gets. The more you come out of your comfort zone, the easier it is when you're thrown out of your comfort zone without your consent.  For example, first year student surgeons often faint the first time they cut into human flesh; graduates don't. And by the time they make it to the emergency room, they're ready for anything. Stitches in a finger, Ax in the head-whatever. 

They're ready for the unexpected.

Confidence comes from trusting yourself in all situations. Knowing that you have all the skills and ability to get you through any situation. Below are some principles of improvisation that can help you build your confidence:

• An attitude of relaxed, playful, openness to new ideas. Breaking from the obvious into the far reaches of imagination. "What if ___?"
• Acceptance of a new idea or approach from the standpoint of exploring the possibilities it has to offer. The attitude of "Yes, and."
• Attentive listening to your co-workers, clients and friends. Pay attention!
• Temporary suspension of critical judgment-just be there.
• Reframing situations to explore creative possibilities.
• A willingness to take chances, to risk appearing foolish.

Pick one of the above principles each week and work on it.  Recently I chose "take chances," and sang Karaoke in front of my peers at a National Speakers Association workshop, and tried Stand-up at Acme Comedy Club.

I'm proud to say I not only risked appearing foolish, I accomplished it.

If you take a rubber-band and pull and tug and stretch it, it will never go back to its original state. And you won't either. The more you stretch your boundaries the more comfortable you'll be in new situations.

And when you go in to make a sales call and your customer has an ax in his head, well, maybe you won't get flustered.

Coffee: A Survival Tactic

I sipped my coffee and waited for the transformation--the one where I become a functioning human being.

“Mom.”  The voice cut through my morning fog.  It had the ring of certainty that could only belong to a fifth-grader:  “It’s a drug you know.”

“Hmm?” 

“Your coffee…it’s a drug and it’s bad for you.” 

My husband arched a brow and nodded.  I shot him a telepathic look: How about that couch tonight, buddy?  He looked away.

My son, Mr. Suddenly Healthy, poured himself a glass of milk while ticking off the health benefits of calcium. I cupped a protective hand around my mug.

“What classes are you taking? Are you learning this in Health?”  I didn’t say the words so much as squeak them.  I sounded like a mouse on crack. Or was it a chihuahua? Such things aren’t clear until the second cup of coffee.

My already-keen interest in my son’s studies had now acquired a sudden sense of urgency. “Honey, there’s lots of research to show that coffee is good for us, it’s filled with antioxidants, and could lower the risk of diabetes.” 

Why was I telling him this? He’s 11.  But I knew I was on solid ground.  I’d read this all somewhere. 

I continued. “A recent study says coffee may even cut the risk for suicide in women.”   As though women needed a government study for this information. 

“You mean homicide?” my husband offered.

“That too.  A study in this very house would prove that yes, coffee may indeed cut the risk of homicide, which is very high right now.” 

This was war.  Once the enemies were out of the house, I made a fresh pot and jumped on the internet to gather intelligence.   I printed out dozens of articles and prepared for battle.  I was ready.

I positioned myself for my son’s return from school. As a tactical measure, I held a bottle of expensive, vitamin-enriched water as he burst through the door.  
   
He threw down his backpack and downed the last of a fully-caffeinated cherry Coke he’d traded for his apple at school. He looked at my water.   

“You know,” he said, with great authority, “that designer water doesn’t offer any more health benefits than tap water. You might as well get it from the sink.”

I sashayed to the coffee pot and poured in my designer water, then scooped in some freshly-ground Columbian for my afternoon hit. 

It’s true.  Coffee does lower suicide risk in women.