A few days before the event the crunch came. I was asked to talk up the library services and to make it humorous! I may even like to deliver this in rap form!! As in Eminem, TinieTempah. My retort was 'I don't need to do rap to be humorous! I don't need to do rap to keep people interested in our library services. My enthusiasm for libraries and what we offer should be enough!
Anyway this 'elevator pitch' was to last two minutes and I reckoned it would be timed. I listed all the things we do and put the most important things first. I condensed what I had to say to keep it snappy and interesting and I timed myself using the timer on my cooker - several times!! By the time I delivered the pitch it was timed to perfection and the buzzer pinged just as I finished!
I have always sang for my supper, or lunch or overnight stay at a conference. It has been a way for me to take part and to attend events without costing my organisation anything. I have been to courses and conferences I wouldn't normally have attended.
Chairing an event is a good way to get started on the road to presentations. You do need to prepare a little and you are in the public eye, but you don't have the responsibility of running the show or providing the content. You get used to that feeling of nerves on the way to events, the sick feeling in the pit of your stomach, the feeling of 'why do I get myself into this situation when I could sit back and enjoy like everyone else?' But it gets easier each time you do it. You do get a little nervous - only natural - but you learn to accept this and to know that once you get started the nerves will leave you. When it is your turn to take centre stage and do the presentation with your own content, the road is much easier.
I apply the same principles to my hobby of running. You need to prepare/train. You wouldn't expect to start a race and finish easily without putting in the groundwork. You need to time yourself according to the race entered, if you want to get a good result. But with all this preparation you will still be very nervous on the day of the race. And again as soon as you start running and get in the flow, the nerves disappear.
So now before an event or talk I ask myself if this is preferable to standing at the start of a Marathon race with 26.2 miles ahead of me? Or vice versa at the start of a race with sunshine and fresh air I say to myself, would I prefer to be speaking to 150 colleagues at CILIPS conference with the possibility of ending up with egg on my face? Works every time either way.
The pessimists among you would say 'why not just give up both if it is that bad?' But the point is that it is not bad at all and I have met some lovely people and been to some fantastic places with both activities. More importantly I have gained so much knowledge and experience along the way and that is worth so much more than any free lunch.
Next event is Corrieyairak Challange on Saturday 30th June!!
http://www.corrieyairack.org/index2.html
