Uncovering pieces of myself: public speaking
Sometimes it’s funny how life unfolds
My first big speech was a keynote in the 5th World Congress of Agronomists and Agrologists in Quebec City in 2012. I was the IAASWorld president and invited as a keynote speaker on the topic of agribusiness and the future of agronomists. I had no idea what the topic could entail, had to research it, write the speech, make the power point and when the time came to give the speech in front of 1000 people, I was literally trembling. Had never given such a speech before and didn’t know what to do. I ended up reading the speech and being so nervous, stressed and anxious; it was visible to everyone.
Fast forward 10 years: July 2022 and I am getting ready for the 7in7 Digital Nomads Conference in Montreal; an event I was looking forward to for the past 2 years of the pandemic.
And as always, I can’t stand the routine or only having 1 role at an event. So, instead of just being an attendee, I applied as a workshop leader and after a lot of emails, back and forth, I took the decision to trust, Kit Whelan, one of the 7in7 founders and my friend, and transform my topic to a main stage talk.
I remember trying to avoid the mistakes I did on that first keynote speech in front of 1000 people. I resisted writing the speech word for word, only to realize that as I like writing and I am a writer, it’s only a matter of time to go back to what I know and just let the words fly from within.
The speech was written and I rehearsed, I memorized it for 2 weeks, every waking hour I had.
And the speech was spoken, and I felt magic flowing from within.
The 7in7 attendees that were present and listened to my speech told me that they loved it, that I was great and that the topic of “how we can make the communities we live and travel to more inclusive” was more prominent than ever.
And now, while I am writing these words during the flight from Montréal to Athens, I realize that up until September 2012 and that fateful day, where I had the worst speaking experience of my life as a newbie, I used to like giving speeches. After that day, I’ve hidden that side of me, the one that liked speaking in front of audiences for topics that matter.
I took a step back. I became a trainer, I facilitated learning experiences, I organized TEDx events, coached others on how to become speakers.
When all I needed to do, was to accept that I failed, learned from my mistakes and move forward. I guess I wasn’t ready.
Now, I am. This speaking engagement experience at 7in7 in Montreal reminded how much I loved conveying an idea, a message, a topic that matters and giving people food for thought. And as, a fellow attendee and speaker gave me a list of potential speaking engagements and encouraged me to keep speaking, to keep talking about inclusion; this is what I plan to do: figure out which are the next conferences and events I need to be as a speaker and go for it!!
Wish me luck! Or don’t!
Time to get out of my hiding place and get on the stage!
