Q: What is the essence of RealTime Speaking?

A: The French novelist Emile Zola said, “If you ask me what I came to this world to do, I will tell you: I came to live out loud.”

So have I, and so, I believe, have you.

This is what RealTime Speaking is all about: living out loud — authentically, with confidence, credibility, and passion. The three interdependent aspects of RealTime Speaking are: who you are, what you say, and how you say it.

At some point in our life, we have all had our exuberant, free, creative powers of self-expression criticized, restricted, judged, or condemned. It is a common experience to have compromised what we wanted to say in the face of a strong, authoritative challenge. From these threatening experiences, we created survival-based decisions to repress our true feelings and voice, our authentic self.

RealTime Speaking is a means to recover our original freedom and joy of authentic self-expression. This is the first phase. The second phase is effectiveness, which is about communication from the listeners’ perspective.

RealTime Speaking, as authentic expression, is about “self.” RealTime Speaking, as effective communication, is about “other.”

Participants have numerous opportunities to speak "on camera," which provides powerful real-time learning and immediate improvement in RealTime Speaking principles and practices.

“Speak for Effect!” focuses on content creation and communication effectiveness — specific ways of connecting with and getting into the hearts and minds of your audiences. You will be introduced to The Five Ps and the RealTime Speaking Flight Plan, a clarifying and organizing tool which enables you to easily generate clear, concise, memorable messages for all manner of communication opportunities: keynotes, lectures, business and sales presentations, fundraising pitches, workshops, media interviews, marketing collateral — even marriage proposals!

Q: Is RealTime Speaking more applicable to business or personal life?

A: Is there a difference? Are we not always trying to make an impact or produce a specific outcome through the integrity of our being and quality of our communication?

I think you’ll agree that everything we do is communication-based, and every communication has some kind of purpose — whether it be to nurture intimacy with our partner, demonstrate tenderness with our children, motivate our staff, achieve buy-in for new corporate values, make a good first impression, or sell our product or service to a new customer.

Everything in life is dependent on the quality of our communication, which is wholly dependent on the authenticity of our self-expression. Authentic self-expression flows from our having a genuine and meaningful connection to what we are saying.

I believe that in all communication encounters, the one question we all want answered is: Are you for real?

We need to believe in someone to trust them. We need to trust them to listen to them. We need to listen to them to understand them and consider what they are saying.

If you want people to consider what you are saying, then you better be believable, and that cannot be faked. There is no strategy or technique in the world to fool the intuitive radar of someone who is sincerely asking: Are you for real?

The only acceptable answer is your authenticity in real-time. This answer is valid whoever you are, wherever you are, and whatever you’re doing!

If you are not consistently generating the results you want through your speaking, look first to the transparency of your authentic self.

Q: What’s the difference between RealTime Speaking and conventional presentation skills courses?

A: Conventional presentation skills courses teach basic techniques of organizing content and delivering a message, and they can be helpful, as far as training programs can be.

RealTime Speaking, however, is an intensely transformative experience. It is about liberating the full measure of our creative power and expressive potential from self-doubt and fear of criticism and judgment. RealTime Speaking is about authentic self-expression, about the courage and confidence to speak one’s truth with power and passion. RealTime Speaking uses intimacy with self and vulnerability with others to create the authentic connection without which true communication can not occur.

RealTime Speaking is a way of speaking in which words, tone, gestures, and spirit are used to reveal, rather than to conceal, one’s authentic self, purpose, and motivation. In RealTime Speaking, one must feel connected to what one is saying: one must feel a true and meaningful synergy between who one is, what one is saying, and how one says it. This integrity is essential in RealTime Speaking, and it comes from this alignment of self, message, and purpose. Yes, we do work with specific behavioural practices and principles of effective speaking — but always in hand in hand with authenticity of self-expression.

Q: What can RealTime Speaking do for me if I’m not a public speaker?

A: The first thing RealTime Speaking will do is ask you to see yourself differently. Unless you live by yourself in the Amazonian rainforest, a subterranean lake beneath the Earth’s crust, or aboard a lost space ship streaking through interstellar space, you are a public speaker.

There is no such thing as a “private” speaker. We are all 24/7 public speakers! Even when you speak to yourself, you are speaking to an audience of one!

Don’t confuse public speaking with lecturing.

Q: Can RealTime Speaking help me if I am already a good public speaker?

A: Absolutely! Many professional educators, coaches, consultants, workshop leaders, and lecturers learned to "present" information. While they may skilful at this, using such content and delivery techniques as stories and metaphors, emotional connection, eye contact and so on, RealTime Speaking is a quantum leap beyond. It is a revolutionary and evolutionary approach to living, self-expression, and communication, which is based on authentic, real-time connection with self, audience, and environment.

RealTime Speaking can help anyone enhance their expressive self-awareness, increase their intimacy with self and vulnerability with others, clarify their communication purposes and goals, hone their content, and sharpen their delivery skills.

Q: What is this authenticity you speak so much about?

A: Authenticity is our access to and dynamic relationship with our virtually inexhaustible creative and expressive power. I begin every class with a video clip of big wave surfers who ride waves up to (if you can believe this) 70 feet high! What a perfect metaphor for RealTime Speaking.

I liken the inner creative power of self-expression to the dynamic power of these external tsunamis! We learn to ride that wave authentically — with courage, passion, and skill. Authenticity is also the province of profound feelings, liberating dreams, and meaningful aspirations. Our authenticity is where we find empathy, intimacy, and vulnerability — with self and others.

Q: Do you work with people on specific events, like keynotes and media interviews?

A: Yes! Personal coaching — for individuals or teams — is a very effective way to prepare for a specific event. I also work privately with people in all sectors to develop their RealTime Speaking power and communication skills and effectiveness.

Q: Do you offer RealTime Speaking classes only in Melbourne?

A: My personal motto is "Have Mouth, Will Travel."

I would be thrilled to come to any city in the world. In addition to the standard class, RealTime Speaking can be tailored to suit the specific needs of individuals, groups, organizations, or businesses. RealTime Speaking is a great way to unify people through a profound shared experience and to build a team or corporate culture of authenticity and dynamic self-expression.