The Communication Gym: The Sequel

Last week for #ThrowbackThursday, we shared a video of The Communication Gym in action…’90s style. Did it make you nostalgic for days past? It certainly made me think about where The Gym is now. Here’s a look at the past few years:

After several years in a corporate role (in which I learned a lot!) I took what I call my pretirement. First I traveled overseas, then I bought an RV and explored the USA. I used that time to recenter my true north. On March 3, 2020, I returned to my home state of PA from New Orleans having made the decision that I would reopen The Communication Gym and resume normalizing communication practice.

In case you missed it, the date was March 3, 2020.

Little did I know that that was NOT the time to relaunch a face-to-face communication training company!

Obviously I needed to change the course of my plan. Could The Gym exist in a virtual format?

In June 2020, we put it to the test. The TCG team created a virtual group to pilot our Leadership MVP program. That experiment passed my proof of concept. We spent the rest of the summer building that same program in an improved format for Dame Leadership’s 10 New Leaders program that would begin August 2020.

We added a third-party Learning Management System to deliver the learning content and continued with our weekly virtual gym sessions. That second successful test solidified my dream - The Communication Gym COULD exist despite physical and social barriers!

In 2021, we took this new model to the market and have been delivering our services safely and effectively… 100% online, across the country. Our members are learning skills and practicing together in our “gym.” They are using those skills in their lives and reporting back to us an improvement in their communication efforts and the results they are experiencing.

The past 18 months have taught us all something about ourselves and how we respond when we have little control over the situation.

I have learned that my commitment to communication practice and my desire to share it with others outperforms any obstacle placed before me. In 2022, I will focus on spreading the word and hope you join me - use your skills to make your communities better, one conversation at a time. And of course, keep practicing!

We’ll see YOU @ The Gym!