Herman School of Business
Control What You Can...
Next Monday I will be speaking before just over 100 people at the Austin Radisson in Texas. The attendees are professionals who work with almost 60,000 business owners throughout the State. I am honored to have this opportunity.
Seth Godin says the enemy for writers is obscurity and this speech gives me a chance to become known to many people who can then share my message with even more people. To help jumpstart my leap from obscurity with this group I sent down a copy of HERMANISMS for every attendee. Yesterday practice began in earnest.
As any regular reader knows my barn is one of my favorite places. Few barns have fireplaces, chandeliers, built-in bookcases filled with autographed books, the obligatory big screen TV and a full kitchen where last Friday we steamed some of the biggest shrimp ever. But I digress. The barn is also a wonderful place for me to practice my upcoming speeches. I stand behind a table and belt out the speech over and over again as if 100 people were sitting in front of me. Start. Stop and start again. And again. The upcoming talk is supposed to be between 30 and 40 minutes long and I did the speech about eight times yesterday. Scratching out and scribbling in parts that needed editing. The audience must have loved it because no one groaned, fell asleep or got up and left. Of course no one was there either.
I kept my cell phone with me and my wife called from the house (100 yards away). I asked her if I was being too loud and could she hear me? She said, “What…are you down there snoring?” What a comedian. Around the house I have burst out with the opening several times…maybe too many times…because Maggie was filling in the next part when I left off. Look, this speech is an audition. I also applied to speak at this organizations’ national convention later this year in Chicago. And while this audience will be just over 100, the national convention will have an audience of over 1,000. Being able to come out of obscurity for 1,000 people that matter to me all at once is a hoot. But the national rep told me they were holding off on my booking in Chicago…until they see how I do in Texas. Oh, OK…no added pressure there.
I have to be honest with you. Most people hate speaking in Public. I say give me the microphone and get the hell out of the way! I love it. It feels like home to me. Being able to share in front of a group means my work alone in that barn has some meaning. I practice over and over again because that is what I can control. Getting the timing down. Making the words just right. You see getting the gig was beyond my control. An article appeared in SPIRIT and I got a call to consider being a speaker. That led to emails, talks on the phone, applying to speak at the national convention and now my preparation for the main event. I want the audience to learn something…to be inspired…and to remember to recommend my books to their clients when they go back to work. And I want the national people to see the value of having me in Chicago later this year. I can’t control what they decide. I can only control what I do. And that means simply making the best speech I can next week.
Honey…I’ll be in the barn all day.
- Posted: 13 May 2008
- Comments: 0
- Category: Business success
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