Past and presentations

Have you ever noticed how the popular songs from a particular year have the power to make you nostalgic even if it seemed to be a terrible time back then? It's a bit like that when I look back on past speaking engagements. Take 2000, for example. That was a very bad year for me in terms of my home and finances but when I look back on that year now, I mainly think about it in terms of my talks at the time. There weren't too many because I had become complacent about marketing my first presentations and had not yet introduced any additional titles. They weren't all successful, either, but enough of them were that I can look back on that dreadful period with almost a certain fondness.

The past year hasn't been brilliant either, with many health, computer and other problems, and I am currently going through a period of great personal upheaval but I have been determined not to allow this to affect my speaking engagements. Long ago, they became escapism for me and I know that, thanks to them, I will, in time, look back on this period with at least some affection because of them.

Some people count sheep as a means of trying to get to sleep. Once or twice, I have made the mistake of believing that if I select a year and then try to remember all my talks from it, I will soon nod off. Wrong! As soon as I start to relive those bookings, the venues, the audiences, the laughter, the testimonials...I am wide awake!

We are all living in unpredictable times due to the global financial situation. Public speaking and the pleasure and satisfaction to be gained from it, can be a constant in periods of uncertainty.

Public Speaking Tip #277: Once you get beyond regarding public speaking as something to be feared, you may find over time that it not only becomes enjoyable but even a form of comfort and escapism in difficult times - and people often  pay you for it too!