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What Our Zipline Readers Are Saying
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posted May 1, 2002
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We've been receiving a lot of thoughtful responses from our Zipline readers in the past few weeks. Communication is a two-way street; after all, so we thought we'd share some of these responses with you. First, we asked readers about personal obstacles they have confronted and overcome. In other words, what's your zipline? Here's what some said.
My zipline? I jumped from a 30-foot rock into river rapids. Not bad for someone afraid of heights. But the scariest thing is reading my poetry in a new venue. I flat out sweat. -Charlie, Louisville KY
I've been giving your question some thought and while I have experienced many real (and imagined)ziplines, I must say that leading a 4-day workshop to groups of 20 to 30 people for whom English is a second, third, or fourth language is mentally, physically and emotionally taxing.
The levels of concentration and listening skills that such an environment demands of the instructor are impossible to imagine beforehand.
In central Europe, and also in many western European countries, the instructor (teacher) is treated with difference and is rarely challenged. As the workshops I lead are intended to be highly interactive with much learning happening during free-flowing. The interchanges between instructor/leader and delegates (attendees), getting delegates to leave their "comfort zone" into the "learning zone" and asking questions is indeed a 'zip-line'.
I now use, with great success, a tactic I learned at ESI. On the first morning of the workshop as the attendees sit around in a 'U' shaped table - I shake hands with each person, tell them my name, how to pronounce it and ask the same of them. I also ask them to name the city and country where they work. I do this at arm's length so that I make close eye contact with each person and give him or her my undivided attention. I smile, make light-hearted comments and get more comfortable as I go around the 'U' and meet each person.
It breaks down barriers and I quickly learn who has and who hasn't a command of English, so that thereafter when I call upon a delegate, I strive to embarrass no one who's English language skills are limited.
At the end of day four, I melt into a puddle of mush in my hotel room and sleep like a baby because I am exhausted - having given my all, and we know how tiring it is to be "ON" all the time. -Diarmuid, Diarmuid L. O'Sullivan & Associates, NC
One thing I didn't mention at the seminar was that I overcame a huge injury from a motorcycle accident back in April 89. I was in a hit and run accident. Some people pulled over and got me help. Financially there was no compensation due to New Jersey no-fault insurance laws. I was very ill and very broke all of a sudden. I had multiple breaks in my left femur and lots of skin reconstruction and bone grafts that would be needed, palsy in the left foot and a lot of nerve damage that is still there. I lost 6 units of blood before I got to the hospital. I almost didn't make it. I was in a wheelchair for 7 months and crutches for a while after that. Lost 1.5 years of work with-out pay. I never thought we would get out of this situation. I am in fair shape now. I haven't missed a day of work hardly since 1991. I consider myself OK. I just couldn't talk about this at the seminar. I almost used this story and changed my mind. You almost got it out of me.
Once I got back to work, my life changed for the better. Strength from the Lord, a great Christian wife, hard work and effort got me through all of this. Just go after it. That was my Zipline. I wouldn't let anybody or anything hold me back. I got a couple promotions in the first year back. 1991-1997 were some great years that have set the stage for the recovery I had to get through. I moved on from there to the next level where I am with Harper. What got me through was determination and just doing it.
Preparation was part of that. That is a quality that I feel I always had. I got a lot on confidence through all of this. I never had my head down once since the beginning of the ordeal. I picked up and moved on. That is what helped me get through this.
I wish I had talked about this now. Since I wrote this to you I feel even better. -Bill, Harper Corporation of America, NJ
We also asked about communication and leadership. Here's what we heard from our readers.
I have just receive one of the nicest testimonials from one of my clients. He said, "Apart from her abundant enthusiasm, knowledge and expertise, what sets Joy apart form the myriad of other speakers that can talk the talk, Joy has walked the walk."
So, I give you this...Many can talk the talk. So, while communication skills may be, "...the number one attribute today's managers need in order to help their companies succeed", examining their "walk" should be a continual process. If they do walk the walk, they will have more confidence when they talk the talk." -Joy, Charlotte Pipe and Foundry, Charlotte NC
Communication is the response you get. If you don't get an appropriate response, look to yourself as probably not having communicated adequately. -Jim, Jim Tunney Associates, CA
Yes, I agree - there's a tremendous need for managers or those in management positions to be effective communicators.
One of your own - Daniel Webster - rated the ability to speak well as the quality he values more than any other; saying that if he lost everything he owned but still had the ability to speak he'd get it all back! Pretty fair comment.
So there's an opportunity here: teaching such people how to communicate and present better. It may even be that one-on-one is needed; some managers/management people may not feel comfortable in a classroom environment. -Paul, PC-Herring Associates, Queensland Australia
I like the definition of what makes a leader:
"Strong leaders have a strategic mindset, sound judgment, enthusiasm for their work and the ability to prioritize competing projects. They also must be able to cultivate these same qualities in the people they hire."
I couldn't agree more! I am continually amazed that when I'm asked to help recruit managers, the focus is on their technical abilities and experience rather than their managerial and leadership skills. After 6 months, they have to "swim" on their managerial and leadership skills, NOT their technical skills. -Bruce, Georgia Pacific, Canada
In Ken McFarland's book "Eloquence in Public Speaking," he tells of a high school teacher who asked a student to define the word "vacuum". The student responded, "Well, I've got it in my head - but I just can't tell it!" Lesson: You may as well have a vacuum in your head if you can't share, tell or explain what you do have in there.
My interpretation: The ability to communicate = the ability to effectively share = the ability to grow and help others grow = who knows? -Joan, Southern Shows, Inc., Charlotte NC
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