You control you.
We say in communication that there are three things you control: you, your message, and your environment to a degree. In communication and in life we tend to concentrate on the things we don’t have control over, like the weather or traffic rather than what we do have control over, like having an umbrella or starting out with enough time regardless of bumper to bumper.
It’s a nice saying. Sometimes even I forget how true it is and when to implement that control over our environment.
Recently I was working with a woman as a keynote speaker. At barely 5 feet tall she was concerned that the podium would swallow her and she would practically disappear, even with a “step stool”. I told her about a Lucite podium a client had used in a different venue.
My thinking unfortunately stopped there. Hers did not.
The next thing I knew she asked me about purchasing a Lucite podium. She was controlling her environment.
I suggested eBay. Next thing I knew she texted me an image of a Lucite podium for my approval.
Podium arrived. We worked with Tim and his crew at the venue so that his audio would work with the configuration of the new podium.
It not only worked great for my client, it was an extra bonus to the group to have two podiums on the stage as speakers and hosts came and went.
Nicole controlled her environment. She also reminded me that I could control an environment and I could advise a client to control the environment more than it appears at first glance.
What can you do to control your environment more than you think you can?
