. . . because if you ain't who you is . . . you is who you ain't.

(attributed to Nido Quebein)

These words summarize the essence of you radiating your passion, authenticity and transparency as you speak.

For vivid examples of what to do and what not to do, watch politicians making campaign speeches. And when you watch and listen, listen from your heart space, just as your audiences automatically do when you speak.

You'll recognize that some politicians are clearly speaking from their mouth. They are articulating the party line. There is no palpable sincerity. As a careful listener you will sense this.

Other politicians speak to your listening heart. You perceive this as you watch and listen.

Ask yourself in the still watches of the night which sort of speaker do you choose to be.

Let's face it: None of us mortals is perfect. We are all flawed humans. And despite our flaws we can engage our unique ability to make a difference.

I mean a difference for ourselves, a difference for our loved ones, and a difference for every person in the microcosm we call our personal world.

This includes all the people we know, all the places we go, all the circumstances and conditions of our respective lives.

For those of us who serve organizations this includes the companies, their branches, districts, and divisions for which we speak, train or consult.

Let me bring this insight home . . . home to you . . . wherever you live and wherever you speak, train or consult.

"This above all," said Polonius to his son in Act I, scene 3, of Shakespeare's Hamlet, "This above all: To thine own self be true . . . and it must follow as the night the day, thou canst not then be false to any man."

These immortal words now bring us full circle: Be who you is; be your bare, psychologically naked, unashamed self as you speak.

You may then radiate passion, authenticity and transparency as you speak to your audiences and your clients.

You may then stand as tall and as proud as a matador. You may then allow those before you to experience the essence of your untainted spirit.

Audiences adore your authenticity. They long to experience the real you speaking. They abhor canned speeches. They yearn for you to speak with them and not at them.

So please do not speak from your mouth. And do not speak from your voice box.

Instead, speak from your heart.

You then create a vivid memory for those before you. You create an unforgettable memory of having been, if only for a fleeting hour, in a presence.

This happened to me when I was 21, selling furniture door-to-door for my Uncle's furniture store while I attended Temple University at night. (And then studying into the wee hours, sleeping 3 hours a night.)

Milliard J. Bennett was speaking in the lobby of the Philadelphia YMCA, (where I then lived.) In his short talk he included these words to the young men gathered there: "Your voice is the instrument with which you play the symphony of your life."

For me, this was a sacred moment. "Your voice is the instrument with which you play the symphony of your life," His presence and these words were evermore engraved on my consciousness. He was never to know this. And my life was forever enhanced.

Copyright (c) 2012 Burt Dubin