When I began my career in broadcasting, I was a one man band. I was the news director of a small Christian radio station in Rockford, Illinois.

I would get up at 3 a.m., head to the police station to scan the police reports from the previous 24 hours, then get to the station to begin scanning the wire services, writing my stories and editing my sound bites for the news that morning.

After delivering the morning drive newscasts, I would usually head into town to attend a morning press event or cover a trial before heading back to the station for the big noon newscast.

After a nap in the afternoon, I would attend the city council, school board or county board meetings in the evenings. Then start it all over the next day.

As a speaker or communicator (writer, blogger, leader), you're on a mission. You're there for a reason. It's not idle chatter.

A speaker has a message

The first point is to remember you have a message to share, a message to deliver. Others need to hear from you. You have insights and an interesting perspective.

Are you practicing your magic skills?

If you're a speaker, you're a magician. You bring a magical, mystical approach to ideas. You create connections between ideas that seem to appear out of nowhere.

You use a slight of hand to make the audience think one thing and then introduce another.

You invite them to pick a card, any card. You shuffle your ideas before them. You spin a narrative explaining how what they believe may not hold water.

Whenever you speak in front of an audience, small group or in a business setting, the audience members are asking themselves questions. They might not even know it, but here are five of the questions they'd like to get answered.

1. Are you for real? That is, are you really as qualified and experienced as you're described in the program or in the introduction? So, part of your presentation will need to address those concerns with references to your accomplishments and credentials, but without sounding like you're bragging.

2. Is what you're saying making sense? People are listening and likely open to what you're saying, but are trying to compare and contrast it with what they already know. Help them out by being abundantly clear.

What do people tell other people about you? That's your brand.

If they say you are a good for nothing so and so, that's your brand.

Nice guy? That's your brand. Interesting and engaging? Your brand.

Cheap?

Leap Year is a great time to take stock of what we've accomplished compared to where we'd hoped we'd be in our life. We might need to leap to the next level.

Leaping forward can be one step that you've avoided making until now.

One step, yet it might as well be a giant leap.

Once you've taken that step, the next one is easier, and the next one after that.

wesbleed.com | @wesbleed

Exercise and nutrition boost energy levels and keep you sharp

Speaking in front of an audience can be exhausting. You're trying to project, maintain high energy, look and sound convincing, recall your talk and move about the platform.

That should start your pulse racing just a bit. It stands to reason, then, that speakers should be in good shape. Fitness is important.

CARDIO
Running, walking, playing basketball or tennis can improve your cardiovascular conditioning, which helps you breathe more effectively and project your voice. Every speaker should have a regular regimen that includes cardio, especially when you have to speak for extended periods of time.

WEIGHTS
Lifting weights or performing body weight exercises such as pullups and pushups can help improve your posture and flexibility, giving you a bit more spring in your step. This also helps boost energy levels and keeps your mind sharp.

NUTRITION
Nutrition also comes into play. You need a proper balance of protein and carbs, preferably not immediately before you speak. After dinner speakers can sometimes eat too much of the wrong things, affecting how they feel when they begin their presentation.

So, if you're finding yourself dragging when you speak, maybe you need to focus on your fitness and nutrition. After a few weeks, you'll begin to notice and feel the difference. Hopefully, your audiences will, too.

wesbleed.com | twitter: @wesbleed

It's easy to forget that communication cannot really happen unless there is a connection between individuals or groups, including various forms of media.

Why do we think that if we shout, jump up and down, repeat ourselves and generally talk too much that we've done a great job of communicating? We'll never know for sure unless we have a connection.