#72 Practicing Communication Skills: WHAT IS PRACTICE? with Dr. Nadine Kelly YogiMD

Practice can elevate our performance.  But WHAT IS PRACTICE? Dr. Nadine Kelly shares how practice does not make perfect, how to practice effectively by setting intentions (WHY am I doing this and WHO do I need to be?) and the benefits of practice, including being less reactive. RESOURCES & RECOMMENDATIONS Dr. Nadine Kelly * Website – YogiMD.net * Podcast – https://yogimd.net/podcast * “Wise Women Tea with YOGI MD” Facebook Group – https://www.facebook.com/groups/465040207766142/ * Recommendations: * Trisha Park “Is it recess yet?” * Bruce Devereaux “The Creatively Engaging” * Talk About Talk podcast episode on POSTURE & BREATHING with Dr. Nadine Kelly: https://talkabouttalk.com/43-posture-breathing-with-dr-nadine-kelly-yogimd/ Talk About Talk & Dr. Andrea Wojnicki * Website – https://talkabouttalk.com * Podcast – https://talkabouttalk.com/podcasts * Email – [email protected] * Free Weekly Newsletter – https://talkabouttalk.com/blog/#newsletter-signup * Andrea on LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/andreawojnicki/ * Podcast episode on “Mentally Preparing to Communicate with Confidence – the 4Ps Framework”: https://talkabouttalk.com/mentally-prepare-to-communicate-with-confidence/   INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPT – WHAT IS PRACTICE? Andrea Wojnicki: Thank you so much for joining us to talk about practice. Dr. Nadine Kelly: Thank you for having me, Andrea, I am thrilled to be here. AW: Me too. Me too. My first question for you is, what does practice mean to you? NK: I detest the notion that practice makes perfect, because there’s no such thing and it sets people up for failure, in my opinion. And so for me, practicing means that you’re simply attempting to put your best foot forward in a safe situation. I’ll give you two examples, my yoga mat and my drum kit. So with my yoga mat, it’s a non-judgmental way to come to this medium, to show up and do my best. So it can be a positive mindset that I’m practicing, because I’m having a hard time doing that, or it can be a physical challenge. The yoga mat can be a place where I can come safely. And I’ll repeat it again without judgment. So that when I am in a real life, stressful situation, or when I want to have that tough conversation, or if I catch myself in a habit of a negative thought pattern that sets me up for failure, then I have the tools to do that, because I’ve practiced before coming to that situation. The yoga mat also gives me the opportunity while I’m practicing to find that pause between trigger and response. Practicing allows me to be less of a reactive person, and more of a responsive person. My drum kit – I’ve approached that with the very similar type “A” perfectionism. Which is why I hate “practice makes perfect” because there’s no such thing.