This is an archived blog from when I ran Conscious Public Relations Inc. from 2008-2018. Excuse the potential outdated-ness!
Last night I had the incredible honour of speaking at the first TELUS Connections 20×20 event. Modelled on the globally popular Pecha Kucha events, the theme of Leaving a Legacy was shared very differently among seven of us.
Having prepared and rehearsed for this presentation for about one month, it is amazing what 6 minutes and 40 seconds of speaking can teach you about yourself.
I am not a public speaker by profession, and made that very clear to the organizers when they first considered me. They were intrigued by my story, and that gave me enough confidence (along with the live CTV segment I had done in November) to do it.
By early yesterday I had rehearsed so much that looking back on it now, I feel like I had over prepared. The nerves were almost no longer there and I felt a deep sense of gratitude when my bio was read out. It is the first time I have heard someone else read about my accomplishments.
The presentation did not flow as well as I had hoped, and instead of taking centre stage like some of the other speakers did, I stood behind the podium where the mic was (I wasn’t sure if my voice would be loud enough to reach the back of the room). But even as I stumbled, I continued on, and I finished.
In retrospect this was by far the hardest thing I have had to do. To prepare as much as possible for something and, when the 6:40 that you want to go perfectly does not, there is no time to break down or start over. I am extremely proud of myself for continuing and finishing. I have learned that it is a microcosm of how the world must evolve; we try, we fail, but we succeed, we continue, and ultimately, grow.
In Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell said that the highest achievers clock 10,000 hours in order to master an area. I have clocked nowhere these hours in public speaking, nor do I intend to. But what I’d like to do is just grow enough self-acceptance to know that I do not have to be perfect in anything or everything, and just be.
Do you struggle to just be in anything?
