Webster's Dictionary defines the word “choose” as follows:
1. To select from a number of possibilities
2. To prefer or decide (to do something)
3. To want; desire

The action of choosing is one of the most powerful things we can do and we do it every day whether we know it or not. Even the choice of NOT choosing, has a powerful impact on your life.

The first definition implies an almost limitless amount of choices to choose from.

You could choose to prepare your presentation far enough in advance that you have plenty of time to rehearse and feel confident in every aspect of delivery. Or you could choose to prepare the night before and deliver your presentation on the fly. Making excuses afterward for why it wasn't really up to standard. You could choose to see your presentation as being successful. You're wowing the crowd! Or, choose to see yourself as a bad communicator who is bound to fail like all the other times before. You could choose to believe in yourself and your ideas, or believe what the naysayers say about you. You could choose to take action or not take action. The choices are limitless and they are yours to choose.

The second definition, To prefer or decide (to do something)

Everything in life is your choice. It is “YOU” that chooses. YOU have the power to choose the direction your life will take. You cannot blame others for the choices you made or did not make. They were all yours to choose.

You can choose to seek success. If you are not a great presenter, you can choose to sign up for the workshops that will help you gain the skill sets you need. You can choose to let life take you on its journey or you can choose to charter your own course. You can choose to create the old, boring PowerPoint presentation the way everyone else does. Or, you can choose to step outside of the box and put together an engaging, persuasive presentation where your personal skill sets trump your PowerPoint slides. You choose!

And the third definition “to want, to desire”

Well we all have wants and desires in life. Some people sit back and hope that their dreams and desires will magically manifest. Others realize that action is needed in order to achieve their dreams and desires. They CHOOSE the actions that get them there.

The bottom line is, it is YOU who must choose, no one else can choose for you. What will you choose? Will you choose to become a more poised, powerful, professional communicator or will you choose to continue to make excuses by saying you're not good in front of people? Your dreams are waiting for you, but you have to choose whether you will step up to the plate and do what is necessary to achieve them? The choice is yours to choose!

Debbie Darling, ©2013 The Presentation Pros

Want to Look Your Very Best?
with
Dress to Look Your Best:
Fashion Secrets the Experts Don't Share...

you'll learn all the “tricks of the trade” used by the most glamorous and successful women around.

Uncover the secrets that fashion experts have known and used for years to dress all their clients. You'll learn how to:

• Lose 10-20 pounds just by dressing correctly for your body type...
  
• Look sensational regardless of your size and figure type...
  
• Create your own personal “style”...
  
• Use small changes to make a big difference...
  
• Put together 40 looks with just 12 pieces of clothing...
  
• Choose your best colors…
  
• Use some easy tricks to bring your body into balance and proportion...
  
• Dress to the four elements of design...
  
• Select just the right shoes, every time...
  
• Place that perfect accessory in the most flattering position (you may be surprised)...
  
• Avoid those deadly fashion “faux pas”...
  
• Define appropriate Business Casual...
  
• Project that perfectly dressed image we all want...
  
• Identify your “challenge areas” and transform your figure immediately...
  
• Be confident you always look your very best! And more...
  

This book will help you identify your body type and teach you how to dress to your optimum advantage. Some of the fashion tips in this book you've seen or heard before, others came directly from Darling's personal experiences in working one-on-one with thousands of women across the country. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to realize that if all clothing is cut for an hourglass figure and the predominant body image in all sizes is a triangle body shape that many of the fashion tips that most experts have been sharing have to be thrown right out the window. Whether you are one of the five major body types, or you fall into a body type all your own, this book will provide you with the tips to bring your body into balance and proportion to look your ultimate best and will help you choose the styles and colors to enhance your professional image.

From belts to bags, shoes to suits, pins to pants, this book has the tips, tricks and answers you've been waiting for and it shares them with you in an easy to understand and easy to apply manner. Dress to Look Your Best: Fashion Secrets the Experts Don't Share is the last “look great” book you'll ever need!

Deborah Darling has explored the skill sets that allow people from all walks of life to deliver powerful and persuasive presentations, whether they are delivered one-on-one or to a room of 500 people. In her latest book PRESENT: 7 Keys to a Powerful, Persuasive Presentation, she identifies the seven keys that, when combined, are designed to engage the audience and create a powerful and moving presentation that compels the audience to take action.

It would appear that a great presenter has a natural knack for engaging an audience. You may also suppose that one is born a captivating speaker—not so. The simple difference between you and an engaging speaker is their use and understanding of these seven keys. Learn the seven keys, use them, and you too can be a great presenter. And let’s face it, in today’s environment being able to communicate your ideas clearly and persuasively is a must if you wish to move ahead in this world.

Each person you encounter gives you the opportunity for a presentation. Perhaps it’s a spouse, a child, or a colleague who provides you with that opportunity. A simple exchange may seem inconsequential but you are always presenting yourself and your ideas.  Every interaction or exchange contains an element of persuasion. The length, strength and duration of the interaction may at times be more or less intense yet persuasive none the less. Every encounter provides the backdrop to use the keys for wholesome and engaging communication.

A brief one on one conversation with a colleague or boss may be your stepping stone up the corporate ladder. Make sure the keys are secure within you so you are ready to take the next step toward upward mobility.

Amazingly, the seven keys are easy to identify and simple to learn. These keys can be used independent of one another yet it is the merging of the seven keys that creates true greatness. You are only seven keys away from being an engaging, persuasive, memorable presenter. 

When I think of courage I immediately picture that wonderful scene in The Wizard of Oz when the Cowardly Lion jumps out of the forest and successfully scares Dorothy, the Scarecrow, The Tin Man, and “Toto too.” For a brief moment, he is unaware that he’s a “coward”. That is until Dorothy smacks him on the nose and jars him back into reality--his reality.

How often do you allow yourself to be jarred back to your “cowardly” truth? We are all able to recognize “courage” when we see it in others but seeing it in ourselves sometimes takes a lot more effort. We almost have to perform a spectacular feat in order to see our own courage for what it really is.

The definition of courage, according to Mr. Webster, is “the attitude or response of facing and dealing with anything recognized as dangerous, different or painful, instead of withdrawing from it…” The Cowardly Lion didn’t withdraw from Dorothy and the others. He faced them head on, with no thought of fear, until Dorothy smacked him. When he was shaken back to his reality, he quit experiencing “courage” and began feeling fear.

A person’s perception of truth is a reflection of their beliefs, and is created by how they see and think about themselves. That perception determines one’s reality and colors every aspect of one’s life. To say it more precisely, perception is your belief projected out into the world and how you feel about yourself is then mirrored back to you by everyone you see. If you feel poorly about yourself, others will also feel poorly about you. Dorothy and the others had no idea that the Lion was a coward until Dorothy’s smack on his nose revealed his hidden feelings about himself. We can try to be something that we’re not but our true beliefs about ourselves will eventually give us away.

The Lion sings: “…but I could show my prowess, be a lion not a mouse, if I only had the nerve….” When he followed his instincts he was courageous and had all the nerve he needed, but once he succumbed to his fear, he became a coward. When we allow ourselves to be the great and powerful creatures that we are and act upon our initial instincts, we are coming from a place of “courage” instead of fear.

How do we become courageous? Well, our real nature is courageous, so we don’t have to become anything. We just have to remember that that’s who we really are. To stay there, takes a little bit of effort. It requires a change in thinking. To feel yourself as the “courageous” being that you are, you have to cancel out your negative, limiting beliefs in yourself and replace them with positive ones.

The mind is the greatest computer ever invented. As with any computer: garbage in equals garbage out. The mind is divided into two spheres of activity—one called the conscious mind and the other the subconscious mind. The conscious mind makes choices and is the reasoning part of the mind. You choose to read a book over watching television, or eat a piece of chocolate cake over having a dish of fresh fruit, etc. You make all your decisions with your conscious mind. The subconscious mind does not reason things out but rather accepts what you consciously believe. The subconscious houses your beliefs and bears total responsibility for your life experiences. Your subconscious mind is like soil that has been made ready for planting and your thoughts are the seeds. If you plant seeds from a weed, you will get more weeds. But if you plant the seeds from a beautiful flower, you will get a beautiful flower—YOU!

We have over 50,000 thoughts a day. 80% of those thoughts are negative and 90% of those thoughts are repeated day in and day out. That’s pretty effective programming. Whatever you consciously believe to be true, your subconscious will accept as truth and create the results accordingly. Your subconscious will accept any suggestion—even false or negative ones. If you give negative or false suggestions to the subconscious, it will begin to create the experiences and events in your life to support those suggestions. Everything that happens to you is based upon thoughts planted in your subconscious mind. If you’ve been planting negative seeds in the subconscious soil and growing mostly weeds —STOP NOW—and plant beautiful seeds by consciously thinking positive thoughts. The conscious mind is like a record. When played over and over again it creates deep grooves in the subconscious. Make certain those grooves are buried deep with positive thoughts instead of negative ones.

You are what you believe! If you believe you are “courageous” then others will see your courage. You change the way the world sees you when you change the way you see yourself. When you love and value yourself and believe in your own self- worth, you allow others to see who you really are and love and value you as well. Start creating a new life for yourself. Start replacing those negative thoughts with positive ones and begin seeing and showing your true “courageous” self TODAY!


Debbie Darling, ©2013 The Presentation Pros