I often coach executives and entrepreneurs in various settings and for various events and I can tell you that whenever someone connects to who they really are, everything changes.

What helps is The Through Line.

Sometimes people’s Through Line is to be taken seriously — but then they cover up all their silliness — which is so much a part of who they are.

Or their Through Line is look professional by getting all the words right (the words they THINK they SHOULD say) and then they’re tripped up by that control mechanism, either because they’re reading the monitor or because they’re thinking so hard about the language.

I get stuck in this as well. Earlier this year, I was in the process of revamping my show The Prism Effect into The Through Line and it was very exciting to finally eliminate everything I felt I COULD cover and just focus on one theme. I thought my Through Line was “Share as much as I can about The Prism Effect given the time allotted.”  So in my case, this new Through Line about The Through Line (ha) has allowed me to be more calm and focused, and, as my creative partner Gregg Goldston says, “Shave to expand” — meaning, eliminate the extraneous material so you can relax into what is meaningful.

Find your core Through Line…and let that be infused into your words.

This translates in all kinds of ways. Let your gestures come naturally — don’t gesture in weird ways – outside in. Let your language be read — don’t limit yourself to certain words because they sound more “professional” and in so doing masque your creative genius and unique phrasing. And, miss Victoria, don’t jam a bunch of ideas into one speech because you’re so excited by it all. 🙂