Confidence in Public Speaking

I have been having a think about my presentation skills and confidence at getting up in front of a group of people and being able to make sure that words actually come out of my mouth. I feel like I do an OK job. I get feedback from other people that I look and sound confident. But I don't feel confident. I feel anxious, nervous and worried. I believe that it is possible to die from embarassment. I feel light headed, dry mouthed and it sounds to me like my voice is a quavery squeak.

But if I want to be a world famous researcher, author and conference presenter, then I am going to have to find a way to improve my confidence in public speaking. And my first presentation, all by myself is planned for Feb 27th 2009.

I was inspired by Jeffrey's ideas about Learning from Impromptus, and his advice that people get better with practice. I also enjoy Kevin's blog and especially his post about the magic of dialogue - Kevin says that it is a skill that can be learned.

So I have decided that I am going to learn and practice how to improve my confidence in public speaking. I found a group called Toastmasters - they advertise in my local area - the Bendigo Club 'Have you ever wanted to speak confidently in front of an audience? Learn and practice your speaking skills in a friendly, supportive environment. And have a lot of fun along the way.' Yep -that's for me. What an appealing advertisement - it actually sounds like fun. And not scary at all.

So I am going to join and I will let you know how it goes. Wish me luck! Do you have any other advice or suggestions for ways to improve my confidence in public speaking? I'd love to hear from you.

Helen

Who controls my expression of opinion?

I was inspired by a post all the way on the other side of the world - Buckeyebrit posted a blog called Blogging and the day job. And it got me thinking - who owns the information and who is entitled to say where and when I can express my thoughts and opinions. I work in a Government organisation and they have very strict rules about confidentiality, so I am careful to never name the organisation and always talk about what I think, rather than something that happened at work. And I am always conscious to be careful about what I say about the organisation in the public domain.

Sarah Stewart has written extensively on topics like 'An ethics question', and privacy and confidentiality, and suggests that Health Professionals that blog about their clinical practice should be prepared for scrutiny. This resonates for me and it is something that I agree with.

As a PhD student I always identify with La Trobe University, the place where I am enrolled. But I have never asked anyone there if they are happy for me to blog about my experiences as a student. Imagine if they tried to stop all students from blogging? Is there a line between my thoughts, experiences and reflections as a Social Worker employed in a Government organisation, and a Social Worker who is a PhD student? How could I possibly separate them?

As I build my portfolio and reputation as a Researcher, these lines will continue to blur. If I write a paper or present at a conference and identify myself as belonging to one organisation or the other, it will soon become obvious that I belong to both organisations, and it will become more difficult to separate them. Have other people experienced this situation? What do you do about it?

Regards

Helen

2009 Loddon Mallee Allied Health Conference

I applied to present a paper at the 2009 Loddon Mallee Allied Health Conference that will be held in Bendigo in February - the title of the conference is 'Change: Embrace What's New'. I was disappointed not to be accepted to present a paper about my research, but I was invited to present a poster during the lunch break. I haven't presented a poster before, so this is a new experience for me and I am quite looking forward to it.


I have been working on a catchy title and I have come up with, 'Critical Reflection online: can a blog support isolated practitioners?' What do you think?


I think that I need to include my blog address on the poster and have some paper copies of the poster to handout, in case anyone is interested in finding out more. This is challenging because it is the first time that I actually publicising my blog - maybe people will come and look at it!

I have tried to upload a copy of my poster, but I can't get it to work yet. I will keep working on it and I am sure there will be a way. Have you presented a poster at a conference before? I'm interested to hear if you have any suggestions or tips for what I can do to make it an interesting and fun experience.

Helen

Mind Maps: an innovative solution

I have been thinking about my PhD research and trying to find a way to create a kind of mind map to chart what I want to do and how the different topics link together. I have used a couple of old-fashioned versions, with bits of paper, a grey-lead pencil and an eraser. They almost work, but are not quite right. I followed a blog from Sarah Stewart where Sarah tells us about 7 things we don't know about her and tags another seven people to do the same. It is an interesting way to find out more about people.

I ended up at Pam Harnden's blog. Pam is a midwife and much of her blog about about midwifery (much of which I don't understand), but there is heaps of fantastic information about tools and other stuff relevant to everyone. Pam has posted a link to bubbl.us - a free web application for brainstorming and mid mapping. It is awesome and is just the thing that I need to be able to get my thoughts and ideas into a map, and be able to move ideas and topics around, and to do it electronically, rather than the old pencil and paper way. Thanks Pam.

I have also decided this year that I will spend more time commenting on the interesting blogs that I read. I tend to read a lot and lurk, but I am committed to spending more time commenting and encouraging comments back to my blog. I haven't found a good way to keep track of them all yet so if anyone has any suggestions I am keen to hear from you. I have worked out how to subscribe to posts, but how can I find out if a blogger replies to a comment that I leave on their blog? Is there a simple way or do I just need to subscribe and go back and check regularly? I hope there is someone out there that can help me with this.

Helen

New Year's resolutions

Well we made it to the start of another exciting year. I had an early night last night, and was in bed at 12.01, and I woke up feeling bright and fresh - a great way to start the new year. I normally make a list of resolutions, and then usually forget about them. This year, I have written a letter to myself, which is placed in a sealed envelope and stored in a safe place and delivered back to me, unopened on 1 December 2009. It will be an interesting reminder of the goals that I started out with for 2009.

Do you like New Year celebrations? I tend to agree with Seth Godin who sees NYE as a time of 'faux merriment' (I absolutely agree), yet it is a time of exciting possibilities where there is a chance to start afresh and I think that is a wonderful way to look at the year ahead.

So what are your New Year Resolutions? I'm planning on learning more about e-learning and technology, making time to write in my blog more consistently, and spending more time learning how to ride my bike. I'd love to hear about your resolutions and how they go.

Hooroo

Helen

Same, but different

I've got a friend that has this saying that really annoys me - he tells me about something and tells me that 'it's the same, but different'. It annoys me because I think if it is the same it can't be different. And that begins the roundabout of vocabulary.

This phrase has got me thinking about where I am in my life at the moment. I am looking for some things to change and other things to stay the same. Am I looking for the same, but different?

I love the song by Pink, 'Leave me alone, I'm Lonely'. That song just sums things up for me.

'Leave me alone
I'm lonely
Alone
I'm lonely
I'm tired
Leave me alone
I'm lonely
Alone
I'm lonely tonight '

I feel like I want it all and I want other people to know and Pink describes this well,

Go away
Come back
Go away
Come back
Why can't I just have it both ways
Go away
Come back
Go away
Come back
I wish you knew the difference
Go away
Come back

My star sign (Libra) in the Sunday Herald Sun Magazine by Jonathon Cainer, Dec 14 2008 read: You want things to stay the same, yet you want them to change. You seek peace, yet you crave excitement. Is there a hint of inconsistency here? Might you be looking for a cake you can have and eat, but that will also allow you to shed kilos in the process? You're pushing the boundaries of what's possible. But then, you are you. Sometimes you can achieve a balance that seems precarious to everyone else but works perfectly. Stop worrying, but don't stop striving. I have brilliant news for you.

That feels so right for me - it resonates with what I am thinking and feeling. I do want excitement, but I don't want to give up my safe, organised and structured life. I like peace and quiet and time to do my own thing. A few days after this I got a phone call with a job offer. It's a temporary job, just a few months and an opportunity to try something new - it's a Social Work position and an opportunity to dip my toe in the pool of what I think I would like to do next. So I feel excited and a little anxious. And nervous. And enthusiastic. And scared. So I will work in the same office, park my car in the same spot, eat my lunch at the same place with the same people, but it will be a different job with a different boss and a different role. Same, but different.

Helen

That time of the year

Well it is that time of the year - the crazy season where everyone wants to meet for a drink and to catch up. I don't really see the point myself - it is nice to catch up with friends, but it seems to get so busy, and I get very tired and frustrated.

And there are presents to buy. I found this nice book by Ian 'Macca' McNamara from Austrlalia All Over and I bought it as a gift for ... someone special (I hope they don't read this). Anyway, I was having a flick through the book and I wondered if I should be doing this. Did it make the book second hand if I read it first? I was careful not to bend any pages, and I didn't open it up too far so it still looks neat and bound, like it did in the shop. But I felt a little guilty, like it was the wrong thing to do. And then I thought, who will know? Does that make it OK to do the wrong thing if no-one will know? And if the gift receiver did know that I had already read the book, would they mind? That helped - I thought that the gift receiver wouldn't mind that I had already read through the book and that helped me feel a bit more comfortable.

Let me share this poem with you. The poem is by Brian Powell of Queensland and published in the book called, 'Song of the Thong':

Ode to 'I'm on a Committee'

Oh, give me your pity,
I'm on a committee'
Which means that from morning to night.
We attend, and amend, and contend, and defend
Without a conclusion in sight.
We confer and concur,
We defer and demur,
And re-iterate all of our thoughts,
We revise the agenda with all our addenda,
And consider a load of reports.
We compose and propose, we suppose and oppose
And the points of procedure are fun,
But through various notions and brought up as motions
There's terrible little gets done.


Ah yes - I have been on many a committee like this. It is a great way to get a message across - using poetry, humor and a bit of fun. I am drawn to poetry and I think I will have a go at using poetry with reflective practice and see how this works. If I am feeling really brave, I will post some here.