Yay! It's the party season and we all want to have fun. The problem is that this is the time when we can strain or even damage our voices. So in this episode I share top tips to protecting your voice and avoiding straining it. I don't want to be a party pooper, but it's worthwhile being mindful of these things!

Have a  great time.

It is that time of year when you are invited to plenty of drinks receptions, parties, dinners and in my case, pub crawls to celebrate Christmas and the holiday season. Certainly many of my invitations are work related, and as an entrepreneur attending these events, I am essentially working.

However, it is easy to forget that you ARE working and that if you misbehave or allow the whole party season vibe to take over, you might damage your reputation and that of your business/brand. 

Whilst wishing to avoid being a party pooper, I wish to share some top tips for making the most of these networking opportunities without risking damaging your business's reputation.

Have a great time!

I am delighted to have the amazing Sian Young as a guest on this week's Superstar Communicator podcast. Sian has had a courageous journey from being a homeless teenager - she was homeless from the ages of 15 - 22, to an award winning entrepreneur. The lessons she has learnt on this life journey have had 'confidence' and self esteem as the core. 

In this episode, Sian talks about the effects of a lack of confidence when you speak; her 3 top tips to getting confidence when you speak and finally, a story about a speaking engagement where everything went wrong other than her ability to keep focused and deliver a great speech.

Sian can be contacted on her website www.euphoriclifestyle.co.uk Sian's book How to be confident, Seven secrets to being confident is available as an ebook from Amazon here

I am often asked for advice from trainers and lecturers on how to maintain energy levels – and the voice, when training. Either they lose energy throughout the day; they might lose their voice or focus. In the latest Superstar Communicator podcast, I share top tips on how to maintain your voice and energy through a long training session as a trainer.

I have produced great downloadable notes from the podcast: download here Notes from Podcast 71

Executive Voice delivers Train the Trainer courses: details here.

Also an audio downloadable course available here.

I am delighted interview Amanda Brown from Alterra Consulting. www.alterra-consulting.co.uk To discuss the whole concept of developing a business relationship from online to offline. In other words speaking to people we have engaged with on line - either by Skype, face to face, telephone etc.

Top tips: 1 being prepared; have an agenda or notes. Agree length of call.

2. Relax!

3. Listen very carefully to the other person; you need to ensure you pick up everything the other person is saying. Ask good questions (pre-prepare)

Okay: it's Halloween, so I thought I'd focus on something REALLY scary - awful communication habits or sins.

So in this edition of Superstar Communicator, I share my SEVEN deadly communication sins. I also challenge you to dig deep and discover if you ever do any of these. I also challenge you to identify when other people do any of these sins!!

You live and learn. Have a great halloween!

This week I am discussing confidence when communicating with others, with the fabulous Carol Stewart from Abounding solutions.

Carol is a personal development coach, and in particular supports women in midlife who are unhappy with their work situation. Perhaps they are frustrated and wish to leave corporate life; they might be frustrated that they aren't being promoted or they want to try something new.

In the interview, Carol shares excellent tips for overcoming negative thoughts (or self sabotage) when communicating with others. She says that the group of ladies she works with often have a lack of confidence in communicating.

The podcast is full of absolute GEMS, and I highly recommend you listen to it.

As ever there is a summary sheet from the podcast. To receive it, register here

Carol has a lot of free resources on her website. Go to www.aboundingsolutions.com/resources

In the last few weeks I've been aware of a number of people - politicians included - who have been adopting "Powerful stances". I've also come across speaking coaches who are promoting "Powerful Postures" but the clients look really awkward, or, let's be honest, idiots!

This has all been prompted by the excellent Tedx Talk given by Amy Cuddy. Watch it here. In the talk she reveals that your body language affects the way others perceive you. BUT also, your body language can influence the way YOU feel. So if you want to feel confident before doing a presentation or a tricky phone call, by adopting a positive posture, it will help you feel more confident.

HOWEVER, some of the extreme postures she uses to demonstrate this, are being used, and not always effectively! In this podcast I share tips to using positive postures and what they are, and using these to your advantage with the benefits to you and your audience.

To receive a summary of this podcast register here.

Do feel free to comment on this. http://www.executivevoice.co.uk

I am delighted to interview top business lawyer Suzanne Dibble on effective communication styles.

To receive a summary of the podcast click here.

In the podcast, Suzanne shares some excellent tips on how to be an effective communicator in the highly pressurised environment of negotiating £billion deals - particularly as the only female (and in her 20s) in the room.

She also shares communication tips for her businesses now: as a business mentor and legal advisor for small businesses. Not surprisingly they are different.

Do listen and learn. Remember I have summarised everything in the summary so don't forget to send off for it!

Today is International Podcast Day, and podcasters globally are celebrating everything great about podcasting!

I wanted to celebrate the success of podcasts and also to tell people how great they are! In this 'visual' world, people are bombarded with images. Yet many people are 'audio' people: people that want to LISTEN to information and that's where podcasts come into their own.

If you are driving, walking, exercising, working, you might want to LISTEN to a podcast, full of information, rather than WATCHING!

My podcast has now been going for 16 months and in that time I've built up a loyal listening group. I focus on being a great communicator; engaging; effective and with charisma. In the next few weeks we're going to have a few changes including adding downloadable worksheets as a prompt - so you don't need to write notes! But also, I'm interviewing some awesome people who are giving their great tips on communicating and engaging with others.

So don't forget to subscribe to the Superstar Communicator Podcast!