Tag: Public Speaking

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Voices We Love: Rebecca Ryan

Project Kinect is so happy to call Madison, Wisconsin home for so many reasons.  One of the biggest reasons however, is because Madison is filled with forward thinkers and positive social change makers. One of them is Rebecca Ryan. She is the founder of Next Generation Consulting, is a futurist, an author, and a public speaker. And basically, she rocks. A couple weeks ago, she published a little piece on her Facebook page, “I am a Liability to the Status Quo” that we found brilliant.  Here it is in the entirety:

I am a liability to the status quo.

Last night, I was having drinks with the executive director and the chairman of a board I serve on. They shared another board member’s response to my strategic ideas: “You know,” he said hesitantly, “Rebecca’s a fighter. And she’s W A A A Y out there…” He was pointing to the future, or the edge of his vision. I’m not sure which.

I felt a little guilty about this. I wondered if I’d put our chairman or ED in a bad spot with this other board member.

So I slept on it. And I’ve come to this: if you want to preserve the status quo, if you don’t want to stretch your vision, I’m gonna make you uncomfortable. And I’m willing to fight mightily for a future that benefits all of our children. Here’s my secret: in every meeting, I imagine a row of chairs occupied by kids I’ll never meet, people who will be born long after I’m dead. And I think about what decisions I can make today that will benefit them.

That’s not “out there” in the future. That’s in here. (I am pointing to my heart.)

So screw anyone who wants to judge me because of their lack of comfort with the future or their discomfort with conflict. Future generations aren’t going to look back on us and say, “Thank you for maintaining the status quo. Thank you for continuing with your consumptive, environment-killing, selfish ways. I know that’s what made you comfortable, and I’m so glad you valued your comfort over my future.”

Hell, no.

I’ll continue to be a liability to the status quo. And I’ll work my face off to help others do the same.

‪#‎mytruth‬

If you want to see a little more of Rebecca Ryan’s brilliance, here is a video. It is a few years old, but still embodies her forwardness, honesty, and greatness.

 

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Tools We Love: Public Speaking Tips

Recently we came across an older article in Entrepreneur about the gifted Simon Sinek and his public speaking ability. The author, Kim Lachance Shandrow, put together these 7 Powerful Public Speaking Tips From One of the Most-Watched Ted Talk Speakers.  Its a nice little article to read through if you are still a nervous public speaker or want to develop more as you work on your presence before crowds.  Here are a couple of Shandrow’s tips.  Check out the article for the entire list.

Enjoy!

1. Don’t talk right away.

Sinek says you should never talk as you walk out on stage. “A lot of people start talking right away, and it’s out of nerves,” Sinek says. “That communicates a little bit of insecurity and fear.”

Instead, quietly walk out on stage. Then take a deep breath, find your place, wait a few seconds and begin. “I know it sounds long and tedious and it feels excruciatingly awkward when you do it,” Sinek says, “but it shows the audience you’re totally confident and in charge of the situation.”

4. Speak unusually slowly.

When you get nervous, it’s not just your heart beat that quickens. Your words also tend to speed up. Luckily Sinek says audiences are more patient and forgiving than we know.

“They want you to succeed up there, but the more you rush, the more you turn them off,” he says. “If you just go quiet for a moment and take a long, deep breath, they’ll wait for you. It’s kind of amazing.”

 

Here is another Project Kinect article on Simon Sinek.

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