This month I am experimenting with You Tube and not just writing but also talking to you about the three faces, an African teaching I learned from Angeles Arrien. It is said we stay alive to our lives if each day we express the three faces. The first is the face of the child, the face of wonder and curiosity, imagination and awe. The second is the face of the young lad or young maiden seized by passion and creative fire. The third is the face of rude magnificence, the face of the elder with its wisdom, and yes, often its fierceness. ( I tell a favorite story about the face of rude magnificence as it showed up in me in Switzerland in my book Transformational Speaking.)
We spend too much of our time with an audience substituting information for the aliveness of these faces. So the next time you are preparing a presentation, ask yourself these questions to bring yourself and your material alive:
1. Where and how can I show my delight in the material that has captured my attention? What caused me to be curious? Where am I in awe at where my investigation is leading me? How can I invite people to play with me around my idea? How can I demonstrate, as stated by Albert Einstein, that imagination is indeed more important than knowledge?
2. How can I express my passion for this subject and ignite a creative fire in others whom I’d like to have join me on my quest?
3. What understanding have I gained through my life journey, and how can I demonstrate my wisdom through the stories I choose to tell? How do I take a solid stand knowing what I know, having seen what I have seen?
This isn’t just about saying it, it’s mostly about showing it! In your face, in your body language, in your words.
What face needs to show up in you? Will you commit to bringing this face into your speaking and in to your life? Let me know what happens when you do!
One Response to The Three Faces: Staying Alive to Your Life and Your Speaking
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