At what point did I think I had nothing else to learn in life? I am embarrassed to admit that there were too many times.
I recently attended a committee meeting at The University of New Mexico. During the meeting, we were each asked to step out of the room for a minute to provide a personal statement for new graduates, giving them some advice at this point in their lives for use in a future video.
I was thankful for all my public speaking and interview experience and my ongoing work in a Toastmasters club, preparing me well for impromptu speaking. My biggest challenge was thinking about the different lessons I had learned in life that I could share with a recent graduate. But it came fairly quickly for me – Never. Stop. Learning.
Some of you may have been much like me. You felt like you knew it all when you graduated from high school. Then graduating from college, you really knew it all! I couldn’t wait to share all my wisdom with the world. The older I get, the more I realize that I didn’t really know anything then, and I am still on a path to learn about so many things in the world.
I am thankful for a different kind of mind set now, making a strong commitment to ongoing professional or personal development. I commit to ongoing professional development in a variety of forms – reading books, attending webinars, workshops and lectures, and working on certifications.
But some of the most important learning I have engaged in looks quite different. It’s about listening to others’ perspectives (even when I disagree or don’t understand), asking for guidance, reflecting on hard times in my life, travelling to new places, learning from previous mistakes and spending some time “unlearning” things I learned in the past. (Let’s face it, most of what we learned in school is no longer relevant, represents only part of a perspective or is just totally incorrect.) Additionally, I am growing by saying “yes” to new challenges and experiences that I never had the confidence to tackle. This has ranged from rafting the Taos box, to climbing tall poles to starting my own business.
What is your learning mindset? Do you have a desire to learn some new skills or improve existing skill sets? One of my passions is helping people improve their communications skills. Being able to communicate effectively makes life go a lot smoother in your personal and professional world.
In the past couple of years, I’ve helped clients and friends prepare for job interviews, coached them on doing media interviews, assisted them with writing and presenting legislative testimony, and helped prepare them to deliver powerful speeches. I’d love to work with you and your staff, board or volunteers on communication skill improvement. Check out a few of my workshops at:
Use stories to communicate your point.
If you need to use slides, keep them simple – a few slides with few words, but powerful images
Leave your audience with easy takeaways. For example, tell them you will give them 3 suggestions and clearly identify those in your speech.
Engage your audience with questions.
Leave your audience with a commitment to a next step.