12.23.07
tunneling under
One thing I know will happen this year is I’ll be given the chance to do some public speaking. By “public” I might mean just be the few people in the room who are paid to be there anyway, laptops open, checking their e-mail, but for me it will be a touchstone. I don’t know that I’ll be a good public speaker, or a great one, or even one who can do the job. This is unknown. What I do know is I am not at ALL nervous at the prospect, and when people give me compliments about working with me they always compliment me on my sense of humor. Not just first, but often exclusively. No compliments on my exceptionally efficient working style which I (cough) rely on so. Anyway, the sense of humor must help for something.
Public speaking opportunities abound not just in the workplace. Outside, there are the various Ignite’s and there was also a call to talk about six hour startup to an open source group this morning. But how to put this work in context? It would be pursued without a specific product associated with it, pursued in the vein of play, and hopefully pursued in a failure-friendly environment. Because if I wanted public speaking to be all serious and life threatening and all, I’d give a talk to the laptop squad at work instead. Something to think about.
I read this morming Tara Hunt’s awesome comment regarding how to give back, and it seems incredibly relevant:
I don’t like to build my reputation, I like to build others’ reputations.
I would far use my influence or connections to help others succeed than use them for my own benefit. And I’m not just saying that to be cheesy. I really hate tooting my own horn, contacting people for favors, pimping my own stuff and doing anything else that even smacks of getting myself ahead in the world. I used to think that would be my downfall, but I’ve discovered that it is actually my greatest asset.
If I do good work over 2008, and it’s possible, it will be because I referred back to these statements as a way of tunneling under the environmental crap and into quality.
P.S. Here’s a starting point for giving good presentations.
