In my mid 20’s, I wrote a play about heartbreak and abuse and performed it with a double bass player to a small room of sixty above a pub in Salford. I made £200. On my way out of the theatre, a fifteen-year-old girl approached me with her mother, she was crying and just managed to get her words out to thank me for a really moving show.
In the bar afterwards, a family member met me with a pained face that read “gosh that was awkward wasn’t it.” Their set of judgements were completely different from my intention of writing the piece. I had not written it with any fear of judgement that I might face for sharing my inner world and holding it up for others to scrutinise should they choose to. I had written it for that one fifteen-year-old girl who saw herself in my mistakes and life experience and I hoped that it had moved her enough to choose a different path than I had taken.
When you write a speech or presentation it’s good to be brave and courageous. Some people may not like what you’re saying and judge it for reasons that belong to them and have nothing to do with you. Others may learn, transform and heal from what you’re saying. If a wound is no longer raw and is instead healed and scarred and if it makes your point and has a beneficial impact on others, SHARE IT!
Often, it isn’t about the money or the reward it’s about being vulnerable to inspire others.
#publicspeaking #inspiration #leadership #personaldevelopment