Let’s talk about a moment that often gets glossed over: the moment before. Those few seconds just before the presentation, the meeting, the pitch. What are you, as a communicator, doing in that moment before?

If you’ve ever seen a large orchestra perform, or seen a Broadway show, you’ve heard what the musicians are doing in that moment: tuning their instruments, playing the most challenging parts of the score, and listening to their colleagues to make sure that they’re all in sync. It’s a pleasant sound, one you can probably hear in your head right now. Take a second and imagine it. That’s the sound of everything coming together in the moment before.

At GK Training, we teach our clients that Communication is a Physical Art. That means that to communicate in the most effective, most engaging way, you have to fully involve your physical body. Guess what? That physical body is your instrument. It is how you transmit the ideas in your head across time and space to other people. And just like a musician warming-up before a show, you should be warming-up your physical body before any communication opportunity.

So, what is a communication warm-up?

Well, you probably know what a physical warm-up is, generally. If you’ve ever played sports, taken a yoga or dance class, or worked with a trainer in-person or through a fitness app, you’ve done a warm-up. It’s simply any sequence of movements designed to get to get you prepped before activity. That kind of physical warm-up is a great foundation for a communication warm-up: start by moving and stretching your physical body. You need to go a bit farther, though, and get your voice and breath involved in order to get you prepared for speaking. Finally, throw in some exercises that engage your enunciators and articulators

In other words: You need to move your body, connect with your breath, make some sound, and get your face and lips ready to go.

The first step to building a warm-up practice is asking yourself (and answering honestly): Do I currently warm up before my communication opportunities? If the answer is no, maybe, or “meh,” you’re not doing enough. Your solution if you’re not warming up enough is easy: Do more than you currently are. If that’s nothing, do something. If you stretch your arms up and do a raspberry with your lips, add a couple more stretches and tongue twisters. If you power pose, add some breathing exercises. If you meditate to relax, try some physical stretches to aid relaxation from a different angle. You can add in pieces over time as you get comfortable with the different kinds of exercises.

The next step is easy: Learn some warm-ups! We’ve got you covered here with free, 30-second to five-minute warm-up videos on our site: www.gktraining.com/warm-ups/. Follow along and learn. There’s also a free PDF filled with easy and fun tongue twisters that you can download. Did I mention they’re free? If that’s not enough for you, there are tons of books you can buy and videos you can watch on how to do warm-ups for different kinds of situations. Just look around and you’ll find tons of examples that suit you. Or ask a friend who’s a performer or athlete and I’m sure they’ll have some warm-ups for you to learn.