Whats Your Zipline?

A few years ago, I was with 20 of America's most effectivepresenters - The Speakers Roundtable - at the Pecos RiverConference Center near Sante Fe, NM. We were working on ourcommunication skills, not unlike the work we do in ourown Excellence in Speaking Institute (ESI) classes.

At Pecos River, a zipline was a part of an outwardbound-type challenge for attendees to check their own nerve.Set from a rock at the top of a mesa to a point below, thezipline dared us to ride down holding only its woodenhandle.

Now, the mesa was about the height of the average 18-storybuilding. Challenging and unnerving? You bet! But we all didit.

The best part was that we learned more about ourselves andrecognized new, expanded personal limitations. It was abenchmark experience that I remember nearly as vividly asthe day of the plunge.

Cut to our ESI classes, where we have our own version of the zipline challenge: define and confront any personal obstacles that are in the way of being your best.

Day Three is a very dramatic one in most all of ourInstitutes. Attendees leave feeling they can confront andbest their former communications hurdles.

So, what's your zipline? What challenges have you faced andhow did you overcome them. You can use these previoussuccesses to push beyond previous limits and travel downyour own zipline.

Ty Boyd, CEO of Ty Boyd Executive Learning Systems(http://www.tyboyd.com), is in the Broadcast Hall of Fame and the Speakers Hall of Fame. He has taught presentation skills to Fortune 1000 executives in more than 40 countries. His Excellence In Speaking Institute celebrates its 25th anniversary in 2005.