Speaking on speaking

On September 14th, last Saturday, I presented at the Alliance Francaise, Bangalore. The session was scheduled during a conversation I had with the cultural coordinator at the AFB around the 4th week of August. My personal inclination to speak on my choice of topics - in general, things that could not be classified as "capability building"  - did not make much progress & we settled on "public speaking"

The twist in the entire thing was that I had to get a minimum number of registered audience members  to hold a meaningful session. I was never going to do any publicity from my side. It is a strange thing, this fear of speaking in public. I wanted to do this & some part of me kept hoping it would not happen. 

However, eventually on the 13th I was informed that we have about 19 registrations & with my last hope of somehow escaping from the ordeal thoroughly lynched, I showed up in a fairly diverse mix of audience members. They all came in a bunch - so though I had the time to shake their hands, my idea of getting to know some of them never saw the light of day. Bad start. 

To make things worse, the seating was like a metro coach- columns of students facing each other with me at one end & the bright PowerPoint at the other. Regardless, I got started & managed, I think, to get a few smiles on my first attempts at being somewhat funny. In general, I got good eye-contact & was interrupted many times with questions. The general engagement of the audience was a big plus. 

Of course, after I ended, I had to be thrown out. This, if you know me, was probably expected. Questions kept pouring in & I answered what I was asked & sometimes what I should have have been asked or might have been asked or I'd have asked if I were an audience member. The AFB person had to get up & interrupt at some point. 

 The whole thing was very tiring. And after a good night's sleep - very encouraging. A quick topical deconstruction of what I covered is here.

More, not less, is more

If your answer to "What do you do?" pretty much trails off into silence after some sort of a well-practiced verbiage about your job description, then you're a little like me. Unfortunately, that's not a compliment. 

I think that having an overly emphatic single dimension to your life is, if nothing, boring. Unless you're Sherlock Holmes & even he played the violin. And you could also argue that efficient, super-specialized systems are not all that resilient. So having multiple aspects to who you are makes not only for interesting hobnobbing but might keep your head bobbing over the high-water mark during hard times - also known as the times we live in. 

The first thing to do is make time. Yes, it is possible. And no, your working memory is not good enough. Make lists. Get a tool - I use evernote & calendar apps. You can use pen & paper, if you like. 

If you're like me, your list would be full of uninteresting stuff like paying bills & what not. Uninteresting, but important, hopefully. Listing is one thing, getting them done is another. My general "blood test" is pending for 13 months now. Don't be like me & check things off. 


Hopefully, working off a finite list of "things to do" would get things done, & get them done sooner. Secondly, it would avoid more work because you missed something & rectifying takes more time than getting it right the first time. Third, it will reduce stress on your overly taxed working memory & you can think of other things like going for a run or haiku poetry. 

So now that you have more time, you can look at your uninspiring list, & after having cried to your pillow, go about making it more interesting. The way to do this is answering the question: what is of value that engages you? Yes, of value - so watching television is out. As is conspicuous consumption. 

And when your local club cheers your rock band or your neighborhood is a cleaner, greener place because of you - you know whom to thank.