Were you ever a performer as a child? Maybe you took piano lessons, or maybe you played a lead or supporting role in a school play. Possibly, you were an athlete, a curious student in the science or computer lab, or a dancer. Have you ever thought about how those skills have influenced you later in life?
When I was little, my mother encouraged me to participate in children’s programs at church, and later, upon realizing I had an ear for melodies, she encouraged me to sing. I have sung at church since my childhood, and while public speaking still makes me nervous, the fact that my mother encouraged me to sing at church helped acclimate me to being in front of people. Yes, you read that correctly. I don’t enjoy being in front of people on stage, but I can do it because of a skill my mother encouraged in me as a child.
My public speaking skills were challenged in high school through required assignments and and a couple of major speeches in my senior year. A classmate told me I delivered my senior speech on the Challenger tragedy like a news reporter, but I wasn’t certain how I felt about his assessment. I took a required public speaking course in college, and this class improved my skills even more. The professor of this course taught me that an interest in your subject always makes your presentation pop so you better learn how to have an interest in the subject on which you are speaking. I was so stinking proud one day when I finished a speech on Thomas Jefferson, and the professor was quiet for a moment before he said to the class, “That’s how you give a speech.” I earned a 99 on that speech, and the only reason I didn’t get a perfect 100 was because I said “Um” at the start while I was gathering my thoughts. Honestly, I was (and am still) surprised at the compliment. As a rather shy person in large groups, I’m not accustomed to compliments on my speaking skills.
The reason I did so well on that speech was because I was so interested in the topic. As a history major, I have long studied the early history of the United States, and I spent several years reading everything about Thomas Jefferson I could get my hands on. This understanding has served me well throughout my library career. I could speak well about libraries because I was passionate about them. I was probably so passionate about them that I bored some people to tears, but I was once a great advocate for libraries to anyone who would listen when I still worked in the field. Public speaking skills were a must if we wanted continued funding.
As I’ve gotten older, I’ve also improved my speaking skills using a more personal, conversational approach, developing my dramatic timing, and learning to laugh at myself in front of others. People respond to you when you seem comfortable speaking in front of them, and when you can laugh at your own mistakes in a public speaking situation, you encourage others to go easier on themselves. It’s amazing to me that this one skill started when I was little girl in a handmade dress and patent leather shoes on the stage at church singing children’s gospel songs. I’m thankful that my mother encouraged me to get up on stage even when I wasn’t interested because it made public speaking so much easier for me as an adult. I don’t know if I’ll ever love it, but I appreciate the value it brings when I can apply public speaking skills well.
Think about a skill you had as a child. Follow its path through your life. Are you still using that skill specifically? Are there ways in which that skill has helped you as an adult? Take some of those old memories out and dust them off. Look for that one skill you didn’t even realize you had adapted into a finely tuned ability. Write it down somewhere so you can remind yourself of how you’ve grown and developed. Now, let’s go find another one.
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Inspirational Verses for the Day:
Make a joyful shout to the Lord, all you lands! Serve the Lord with gladness; come before His presence with singing. (Psalm 100:1-2, NKJV)
All Things Subject to Change 