[from the movie City Slickers]
Curly: Do you know what the secret of life is? (Holds up one finger)
Mitch: Your finger?
Curly: One thing. Just one thing. You stick to that and the rest don’t mean schist.
Mitch: But, what is the “one thing”?
Curly: That’s what you have to find out.
We have to find out our ‘one thing’.
As VP of Education I’m introducing a monthly education theme to our meetings this year. Ten months will focus on the same goals of the first ten speeches (e.g. vocal variety, get to the point, etc.). Two months will focus on speech competitions.
The first speech allows us to assess what our speaking strengths are and where we can improve. During the month of July we can assess our own strengths and weaknesses. The following five A’s of Assessment can help us along those lines:
APPREHEND
We can’t improve what we are not aware of and we can’t leverage strengths that we are ignorant of. It took me a couple of years to figure out that I was a better preacher when I didn’t use a script, but rather relied on a simple outline or no notes at all.
ACCEPT
We all have different skills. Accepting what we can change and what we can’t will help up become better speakers. Nobody likes the sound of their recorded voice the first time they hear it. We can’t change the timber of our voices, but we can vary our voice through the use of pitch, pace, and volume. I had to get to the place where I liked my voice before I could start recording stories for the radio.
AVAIL
We must utilize our strengths and take advantage of opportunities to improve where we are weak. Iris Durfy, the Durfinator, retired from teaching English in Park City this year. She is one of Park Cities finest teachers. She availed herself of her known strengths: humor, singing, creativity, and intentional encouragement. Not every student loved the ‘Durf’, but most did. Not everyone will appreciate our style and strengths, but like Iris, we must be ourselves. Iris wrote encouraging notes to my kids that about brought tears to my eyes. She availed herself of her ability to encourage and inspire.
ATTENTION
Multitasking is a joke. Who can do more that one thing at a time? Really? We can’t do anything well with out singleness of focus. If we want to accelerate our speaking skills, why not make the effort to focus on only one thing?
ACTION
During the month of July, take the time to assess your skills. What are some of the reoccurring comments that you get when you speak?
List three strengths. List three weaknesses. Circle only one strength and one weaknesses. And now, choose either the strength to utilize or the weakness to work on for the month of July.
One thing. Just one thing. Stick to that and everything else doesn’t mean schist.
