I Did Good!

The little "talk" I had with myself Thursday morning made such a difference. I cannot believe that once I remembered that I chose to give this talk, that I want to be a public speaker, I stopped dreading the talk I was to give yesterday.

I guess the hard part was knowing I was going to be evaluated in front of the people I was trying to teach. I was so afraid I'd not remember my speech and have to use my notes. The room was set up so I was in the middle of a horseshoe. I was actually closer to being in the center of the horseshoe instead of in front. The lectern was too tall for me to use, so I was in the center, and I used my notes. My evaluator wrote in my manual a lot about using my notes and making my talk my own. He said he could tell when I was using my own thoughts and other people's words. In other words, I have to practice more so I can stand in front and say it without acting like I don't know the material.

The good thing is we left with 2 more invitations. One for next year doing the same thing we did yesterday, and another by Denise. I haven't heard what she's looking for -- a mini-Toastmasters meeting or my talk. My talk was 30 minutes. I could add more about texting, phone, letter writing, and email to increase it to 45 minutes.