The balled is snapped. The Quarterback drops back, sees an open receiver and lets the ball fly.  If the receiver catches it, it is a completion.   Football analogies may not be your game but when you communicate making a connection is the point of every play.  Incomplete communication will lose your audience.  When you speak what you say, what you think and what you feel must come together so your listeners can catch your message.

You must be in the game to play the game.  Standing on the sidelines can never substitute for stepping on the field.  When you stand to speak you put your heart into your speech first.  Become real clear about how you feel about your topic, yourself, and your audience.  If you feel nervous it is natural a lot can happen which is out of your control.  Professionals focus their feeling on their goal not on themselves.  Pick your topic by what your find engaging.  Even if you are assigned a topic find a way to connect it to your interests.    Sharing your interests creates an interesting connection with your audience.  When your heart is the game it is much easier to complete your thoughts.

The best designed plays and the best prepared speeches can get sidelined by challenging competitors and  inquisitive audiences.  It is very hard to complete your presentation when your listeners are peppering you with unexpected questions.  These inquisitions may make you want to call a time out.   What may feel like jeers from the crowd are really cheers.  Their interest in understanding is better than polite disinterest.   Use your emotional perspective to guide your thinking.  If you heart wants to head to the locker room your head will limp along.  The unexpected is unmanageable only when your emotional strength fails.  There is always a chance that someone in your audience knows more than you do and collectively your audience will always have the advantage multiple perspectives.  Have the courage to make you audience part of the team by asking if anyone has an answer to a question you don’t know.  Reaching out to your listeners completes the connection and gives them a chance to play with what you say.