Do you remember the last time you had to stand in front of a group of people and explain a concept or share an idea? Did your palms get sweaty? Did you have anxiety for hours, maybe days before, thinking about the humiliation you may be subjected to? Did you decide not to eat before the presentation in case you were not able to hold it down? It may sound ridiculous, but EVERYONE has had this experience one time or another. If they tell you they have not, then they have not been challenged enough.
I joined Toastmasters two years ago despite the fact that I had experience presenting in front of large groups of people. The first time I gave a speech to the 10 people in attendance, I was anxious and could barely concentrate until the 6-8 minute speech was done. The people in the room said, "You make it look so easy." Really? I was faking it the entire time! I was just hoping I remembered to keep my knees bent so I did not faint in front of these people.
The truth is that no matter how many times you speak in front of people you get a little anxiety over the thought of forgetting a key point, mispronouncing a word, or absolutely becoming tongue tied. It is said that with practice comes perfection. The key is practice. There are several things I have learned from Toastmasters: draft it, write it, practice it, and then time it.
I can make it look easy. But easy is not the message I want portrayed. I want it to be heard not seen. If I am going to expend the time to craft a lofty vision or share an inspirational moment, then I want the words to be what people remember, not me sweating or passing out from the lack of oxygen.
Hence, my tip of the day: Write the word "BREATHE" between paragraphs. Then at least if you can not remember your key point, you will remember to get some air.
At a recent national conference, I learned that you are supposed to update your Google+ account. Then I was told at another presentation to make sure your LinkedIn profile was updated. At yet another meeting I heard that I need to check my privacy settings. During this infinite updating, I came across an annotation that I had a blog! Oh my, it has been a long time.
I started the blog as a principal of an elementary school. I saw it as a way to journal my experience as a principal. Interesting reading, but I am not sure if it was because I wrote it, or if truly is. Either way, the theme is the same for my blog...Leadership For Life. Now I am working for a nonprofit as a Vice President. The principal in me still comes out every once in a while, especially when I see coworkers running in the hall. When the fire alarms went off though, I was not for sure if it was a fire drill or a tornado drill. Do I exit the building or do I tuck myself against an interior wall? Wrong decision could be fatal.
Seems like many of the decisions I make in my current role still fall under the category of leadership. I continue to speak about leadership, but I have not made a deliberate attempt about blogging about it since 2013. Two years may seem like a long time, but in the fast paced and ever changing social media updates and profile changes and upgrades, it is a VERY long time. Hopefully, you won't have to wait another 2 years for a blog post.
Until the next time..
