Preparation and Rehearsal

Almost a century ago, well it was around 1957 actually, I took a Christopher Leadership Course which was a Dale Carnegie Course in disguise. It had a wonderful series of public speaking segments and the day after graduation I walked into my bosses office and gave my first outside of class speech.  I asked for a raise.  I figure that little presentation has paid dividends for the past 53 years.  I got the raise and it continued until my retirement and since my pension was based on my earnings it is still reflected in my pension check each month.  I had been preparing for the speech all through that course and I even took the time to take walks around the block rehearsing my presentation.  I don’t know what I said but it was passionate and directly to the point.  I mentioned that I was our families sole source of support and there were six of us and that we needed more money.  I gave a list of the extra work I had been doing that included not just my job but that of several ln the office who had been out sick or vacationing. I closed with a call for action.  “I think that it is time that I got a raise effective immediately.”  I haven’t shut up since then.  I learned something that day that had impacted my entire life.  The right words delivered at the right place to the right person at the right time can have a dramatic impact on your life.

If you have never taken a course in public speaking then may I suggest you take one pronto.  If you have never attended a Toastmaster’s Meeting then attend one in the next month.  If you have never stepped outside your comfort zone and volunteered to speak to an outside audience then do it now.  Public speaking can and will open doors for you that you never believed would be open to you.  Do it now!