I would love to hear your comments on Living Eloquently.  Please email me at benita@lifematterscoaching.com

Living Eloquently

by Benita Stafford-Smith

I recently read this term, coined by Mark Sanborn, immediate Past President of the National Speakers Association, Living Eloquently, and was mesmerized with the phrase.

What does it mean to Live Eloquently? Mark states: ?Eloquence is evidence of a high command of language. Offstage eloquence is evidence of a high command of life skills.?

He asks the question ? do we bring the same preparation to our lives that we bring to our work? Mark reviews the following transferable principles ? Preparation, Boldness, Showing (vs telling), Connection, Imperfection, Impact and A Strong Ending.

Preparation ? do we bring the same preparation to our lives that we bring to our work?

Boldness ? my favorite question ? what would I do if I were ten times bolder? Do you live your beliefs and convictions out loud and with boldness?

Showing ? What kind of stories do our lives tell?

Connection ? How well do we connect with friends and family?

Imperfection ? Imperfections make us more credible if we own up to them.

Impact ? how do we impact those we encounter day to day?

A Strong Ending ? it is in how we fill each ordinary moment that ultimately determines the kind of ending we have. What thought have you given t o how you'll finish your life? Will it be an artfully achieved ending or a forgettable one?

I ask you to ponder these questions, the transferable principles and Living Eloquently. How would your life and work be different if you were living eloquently?

"Don't ask yourself what the world needs- ask yourself what makes you come alive, and then go and do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive".

Harold Thurman Whitman

As I pondered these questions, authenticity, following your calling and developing a personal vision statement came to my mind. I believe that Living Eloquently would be a lot easier if you a Personal Vision Statement to guide you.

Calling can be simply and elegantly defined as the search for authenticity. You are ?called forth? throughout your life in ways that enable you to create deeper purpose and meaning.

Knowing what you know about yourself now and your inner voices of calling, what is it that wants to be named and claimed? Naming and claiming your calling is to embrace a vision, which will enable your calling to be fully expressed. Consider the following essential characteristics of vision statements.

Vision Statements

Powerful vision statements have the following characteristics:

Externally focused

The impact we want to have in the world - not about ourselves or monetary goals

Imaginative

Go beyond the mundane and practical

Bold and audacious

Representing real challenge

Statements of the ideal

The yet unrealized state of things

Broad, sweeping, inspiring

But believable

Written in the present tense

As if they have already been achieved; example: ?Leaders in every organization have the tools and commitment to unleash the extraordinary in their work forces.?

Anchored in ?moments of truth?

Points of dissatisfaction with the way things are

Compel action

They create a natural ?pull? system

Attract the participation of others

They inspire shared commitment

Provoke creative tension

The tension between what is and what could be

I encourage you to write a Personal Vision statement to use as your guidepost in Living Eloquently.

And finally the words of Marianne Williamson:

?Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us.?

Step into your light and power and start Living Eloquently !