Speaking, books, writing and Zombies...

On Monday I spoke for my public speaking group (yep, if you didn't know, I am a member of Toastmasters International...you know, constant self-improvement)

Anyway, my topic was 'How to survive the zombie apocalypse'

I was excited about the topic but I think I got too consumed by being visually entertaining that I lost sight of what was important...the actual speech.

Admittedly, I didn't rehearse very much because I was planning on using the slides (I made a power point show) to guide me through.  Because I relied on the slides so much, I ended up reading from them far too often, which is a big no-no when presenting in public.  When you read from a slide, you turn your back and your attention away from the audience.

I did find the content quite entertaining (if I do say so myself) and could have hit it out of the park had I either gone with pictures only or just the topics rather than spelling out each bullet point on the slides.  I was too tempted to read each point -too bent on making sure I got everything just right and that became my undoing. So, lesson learned.  The feedback from the group reflected my own assessment of my presentation -look at the audience, the visual aids are there for THEM, not me!

Delving into the public speaking world...insanity?

I'll be the first to admit, I have a thing for pushing myself out of my comfort range...way out of my comfort range.  I've done adventure races that last over 48 hours and go non-stop the entire time.  One I'm particularly fond of recollecting was in North Georgia in January. The temperature at the start was below 10.  All of our water was frozen solid at the start line. The lake we were supposed to paddle across was frozen solid.  We raced anyway.  Probably because we're all nuts.  The second night -maybe it was early morning -it was dark regardless, my teammate and I began to hallucinate from sleep deprivation. Now that was an interesting experience!

So how do I segue from adventure racing to public speaking? Comfort zones! I think pushing myself until hallucinations set in probably counts as pushing beyond ones comfort zone.  Similarly, signing up for a public speaking group and, of course speaking in front of that group is, for me anyway, once again jumping into an endeavor with which I am not the least bit comfortable.

Part of it is need based (you know, the whole book publishing thing will require some public speaking comfort) the other is challenge based.  I like seeing how far I can push myself.

So last night, I presented my first speech (called The Ice Breaker) The topic: me.  Easy, right? Who can't talk about themselves for four to six minutes?  Hell, I dated a girl that talked about herself for four to six hours non-stop!

I had a plan.  I had the structure laid out.  Tell something about my history, something about my family and something about my passion.  So far, so good, right? For my history I would share a funny story about my father so the audience would get a feel for my upbringing.  I talked about my family -my daughters, my wife.  I had several visual aids to keep the audience engaged as well as give me helpful notes.  What my evaluator missed (sorry Tony) was, on the back of virtually all of my props were written notes (a trick I learned in college of all places).  The audience is none the wiser and you don't spend your time as the speaker flipping note cards.  Needless to say, the prop notes worked well.

The final piece of my speech was about my passion -writing.  Always looking for a comedic edge, I decided to briefly discuss marketing then over-play it by literally taking off my clothes...well, sort of.

I spoke about how, if I truly wanted to pursue my dream as a writer, I would have to thrust myself into the marketing aspect of publishing.  With that, I un-zipped my sweatshirt revealing this gem...

I wasn't done...not even close. I dug into my cache of props and removed a huge copy of my logo (also plastered with notes) and threw it up on my easel.

By this time I saw the yellow WARNING, you're about to run out of time card go up.  I knew I should have wrapped up but I thought, it's my first speech, I prepared all these props so I might was well use them and take the time penalty.  So out they came.

I talked about my store and how the proceeds go to the Books for Teens charity that gets books in the hands of under-privileged teens.

I was seriously considering having 'models' stroll in at this point wearing shirts from my store but, at the last minute, decided that my daughter's giant bear was much easier to work with, I could fit it in my duffel bag, I didn't have to deal with his agent (my daughter didn't know I 'borrowed' him) and I didn't have to buy anyone dinner.  Everybody wins!










So somewhere between the bear and the baby alive (yes the one that will crap out the special food you feed her) the red sign goes up and I know I'm over time.  I quickly displayed my magnets, bookmarks and stickers, then handed out my cards (a very cost effective marketing tool BTW vistaprint.com), which, of course are marked with my website and release date (this could have waited until after the speech, saving time) and concluded my speech.  I actually said 'thank you', which I'd just finished hearing was a no-no for speakers because it is the audience's privilege to listen to you speak, but I got flustered and rushed when I ran over on time so my conclusion wasn't as crisp as it should have been.

The power of synergized enthusiasm

I recently joined Toastmasters International, which is a speaking and leadership development group.  My intent was to polish my speaking skills as my book publication date draws closer so I'm comfortable speaking in front of groups of people.  Good idea, right?  Trust me, I need all the help I can get.

Anyway, last monday there was a special meeting called a speech-a-thon where the entire meeting is nothing but speeches and evaluations (unlike the regular meetings, which consist of other exercises and interaction opportunities). 


I'd gotten up at 4:15 that morning, did 9 hours at work and was drained by the time I got home.  I was seriously considering bagging the meeting and vegging on the couch with my copy of Maze Runner and my dog.  Something (of course) deep within the recesses of my brain was telling me to go so, I went. 


As soon as the meeting got going, there was a palpable energy in the room.  Each speaker was on their 'A' game and as an observer, you could feel their energy. It got me excited.  I wanted to get up and speak -to share my energy with the group.  I needed an outlet for this energy so I started writing my next (and first official) speech.  My mind was racing -drawing energy and ideas off the other speakers and I wondered if this is what collaborative writing feels like.


One speech that completely blew me away mentioned a Rube Goldberg machine in the same breath as Wile E. Coyote and had me literally fighting myself to keep from laughing hysterically.  I found the Rube Goldberg mention so obscure yet funny in its context that it was nothing less than masterful placement.  


For those unfamiliar with the Rube Goldberg Machine, here is an amazing video.






Other speeches touched on other topics -all of them interesting -all of them informative,  and each feeding to my energy.  By the end of the meeting, I was pumped. I was full of ideas -not only for my future speeches but for book stuff, work stuff, home stuff.  The fires of creativity had been stoked and I was powerless to do anything about it.


Another member mentioned the same feeling during her closing statements. As we packed up, it was clear that everyone in the room was energized.  People were lingering just to talk about their favorite parts, to congratulate the speakers and, I imagine, to burn off some of their creative energy before heading home.


Unfortunately, it takes quite a bit to burn away that much energy in my case so I sat staring at the ceiling in bed (having somehow deluded myself into believing I could fall asleep at my normal time) until finally I got up and worked on some creative projects.  

I don't think a six-pack of Monster could have gotten me that energized.