2020 is now well upon us and it is time perhaps to consider what steps are you taking in your personal communication. Do you need to upskill by learning a new language, working on your voice or perhaps some other aspect of your personal development.

As an Executive Voice Coach based in Vienna, Austria, I help people all over the world improve their spoken communication skills. Whether at the FH Wien der WKW, Die Schule des Sprechens or at MHC Business Language training, I see similar patterns across many people. They fear speaking infront of other for a variety of reasons. To me, these include:

• They don't know how to breathe properly.
• They are not aware of how they stand and sit and use their hands during their presentations.
• They are not paying attention to the audience while giving their presentations, looking for clues as to how the speech or presentation is going. 
• They have taken a written approach to their speech rather than a spoken approach. 
• They assume more detail is better than less.
• They want to fill their entire speech with sound rather than taking questions, pausing and slowing down and their speech patterns and
• They do not understand how capable their voices are.

These are some of the many things I help people with in 2020 and I want to continue to do so. Book a virtual catchup with me and let's talk about your personal development for 2020, so that in the future you can be better prepared and in a position to help yourself get your message across. 

Personal Development has always been a keen interest to me. When I was 19 I first discovered the self-help section of the bookstore as a Psychology student and became interested in various topics from Flow, to Emotional Intelligence and alternative forms of Spirituality. My interests were eclectic but I favoured this section through most of my twenties.

Now in my thirties, having been a professional opera singer for the last 10 years, I didn't have an much time to read while learning notes and studying roles, but when I did, I tried to find the titles that suited my personal development interests at the time. Now with the Internet giving us mountains of information it is also possible to add Youtube clips, TED talks and Apps to your diet of self-development. There are many different mediums to connect with inspirational sources.

Over the years I have come to realise that we all need to develop ourselves in 5 areas. Our

• Physical self
• Emotional self
• Mental self
• Spiritual self
• Social self

This doesn't mean perfection in these areas, but attention. Attention towards growth and some kind of progress. Neglecting one of these areas results in potential failure across all. This is not a new concept and my influences on this topic come from speakers and authors like Jim Rohn, Earl Nightingale, Tony Robbins and Matthew Kelly.

For me, the point is working in one area can also effect other areas. Singing has always been something I have loved doing, even if I am not currently being paid to do it. It nourishes me physically, mentally by learning others languages, spiritually by the feeling of flow I get from a good performance and it can be a social activity. I am currently singing with two choirs here in Vienna and really enjoying music for the sake of music.

So what are you doing to develop yourself in these 5 areas? What are your personal development strategies for the year. To lead by example I list mine here! Let's see how 2017 turns out for these.

My 2017 PD strategies - 

• Physical - Do 10,000 steps a day. Also aim to eat more vegetarian meals throughout the week.
• Emotional - Attend Emotional Intelligence Workshop through 6 seconds to understand myself more. Also to take more risks to expose my emotions and feelings to others when necessary and not hold back for fear of rocking the boat.
• Mental - To stimulate my learning by reading at least one book a month to broaden my perspective. Also as a Toastmaster I aim to give another 10 speeches this year to achieve another manual. 
• Spiritual - After reading Matthew Kelly's book, the Rhythm of Life, he suggests 1 hour per day of Prayer. This involves meditation, sitting still and visualisation, but mainly checking in with your higher self on a daily basis. To lessen the distraction and seek answers within.
• Social - To increase my network in Europe and around Vienna through exciting new initiatives I hope to bring to life in the coming 12 months. As a mentor figure said to me recently, be the social glue, the connector and help people join the dots.

Somehow we are now in October 2016 and part of me thinks, wow, where did 2016 go? When I reflect on what I have been up to thus far, I see a fair amount has happened. Some of the highlights of my year so far have been...

• Becoming President of Toastmasters Club 551, for the 16/17 season
• Finishing the coursework of the Masters in Science in Human Resources at International Business School
• Returning home to Australia for a 5 week holiday (our first time back since moving to Wien)
• Seeing my German language skills grow, as I now call Wien home
• Almost finishing my Thesis on Coaching and Management, which has brought me to a whole new world of opportunities.
• To grow as an English Trainer and to see the development in my students and to work with people from many CEE countries
• To sing at the VCC for fun and not have the stress of performing and allowing my natural Baritone Voice to resonate.

Of course, the year is not over but my intention with this section of my website is to look at issues I find interesting, discuss developments and ideas I am working on and to allow people to see what I am doing.