It cracks me up when I tell people what I do because I can tell so many of them are thinking, is that really a thing? How do you make money doing that? The people I am talking about include my family. That’s why I was thrilled when my niece Vivi asked to shadow me for a day as part of a high school assignment. Finally, someone who could corroborate that I had a real job, that being a keynote speaker and communication and leadership coach is chock full of action and responsibilities.
Vivi arrived at my “office” (aka our guest bedroom converted into a green screen studio) by 7:30am to help host a webinar at 8am on “Ideation to Facilitation” for speakers who would be presenting at the annual American Railway Engineering and Maintenance-of-Way Association (AREMA) conference in September. For the next hour we conducted (see what I did there) our 70+ participants through a process for taking technical white papers and creating engaging, AF (audience first) presentations that include facts and figures, story to highlight, audience participation and intriguing visuals.
After that we had a quick breakfast and scooted off to the Visit Denver’s office for a Meetings Industry Council (MIC) board meeting (I can assure you no one was bored, well maybe Vivi got a little bored when we started talking about budget). I’ve been part of the MIC board for nearly 2 years and what an awesome experience to be part of an organization that has it’s finger on the pulse of what’s happening in the meeting industry space, encourages and mentors others to join the industry and give back to the community with philanthropic events like Serving Up Hope.
Back to the “office” for more sustenance (lunch) before we zipped up to Adam’s County Sheriff's Department where they were starting and chartering a new Toastmaster Chapter. How cool is that! They realize that words matter, have a lasting impact, and how they come across when speaking is almost as important as the words spoken. I had the honor of being the Toastmaster for their very first meeting and to provide guidance on setting up a club along with my fellow Toastmasters from around the metro area, Ruth Prentice, Glenn West and Kathryn Everny. Vivi jumped right in as well and volunteered (well she says she was voluntold) to be the timer for the meeting.
After “rapping” up, we sped off to DisruptHR, an event that features 12 speakers that have thought provoking ideas for the HR industry. Each speaker has to deliver in an ignite/pechakucha style, that’s 20 slides, 15 seconds per slide (auto advanced) for a total of 5 minutes. It’s incredible and I was happy to be in the audience as I’ve been on that stage and the pressure and glory is awesome and nerve racking. Kudos to everyone who presented it was an incredible evening. I think it was a little too much for our young Vivi. By the time we were 3 speakers in she was cooked and in all fairness ready to go back to thoughts of prom, upcoming finals, and summer break.
We loaded her in a Lyft and whisked her home but not before she left a note on the fridge validating why I love what I do every day!
If you'd like to understand more about what we do at Articulated Intelligence reach out.
Comments