5 things I learned from 500 people (speech held on 15.10.2024, part 1)
As a member of PC4E Toastmasters club I also have to prepare and give public speeches in front of the club members and guests. It’s least to say uncomfortable for a communication expert to be “in front” and that’s the dirty small secret of all Comms people - we help people and companies but we can’t make it ourselves in front of an audience. Or maybe not that it covers our own criteria?
Here is a copy of my fourth (YAI) speech to the club I gave just a week ago. It is about a challenge I undertook some years ago and it brought me lots of personal growth, insights and satisfaction. Enjoy! :)
Dear fellow toastmasters,
432 km from here, in the Jura department in Bourgogne-Franche-Compte in Eastern France, at the foot of the first plateau of the Jura Mountain region, there is a small city called Poligny. The town is surrounded by vineyards and is also considered the capital of the cheese Compte. The museum of this cheese in the city offers guided tours. I had the chance to visit the city some time ago and joined one of these tours during which a tour guide tells you the story of Compte cheese making and ends up with a degustation.
And it was precisely on that guided tour that I thought “How nice it would be if I can become a tour guide myself?” then the fears came in: I have no experience, What can I tell people, would they listen to me, would they be engaged, would I like it at the end? Eventually I found an opportunity to become a tour guide and I already did that with 500 people. And that was way beyond my comfort zone. And is still is, though I’m now only talking about it.
But the benefits are much more than the discomfort and here’s what I learned
1. You need to start
It takes more than courage just to start without overthinking. And you should not think about whether it’ll be fine or not. By simply start doing it you already set yourself on the process, not on the outcome. Try it once to see the difference
2. You can’t like everyone, and you can’t be liked by everyone and that’s fine and will always be like that
The first person you should always try to please is you. You always need to be your best version by nurturing yourself with the right amount of care, keep yourself happy. People have different expectations, and you can’t cover them all. But if you set your boundaries and you are able to provide value to the right people will appreciate. With time you’ll get better at recognizing your people, your tribe.
3. You always need to be your best version
You teach people but you’re also able to learn from everyone and that’s priceless.
4. Empathy is not healthy
It took meeting up with 500 people so that I can discover I’m an unconscious emphatic sponge for other people’s misfortunes. You should observe, understand but never take it inside, it’s not yours.
5. When to say no and when to compromise
When you lead and you’re responsible for a group of people your thinking changes, your priorities change. You need to balance within the group which puts you under lots of pressure but here’s where you actually learn when to say no and when to compromise.
Going out of your comfort zone is what brings growth. Doing things for the first time is how magic happens. I am grateful for this experience and for the opportunity to tell you about it this evening.
