Want your message to land? Focus on your body.
Last night, I taught a class to a room full of visual artists. They needed some help pitching their work to galleries, asking for funding, talking about their art to big groups of patrons, etc. I was reminded of that famous quote:
Talking about art is like dancing about architecture.
In other words… it kind of makes no sense.
So how do you get better at talking about something that's hard to put words to? Like feelings, ideas, motivations, visions, that thing that drives you to do your work in the world
Surprisingly, the answer is not to practice your script over and over again until you get the words just right.
What I see working the best is cultivating a grounded awareness of yourself in space. When we connect to our bodies and to the earth, we become like bamboo. Grounded and solidly planted, but able to bend and be flexible with what comes towards us. We are not throw off by unexpected interruptions, strange or off-topic questions from our audience, or moments where we forget the next thing we wanted to say.
Interestingly, even a room full of sculptors and wood-workers who use their bodies in their work every day were focused on “getting their words right” instead of connecting to their bodies and their breath. So I shared with them one of my favorite tools - and it only takes a minute or two.
The Body Scan is a tool I use to help people start becoming aware of their body - which is the instrument that allows us to speak those all-important words.
If you can, stand up and close your eyes. First, feel your feet on the ground, connected to the earth. Then, start mentally scanning through each part of your body: your feet, calves, knees, all the way up to your neck, face and the top of your head. If you go slowly from the bottoms of your feet through your body to the top of your head, you will start to down-regulate your nervous system, slow your breathing, and find yourself present in your own body and ready to connect to deliver your story your message to your audience.
If you forget you are a body who breathes and not just a head, your message and overall impact will suffer.
Try it out... and let me know what you think!
ps. Curious on how to implement this practice before public speaking or giving a presentation? Comment here and I’ll send you over my fun tip on “How to secretly warm up your breath and body without anyone knowing you’re doing it.”
pps. Want a new tip and tool delivered straight to your inbox every week? Sign up for our newsletter.
