If you’re my student, I start every lesson with one question. “What did you notice about your voice and speech this week? What caught your attention—anything, good, bad or in between,” and there are no right answers. The only wrong answer is, “I didn’t notice anything.”

Now, people rarely come right out and admit that, but occasionally, someone will say, “Well, I didn’t have any presentations this week, so there were no opportunities to practice.” And that makes me want to cry and bang my head on the desk. Because that tells me the student still sees the training as something that applies only in special situations.

It’s understandable. If you’re like most people, you never think about your speaking skills unless you’re in a lesson, preparing a speech or giving a speech. It’s compartmentalized. You forget that public speaking is just heightened conversation. So, every conversation is a chance to practice your speaking skills, at some level.

In his book, Bo’s Lasting Lessons, former Michigan football coach Bo Schembechler wrote, “If you’re going to maximize your performance in high-pressured situations, you need to be [ready] long before the moment of truth arrives.”

You can’t wait till you’re giving a report or in a job interview to pay attention to your speaking skills. You have to pay attention when you’re ordering coffee at Starbucks, when you’re on a Zoom call with your family or even when you’re—talking to your dog. If you want your skills to be there in the big moments, you must first apply them in the small moments.

The skills required for good speech aren’t complicated or mysterious. Voice training isn’t quantum science. The hard part is learning to pay attention, to something you’ve had on autopilot for years. Sure, you’ve got to learn and practice skills related to relaxation, breathing and resonance, but ultimately you must move those skills from practice to performance.

It takes time and conscious intention to get those new skills from the safety of your practice room to the pressure of the classroom, the boardroom or the interview room. You can’t do that in one giant step, and the path to get there goes through your everyday life.

Years ago, on his last lesson, a client said to me, “I’ve realized that you have to let the training change you. If you wait till you’re in front of an audience, it won’t help. It has to change the way you speak every day, in every situation.” I wish all my students had that wisdom. It separates memorable students from forgettable students, successful trainings from disappointments.

Don’t wait for a presentation to apply your new skills. Don’t pay attention only when you’re performing. The everyday world is your proving ground. Every moment of your daily life is an opportunity to notice something or reinforce some small skill. The more you practice on your dog, the more it will be there for you in the big situations.

Tell me what strategies you use to get new skills working in your everyday life. Thanks for watching, and I’ll see you in the next video.