How to Be a Better Collaborator

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Collaboration is crucial in any line of work — even in fields that seem to be all about single star performers.

I work with professional speakers. You might think that public speaking is a go-it-alone kind of gig. You imagine yourself alone up there on stage, with the lights shining on you. You experience the excitement, the fear, and the glory all yourself. It’s your performance, your career, your thought leadership.

Except that it isn’t yours alone. Your performance depends on the A/V team to make you look and sound good, the meeting planner to schedule your talk in the right place in the day, and your therapist to help you get past rejection in your childhood to stand on the stage without curling up into a fetal ball. It takes a public speaking village, whether you recognize it or not.

Recognizing that, I did some research on collaboration and found some useful ideas. In particular, I’ve leaned on a book, Radical Collaboration, by Tamm and Luyet, that has many useful ideas for budding collaborators in the public speaking world, or anywhere else for that matter.

Here are 5 ways to become a better collaborator:

1. Cultivate Self-awareness. You can’t be a good partner or collaborator to work with unless you know yourself, what makes you smile, and what triggers you. Do you have a thin skin…