The Day I Finally Ran Out of Excuses
While reflecting upon those defining moments in my life this morning while lying in bed waiting for the alarm clock to go off, it occurred to me that one of those moments was the day I finally ran out of excuses.
I could also point to the day I decided to study martial arts, or the day I committed to becoming a good and creative drummer, or the day I discovered that I was a pretty damn good skier.
But the day I ran out of excuses for not speaking in public has had a long-lasting and profound effect.
Up until then, I had sort of stumbled along as a radio DJ. Don’t get me wrong, I loved the job and was pretty good as some aspects of it. For instance, I loved being a Music Director. I could listen to a new record release and gauge right away how big a hit it would be with uncanny accuracy.
I was good at ‘talking up the post’ as we used to call it in Top 40 radio, where we’d open the mike, start our rap and stop talking at the same instant the singer started to sing. Seamless, creative, energetic radio.
But one thing I was terrified to do was to go out ‘in the public’ and MC events, do radio remotes or put myself in a position where I had to speak to a group of people.
Yeah, you’re saying what I think you are: but you were the guy behind the mic in the studio, sounding great on the air!
Right. But speaking in a studio to a microphone and spinning hits is NOT the same as getting out in front of a group of people with some sort of prepared remarks. And it scared the bejeezus out of me.
So I’d make excuses: it’s not something I’m natural at, so why bother? I don’t really need this skill. It’s too hard to learn. What difference does it make?
Along the way I heard about Toastmasters, the organization that helps people to learn to speak in public. I looked up a local group, called the number and left a message. No one ever returned the call. So I put it aside for another year or two.
But at one point I realized that I was making excuses, and didn’t want to do that any more.
So I got more serious. I called 5 local Toastmaster groups, got the dates and times of their weekly meetings, and made a point to visit them all within a couple of weeks, which I did.
I saw skilled speakers; I took in presentations from people who stuttered and stumbled, but smiled and kept going. I saw group support and gentle criticism. I felt as if these people who were learning to speak were in a cocoon of protection from the outside world.
I wanted in. I had no more excuses.
Some of the groups were made of us just a handful of folks. One group in particular stuck out for a few reasons: first, there were about two dozen attendees. Second, most of them were women. I was in. I liked the group, got the paperwork on the way out the door after the initial meeting and sent it back in.
I was in. I was now an official Toastmaster. I recognized this as a big and defining moment in my life.
The Day I Finally Ran Out of Excuses Not to Learn Public Speaking. And the journey had just begun…
photo credit: TheTruthAbout…
