Retreats Costa Rica www.retreatscostarica.com

Slam Clicking & Prisoner at La Guardia Airport!

Enjoy the Journey.  I've always believed it.  But alas,  I'm being Tested in that belief system.  Two days and counting en route to a client in Rochester, New York and I find myself with hundreds of other travelers stranded in the biggest storm in the last 20 or so years at La Guardia Airport.

It's true! when people get tired and things don't go according to plan, the best of their nature can be repressed by the instinct of a road warrior.  Yup, it got ugly today.  Airlines personnel stressed by the bombardments of distressed travelers, appeared less than compassionate and business travelers normally poised in the boardroom stomped around like children on a playground, forgetting that the power of negotiation is through courtesy, not aggressive demands.

So I've been traveling for two days now, my luggage has been lost and tomorrow I know I will arrive to teach a seminar  at 8:00 a.m-- without the added confidence that a fresh change of clothes and a good night sleep can add. 

However, I'm managing stress by practicing  a lesson I teach in  business and life survival:   To stop and ask yourself those critical questions during an unexpected turn of events:

1)  Is  there anything I can do to improve the situation? If not, why give it emotion and simply focus on the very NA:  next action! 

2) Am I doing the very best I can at this moment with the resources I have, at this moment in time?  If the answer is yes, there is strangely, a relief from the burden that I'm to blame.

3)Finally those last two important questions....What have I learned from this experience and what do I have to be grateful for? Here's my answer: I was feeling guilty when I left Costa Rica when an Airline Pilot friend of mine said Rosemary, I'm aghast.....you're a "Slam Clicker".  "What's that? " I asked. "Well,  It's what we call the crew who slams the door and clicks on the T.V verses going out with business associates to enjoy the journey."  She went on to say  "I'm shocked---You're the Go Wild Girl--always ready for an adventure". What am I grateful for?  Slam Clicking never looked so Good!

Lessons Learned:  Focus on what you can control, not what you can't! Enjoy the Journey and Never Feel guilty about the quiet pleasure of Slam Clicking! ...........Rosemary

Body Language Best Practices

Did you know that non-verbal communication accounts for 80% of how people perceive you?  While the remaining 20% are the words you use, the overwhelming importance of non-verbal communication (including vocal tone and body language)  is clear.

Yes my friends, that sigh or dismissive eye-roll in a staff meeting could be costing you big time in the promotability department.

Here are a few 5 quick tips to improve your body language and as a result, improve your personal and professional relationships.

1.  Practice the Zen of Movement.  In "Go Wild-Survival Skills for Business and Life", I refer to this as the "Power of the Pause".  Every time you have movement, you create distraction for the listener.  You've all seen women in horror movies.  Their running through the woods!  What happens to them?  They fall, they trip, okay sometimes they lose their clothes and on the Discovery channel they certainly get eaten!  A running animal is a vulnerable animal.   Think of that colleague running around the office like a road-runner.  Do they look calm and confident in a crisis? Conserve your energy and recognize that people who speak slower and wait two to three seconds before responding are considered much more credible.  Also before jumping into action, experience stillness, centering and the incredible "Power of the Pause"

2.  Lean Forward:  Did you know that people who lean forward two to 3 inches are considered much more credible?  That's why if someone interviews with me and leans back in the chair, I simply won't hire them.  A forward lean show attention and actually improves listening. Not closer than that or you may appear aggressive.

3. Smile:  This is nother key non-verbal expression I also look for when interviewing since I follow the best practice of "Hiring for Attitude and Training for Skill".  Here's my rule: if during a 30 minute interview you don't smile 15 times I won't hire you.  This may sounds harsh but wait a minute, if you can't fake it when you want the job?????.what's going to happen when things go terribly wrong? 

4.  Heads UP!  A good posture makes you taller in many way.  Imagine there is a puppetteer pulling your head up straight.  or imagine you're a Top!  Also avoid leaning on one leg or another.  Your feet should be firmly planted so you do not give the appearance of being "off balance"

5. Avoid the Noise.  Noise are those distracting non-verbals that compete with and can destroy your message (hair twirling, checking your cell phone or blackberry as a cool multi-tasker--Psst..You're not! clicking of pens, gum chewing, pushing up glasses...the list is endless.)  Again, think the Zen of movement and avoid distracting the listener's eyes with unnecessary motion.

For information on bringing a body language & communication boot camp training seminar to your organization, write Rosemary@costaricatraining.com

Go Wild! Go GREAT!

"Man I hate that"

"Panty line shows, got a run in my hose, man I hate that"

As I was reviewing AOL's  list of the   20 Worst lyrics in musical history and saw Shania's lament of her bad day  in "Man I hate that" , I couldn't believe it! How could a song be bad that makes us smile and feel good, as we  commiserate about those days when the little things conspire to defeat us?  Yes, it is healthy to concentrate on the mountains and not the mole-hills, but some days...yikes what else could happen?

Perhaps I'm thinking of yesterday when my day began at the Duluth International Airport.  I arrived, en route home to Costa Rica, to return my rental car.  There I discover that the  parking area and steps to the terminal are a  sheet of glass ice, where moving a step,  let alone my luggage is deadly.  PS: No luggage carts or staff that will take my $3.00 for help.  I would pay more believe me.  So it's just me, the Ice and 2 large bags and a carry-on.   Two steps and sure enough, down I go,"she's fallen and she can't get up" thinking of months of recovery on my knee surgery out the window. How could this be an International Airport?  I travel 100 days a year, so weather and navigating airports is something I can do in my sleep.

Breathing helps and I think of Shania's little ditty and pick myself up off of the ground to seek help.  The stairway is coated with ice and the lap-top bag, falls down the stairs.  Don't you agree at these moments we think to ourselves.  "Okay, I'm a good person.  Why is this happening?"

Move on and forward thanks to a Good Samaritan from Avis.  When at long last,  the announcement from a higher power says the words I've been waiting for  " Your flight is cancelled".The reality hits me like a horizontal rain off of Lake Superior...."I'm not going home today".

Okay, since I wrote Go Wild-Survival Skills for Business and Life, I have learned to think of Plan B and Worse Case Scenarios.  Call a friend for support and find a nice, quiet hotel to hunker down for the night. My friend, Jeanna tells me to get some aromatherapy going, rest, relax and watch Law and Order. She chats with me while waiting for luggage. Meanwhile, the TSA's recommend Country Inn Suites and give me the phone number. " A shuttle will pick you up and you're just 10 minutes away from the airport for my return".  A thobbing knee tells me that this sounds like a plan"

I arrive and am given a wrist band for the "Indoor Water Slide/Kids Park".  You just gotta laugh and sing "Man I hate that"    

So a little Advice for those days:  1)  Call your Support System 2) Recognize those things outside of your control and don't give them emotion 3) Focus on Plan B/Next Action thinking 4) Sing a little ditty and 5)Smile when you next encounter a waterslide.

PS:  I'm at the Duluth airport now, waiting for the announcement from the higher power.  Wish me luck.