I am passionate about sharing knowledge. I love investing in the training and development of people from all walks of life. To see another person grow whether personally or professionally is incredibly rewarding for me.
I am blessed to work for a company that recognised this in me. They tailor-made a position for me within their structures to afford me the opportunity to follow my passion. As the old saying goes: “Choose a job you love and you’ll never have to work another day in your life.” I don’t have a job, I have a calling.
The challenge I face is often this role requires me to present training programmes to a wide audience and that involves public speaking. How many of us are comfortable with public speaking, standing in front of an audience and doing a presentation? I find it downright nerve wracking. Performance anxiety and I are old friends.
As a youngster I attended speech therapy lessons for a few years. I had a speech impediment to overcome. Something I never quite mastered. When saying the word “Rubbish” it still sounds like “Wubbish”. The “K” sound sometimes comes out as “Kkkk…”
Added to that reading aloud is somewhat of a challenge too. Words and letters move around and run into one another on the page. The result – I can’t read my presentation or my notes to my audience.
So why on earth am I in a vocation that involves public speaking? The odds seem stacked against me. Short answer – I’m passionate about sharing knowledge.
How can one share knowledge without speaking about it?
I was determined not to let the challenges facing me stand in the way of me fulfilling my passion. I learnt to compensate and turn these challenges into my favour. Nothing worse than sitting through a presentation where the presenter reads the slides to you. Since I cannot do this I find my audience less bored and glassy-eyed as I actively engage with them. To compensate for challenges in speech I slow down just a little and pronounce my words a little more carefully. I find myself better understood. Am I saying that I am an outstanding presenter? Far from it. I am, however, saying that I am fulfilling my passion. I believe I am successfully sharing knowledge.
Every one of us face challenges in our lives. No one is excluded from this on our journey through life. It is what we do with the challenges we face. We can use them as excuses for not conquering what life throws at us, or we can use them as opportunities to grow. I choose growth.
Passion is what I have. Challenges are what I seek. Success is what I deliver.
Yours in lifelong learning,
Laura